Bhagavadgita

The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit भगवद् गीता, Bhagavad Gītā, "Song of God") is an important Sanskrit Hindu scripture. It is revered as a sacred scripture of Hinduism, and considered as one of the most important religious classics of the world. The Bhagavad Gita is a part of the Mahabharata, comprised of 700 verses. The teacher of the Bhagavad Gita is Krishna, who is regarded by the Hindus as the supreme manifestation of the Lord Himself,and is referred to within as Bhagavan—the divine one.The Bhagavad Gita is commonly referred to as The Gita for short.

The content of the Gita is the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra war. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. Other noted experts have described it as a lighthouse of eternal wisdom that has the ability to inspire any man or woman to supreme accomplishment and enlightenment. During the discourse, Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Svayam bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of his divine universal form.

The Bhagavad Gita is also called Gitopanishad as well as Yogopanishad, implying its status as an Upanishad, or a Vedantic scripture. Since the Gita is drawn from the Mahabharata, it is included in Smriti texts. However, being one of the Upanishads, it has a status of śruti, or revealed knowledge. Since the Bhagavad Gita represents a summary of the Upanishadic teachings, it is also called as the Upanishad of the Upanishads.The Gita is also called a mokshashastra, or scripture of liberation, since it deals with the science of the absolute and lays down the way to emancipation.