Summary of The Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is a 700 verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer the god Krishna. At the start of the Dharma Yudhah (righteous war) between Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna is filled with moral dilemma and despair about the violence and death the war will cause. He wonders if he should renounce and seeks Krishna's counsel, whose answers and discourse constitute the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna, through the course of the Bhagavad Gita, imparts to Arjuna wisdom, the path to devotion, and the doctrine of selfless action. The Bhagavad Gita upholds the essence and the philosophical tradition of the Upanishads. It is the essence of India's spiritual wisdom and its philosophy. Its scope is universal and it deals with the universal truths of individual existence, universal struggle of life, overcoming doubts and fears, and the path of liberation or enlightenment.