Poetry Codex

Indian

Vyasa

traditional; the Bhagavad Gita composed c. 400 BC – AD 200

Vyasa (Krishna Dvaipayana) is the legendary sage to whom Indian tradition ascribes the Mahabharata, the compilation of the Vedas and the Puranas. His attribution is traditional: no historical author can be identified, and scholars regard the Mahabharata as the work of many hands over several centuries.

The Bhagavad Gita, 'the Song of the Lord', is a dialogue of 700 Sanskrit verses set in the sixth book of the Mahabharata, in which the god Krishna, as charioteer, counsels the warrior-prince Arjuna on the eve of battle at Kurukshetra. It is usually dated between about the 4th century BC and the 2nd century AD. It is read here in Sir Edwin Arnold's blank-verse rendering, The Song Celestial (1885). The archive now holds Kisari Mohan Ganguli’s complete English prose translation (1883–1896) in all eighteen books, from the Adi Parva to the Svargarohanika Parva, alongside Romesh Chunder Dutt’s verse condensation.

Major Works (22)

  1. The Song Celestial — translated by Sir Edwin Arnold (1885)
  2. Indian Idylls — translated by Sir Edwin Arnold (1883)
  3. Maha-bharata — translated by Romesh Chunder Dutt (1899)
  4. The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  5. The Mahabharata, Book 10: Sauptika Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  6. The Mahabharata, Book 11: Stri Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  7. The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  8. The Mahabharata, Book 13: Anusasana Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  9. The Mahabharata, Book 14: Aswamedhika Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  10. Book 15: Asramavasika Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  11. Book 16: Mausala Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  12. Book 17: Mahaprasthanika Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  13. Book 18: Svargarohanika Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  14. The Mahabharata, Book 2: Sabha Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  15. The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  16. The Mahabharata, Book 4: Virata Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  17. The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  18. The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  19. The Mahabharata, Book 7: Drona Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  20. The Mahabharata, Book 8: Karna Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  21. The Mahabharata, Book 9: Shalya Parva — translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (published by Pratap Chandra Roy, 1883–1896)
  22. Nala and Damayanti — translated by Henry Hart Milman (1835)

Poems (2)

  1. The Brahmin's Lament
  2. The Deluge

See Vyasa in the full archive →