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55 By (this) worship he knows Me truly; what I am and how great (I am); then, having known Me truly, he enters into Me immediately.

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Though he may do all works constantly, yet having found refuge in Me, he obtains, by my grace, the eternal, imperishable seat.1

Renouncing all works in Me by meditation, devoted to Me, given up to the devotion of the mind (h), fix thy thoughts constantly on Me.

Thinking on Me, thou wilt surmount, by my grace, every difficulty; but if, from self-conceit, thou wilt not listen, thou wilt utterly perish.

If, taking refuge in self-conceit, thou shalt think, "I will not fight," thy resolution is vain; nature will compel thee.

Bound by thine office, which springs from thy own nature, O son of Kunti! that which thou dost not wish to do through delusion, thou wilt do even against thy will.

The Lord, who dwells in the hearts of all, Arjuna! ever makes all things, as if mounted on a machine, revolve by his illusive power.

Seek refuge in him with all thy soul (i), O son of Bharata! (then) shalt thou obtain, by his grace, supreme repose, the eternal seat.

Thus a doctrine, more mysterious than any (other) mystery, has been declared to thee by Me; having meditated thereon fully, do as thou wilt.

1 i.e., the Supreme Brahma. 2 By his duty as a Kshatriya (warrior), for which his nature had been formed.

centre of all vital activity. In the opinion of the Hindūs it is especially the habitation of the soul, and therefore of Brahma, from whom it has

3 The heart is supposed to be the emanated.

Hear now again my supreme words, most mysterious of all: Thou art greatly beloved by Me, therefore I will declare what is for thy good.

65 Devote thy heart to Me, worship Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down before Me; so shalt thou come to Me. I promise thee truly (for) thou art dear to Me.

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Forsaking all religious duties (j) (dharma), come to Me as the only refuge. I will release thee from all thy sins;1 grieve not.

This (doctrine) is not to be declared to him who practises not austere rites, or who never worships, or who wishes not to hear, nor to one who reviles Me.2

He who shall teach this supreme mystery to those who worship Me, he, offering to Me this highest (act of) worship, shall doubtless come to Me.

Nor is there any one among mankind who can do Me better service than he, nor shall any other on earth be more dear to Me than he.

And by him who shall read this holy converse held by us I may be sought through this sacrifice of knowledge. This is my decree.

1 In the Sankhya system, as taught by Kapila, the deliverance of the soul can only be obtained by knowledge. In the system of Patanjali, the soul, by pious meditation, emancipates itself. This divine agency in the deliverance of the soul is a doctrine peculiar to the Bhagavad Gitā.

2 There is here probably a reference, as Mr. Thomson suggests, to the Śaivyas, who worship Siva as the Supreme Being; for between them and the Vaishṇāvas, or worshippers of Vishņu, as the Supreme,

a strong rivalry has always existed. But they are not the only persons who would revile this doctrine. There were many who cared little for either Vishnu or Śiva, for they desired only such physical enjoy. ments as this world offers. See chap. xvi. 8. This (doctrine) denotes the whole of the system unfolded in the Gitā.

By not practising austere rites is, according to Sridhara, to be “without the practice of religious duties" (dharma).

And the man who may hear it in faith, without reviling, shall attain, when freed (from the body), to the happy regions of the just.

Has this been heard, O son of Pritha! with thy mind fixed on one (object)? Has thy trouble of mind, born of ignorance, been destroyed, O subduer of wealth?

ARJUNA spoke.

My trouble is destroyed. By thy favour, O sinless one! the holy doctrine has been received by me (1). I am now firm (in resolve); my doubt has gone, and I will act according to thy word.

SANJAYA spoke.

Thus I heard this wonderful converse of Vasudeva and the high-minded son of Pṛithā, and my hair stood up on end. 75 By the favour of Vyasa I heard this supreme mystery, (this doctrine of) yoga, taught by Krishna himself, the Lord of yoga, in person.

Remembering, O king! again and again this wonderful holy converse of Kesava (Krishņa) and Arjuna, I rejoice without ceasing.

And remembering again and again that most wonderful form of Hari, my astonishment is great and I rejoice ever

more.

Wherever are Krishna, the Lord of yoga, and the archer son of Pritha, there prosperity, victory, and greatness 1 are certain. Thus I judge.

1 The first is interpreted by Śrīdhara as a royal prosperity, and the last (bhūti) as an increasing expan

sion (abhivṛiddhi) or greatness. Śankara's gloss agrees with this.

Thus the Bhagavad Gītā, Reading the Eighteenth, whose title is

"DEVOTION IN DELIVERANCE AND RENUNCIATION."

M

PHILOLOGICAL NOTES.

(a) Yat karma . . . tyajet. The construction is somewhat difficult, but not, as Mr. Thomson calls it, "ungrammatical." Lassen says, "Lenior foret orationis structura si scriptum esset, ya karma, sed habet lectio recepta quo se tueatur. Verbo in modo potestativo posito subintelligitur tum conjunctio conditionalis, tum pronomen indefinitum; si quis omittat opus quidpiam is," &c. There seems to be only an indefinite pronoun to be supplied, and we may translate the passage, "Whatever work (one) may renounce."

...

(b) Akuśalam karma. Lassen translates the words by "minus prosperum opus." Sridhara explains kusala to mean pleasant or causing pleasure, as a bath at mid-day in summer, and such-like things. Telang follows this explanation. In the Peters. Dict. the word is translated by "Sich in gutem Gustande, in der gehörigen ordnung befindend." Lassen's translation seems to be the true one.

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(c) Ahaitukam. "Does not recognise the true cause (of existence), i.e., final emancipation from matter" (Thomson); qui principiis caret" (Lassen). Sridhara's comment is "not acknowledging creation, not devoted to truth, and not resting in the Supreme." Hetu means cause, and also reason, judgment. The meaning seems to be, as Lassen interprets the passage, that their knowledge or science is not based on reason, or any sound principle of judgment. "Science sans principes" (Burnouf).

(d) Prakrita. "Vilis" (Lassen); "without discrimination, i.e., adopting a common mode of action, not varying with the nature of the thing to be done" (Thomson); "who has no application" (Telang). The word means common, in the sense of vulgar, and thus Prakrit is the name of a dialectic or vulgar form of Sanskrit.

(e) Ayathāvat. Lassen interprets the word by "incongrue;" Brunouf by "confusément;" Thomson, "by which one takes

a wrong view." Dr. Lorinser translates it by "nicht wie's geziemend ist," and this, I think, is the true meaning. Yathāvat corresponds to the French "comme il faut.”

(f) Atmabuddhiprasādajam. "E mentis ipsius serenitate nata" (Lassen, whom Thomson follows); "It flows from knowledge of the soul free from obscurity” (Telang), and this is the interpretation commonly given by Hindu commentators.

(g) Astikyam. "Fides in rebus divinis " (Lassen); "belief in another world" (Thomson); "la connaissance des choses divines" (Burnouf). The word asti = Gr. iori, and the derivative implies that something essentially or eternally exists, referring, according to Hindu commentators, to Brahma and a future world. The negative nastika is found in Manu (ii. 11), where it is said that if one shall despise revelation (śruti) and tradition (smriti), he must be cast out by the virtuous as a sceptic (nastika). Sir W. Jones translates the word "atheist." Lassen's version seems to be most correct, but Sridhara confines the expression to belief in another world. The belief, however, in another world would imply also other beliefs.

(h) Parigraha. Lassen translates this word by "fastus," Thomson by "avarice," Burnouf by "cortège." Telang has "all belongings." The word means whatever a man may gather round him, as attendants or possessions. The recluse must put away what is external to himself, that his soul may be devoted exclusively to pious meditation.

(i) Buddhiyogam upȧśritya. "Mentis devotione fretus" (Lassen); "Practise devotion with the faculty of fixed resolution" (Telang); here, as elsewhere, translating buddhi by "resolve." This, I think, is a mistake, buddhi means intellect, intelligence, and also purpose, intention (absicht, vorsatz, Peters. Dict.), but not resolve in the sense of resoluteness. Moreover, the compound form will hardly bear this interpretation. The Hindu commentators, however, support it. Sridhara speaks of the application of the intellect, but

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