Bhagavad Gita

A New Translation

By: Stephen Mitchell

Narrated by: Stephen Mitchell

The Bhagavad Gita is universally acknowledged as one of the world's literary and spiritual masterpieces. It is the core text of the Hindu tradition, one that has been translated into more than two hundred English editions. Stephen Mitchell—the acclaimed translator of Pablo Neruda, Rainer Maria Rilke, and the Tao Te Ching—has produced a definitive version of The Bhagavad Gita for our time. Mitchell's translation sings with the clarity, the vigor, and the intensity of the original Sanskrit, bringing to life a timeless story of knowledge, devotion, action, and meditation.

©2001 Stephen Mitchell (P)2001 Phoenix Books, Inc.

Critic reviews

"On the list of the greatest spiritual books of all time, the Bhagavad Gita resides permanently in the top echelon. In this titular translation, Stephen Mitchell's rhythms are faultless, making music of this ancient Song of the Blessed One. Savor his rendition." (Amazon.com)

"Mitchell must by now be accounted one of our generation!s heroic translators, having taken on the Book of Job, the Tao te Ching, and Genesis and done so much to popularize Rilke in English. Now he applies his considerable skill and sympathy to one of the most noted sacred texts of Asia, the Bhagavad Gita and the results are very happy. He works in free-verse quatrains of about three beats per line, and his language flows with great naturalness." ( Library Journal)

"The Gita is one of Asia's most renowned spiritual texts. Mitchell, whose translation of the Tao Te Ching has been extraordinarily popular, offers a direct, clean translation of the Gita that reads like a series of pithy epigrams of advice and comfort… Mitchell clarifies meaning without sacrificing beauty and emotional resonance." ( Booklist)

The most beautiful of the scriptures.

Get absorbed into God's love. The title says it all for me. I love all of them but the Gita is best.

THE instructions on how to connect with your SELF

What made the experience of listening to Bhagavad Gita the most enjoyable?

Stephen Mitchell has done it again. As with the "Tao Te Ching", Mitchell's translation of the "Bhagavad Gita" brings a poetic richness and simplicity that welcomes the reader into the mind of it's creator. Krishna reveals the keys to the kingdom that reside inside each of us as he instructs the warrior Arjuna to perform his duties honorable in the midst of a battlefield. The Bhagavad Gita is a call for each of us to perform our own Yoga Action to commune with our higher Self that unites us with all things.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bhagavad Gita?

Learning how to awaken my higher Self through actions without expectations.

What does Stephen Mitchell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

There is a kind wisdom in Stephen Mitchell's reading of the Gita that transcends the prose. He brings it to life. I felt as though I were sitting beside Krishna and Arjuna in their chariot on the battlefield.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Surrendering to God

Any additional comments?

This book will change your after-life.

Great, in the deepest sense of the word

The book itself is transcendently great.

Stephen does an admirable job.. yet nearly ruins it with his subjective takes, at the close. By imposing modern politically-correct sentiment (even calling the BG ‘contradictory’) in questioning the ‘get up and fight’ passage... which he seems incapable of understanding, as it was so plainly meant to be understood.

Regardless.. ignore the very fallible human mind and it’s subjective opinions, and take in the work itself.. repeatedly, if it resonates.. and you’ll be a better person for it.

Sublime and timeless

Poetic translation by Stephen Mitchell. Listen anytime anywhere and allow this timeless wisdom to fill your heart.

Excellent

This is a book I can listen to over and over again. Each time, something else will sink in. Such an inspiring book.