AFRO ASIAN LITERATURE Bhagavad-Gita-by-Vyasa.pdf

The Bhagavad G
ita
oft
en
refe
rre
d to
as
the
Gita
, is a 700 verse
Hindu scripture, which is part of the epic Mahabharata. It forms the
chapters 23-40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the “Bhishma
Parva” that is considered one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism.
The Bhagavad Gita is set in a narrative framework of dialogue
between the Pandava Prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide
Krishna, an avatar of lord Vishnu. The Krishna-Arjuna dialogue
covers a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon moral and
ethical dilemmas, and philosophical issues that go far beyond the
war that Arjuna faces. The setting of the text in a battlefield has
been interpreted as an allegory for the struggles of human life.

1. Bhagavad
Gita by
Vyasa
Hindu Literature

2. introduction
The Bhagavad Gita often referred to as the Gita, is a 700 verse
Hindu scripture, which is part of the epic Mahabharata. It forms the
chapters 23-40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the “Bhishma
Parva” that is considered one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism.
The Bhagavad Gita is set in a narrative framework of dialogue
between the Pandava Prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide
Krishna, an avatar of lord Vishnu. The Krishna-Arjuna dialogue
covers a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon moral and
ethical dilemmas, and philosophical issues that go far beyond the
war that Arjuna faces. The setting of the text in a battlefield has
been interpreted as an allegory for the struggles of human life.

3. What is the main message of the Bhagavad Gita?
it tells us that each one of us should do our duty without
expecting rewards. It also says that the path of devotion to
God is open to all.
The Bhagavad Gita encourages us to live life with purity, strength,
discipline, honesty, kindness, and integrity. In this way we can find
our purpose and live it fully.

4. rabindranath tagore
- Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet of India. He
was also a philosopher and an artist. He wrote many
stories, novels, poems and dramas, as well as
composing music.
-Popularly known as “Gurudev.”
- He is the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1913 with his book Gitanjali, Song
Offerings.
- He was highky influential in introducing Indian
culture to the West and is generally regarded as the
outstanding artist of modern India.

5. • Tagore was born in the city of Kolkata (formerly called Calcutta).
• He was the youngest of his parents' 14 children. His father was
Debendranath Tagore; his mother was Sarada Devi.
• He wrote his first poem when he was only eight years old. In
1877, when he was 16, Tagore published his first large poetry
collection. Also when he was 16, he wrote his first short story and
dramas.
• But in 1880, after Tagore did not do well in school, his father
called him back from London. His father arranged a marriage for
him with Mrinalini Devi, a girl who was just ten years old. They got
married on 9 December 1883. Together they had five children, but
two died during childhood

6. works
• Tagore also wrote many non-fiction books. These
covered many subjects, including the history of
India, linguistics, essays and lectures, details of his
travels, and other autobiographical things.
• He wrote around 2,230 songs. People call these
songs "Rabindra Sangeet” which means "Tagore
Song" in English.
• His songs and music cover many aspects of
human emotion, from devotional hymns to songs
of love.

7. abhilaash (hindi for desire)
Tagore’s first poem, Abhilasha (Desire), was published
anonymously in the journal "Tattvabodhini Patrika."
Tattwabodhini ("truth-searching") Patrika ("newspaper")]
was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore on 16
August 1843, as a journal of the Tattwabodhini Sabha, and
continued publication until 1883. It was published in
Kolkata, India.
Abhilasha means a wish or a desire to want and achive
something in life.

8. gitanjali (november 15, 2013)
• Gitanjali ( ''Song offering'') is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet
Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature, for its
English translation, Song Offerings, making him the first non-European to
receive this honour.
For “Gitanjali” literally means “song offerings,” and the poems are suggestive
of harmony, beauty and relationality at the least. Tagore, employing 12,091
words and a lexicon with slightly fewer than 2,468 word types,1 renders in
English what he had composed originally in Bengali for singing. The collection,
consisting of 103 poems composed before 1910, translated in 1912 and
published in 1913, won for him the Nobel Prize the very year of its publication.
Neuroscience was still in its infancy then.

9. kalidasa
(the shakespeare of
india)
- Kalidasa is known as “Prince of Indian Poets”
- His plays and poems are primarily based on the Vedas,
Puranas, the Ramayana, and Mahabharata.
- Kalidasa’s notable works include the three plays
which are Malavika and Agnimitra, Urvashi and
Shakuntala.

10. shakuntala
Shakuntala and the Ring of Recollection
- a poetic drama, tells the story of a love affair between a
king and a woodland maiden Shakuntala.
- a universal drama of the passion, separation, suffering and
reunion of lovers.
• The Sakuntala of Kalidas has been regarded as the greatest
of all the classical Sanskrit dramas.
• It is said that when Sir William Jones translated 'Sakuntala
of Kalidas into English and published it in 1789.

11. shakuntala
It created a sensation among the Europeans that such a
wonderful drama could have been written in ancient times,
describing human emotion and feeling in such a super way.
. • The work was translated to German, French, Danish,
Italian and other languages.
• The celebrated German poet Goethe was so powerfully
impressed by this magnificent work that he regarded it as
the greatest drama ever written in any literature.

12. - Meghaduta, (Sanskrit: “Cloud Messenger”) lyric love poem in some 115
verses composed by Kalidasa about the 5th century CE. The verse is unique
to Sanskrit literature in that the poet attempts to go beyond the strophic
unity of the short lyric, normally the form preferred for love poems, by
stringing the stanzas into a narrative.
meghaduta
(the cloud messenger)
- is a lyric poem about separated lovers.