Gīta Bhāshya Introduction
देवं नारायणं नत्वा सर्वदोषविवर्जितम्। परिपूर्णं गुरूंश्चान् गीतार्थं वक्ष्यामि लेशतः॥
Having bowed to Lord Nārāyaṇa, who is free from all defects and complete in every aspect, and to the Gurus, I shall briefly explain the meaning of the Gītā.
नष्टधर्मज्ञानलोककृपालुभिर्ब्रह्मरुद्रेन्द्रादिभिरर्थितो ज्ञानप्रदर्शनाय भगवान् व्यासोऽवततार।
Requested by Brahmā, Rudra, Indra, and others, who were compassionate toward the world in which dharma and knowledge had been lost, Bhagavān descended as Vyāsa to impart knowledge.
ततश्चेष्टानिष्टप्राप्तिपरिहारसाधनादर्शनाद् वेदार्थाज्ञानाच्च संसारे क्लिश्यमानानां वेदानधिकारिणां स्त्रीशूद्रादीनां च धर्मज्ञानद्वारा मोक्षो भवेदिति कृपालुः सर्ववेदार्थोपबृंहितां तदनुक्तकेवलेश्वरज्ञानदृष्टार्थयुक्तां च सर्वप्राणिनाम् अवगाह्यानवगाह्यरूपां केवलभगवत्स्वरूपपरां परोक्षार्थां महाभारतसंहिताम् अचीक्ऌपत् ॥
Then, seeing that those who were suffering in saṃsāra—due to not knowing the means for attaining the desirable and how to avoid the undesirable, and due to ignorance of the meaning of the Vedas—and also with a view to help women, Śūdras, and others, who were not qualified for Vedic study, so that they might attain liberation through the knowledge of dharma, the compassionate one composed the Mahābhārata-saṃhitā.
It is enriched with the meanings of all the Vedas; it is endowed with knowledge of the sole Lord not stated therein and with evident meanings; it has a form that is both accessible and inaccessible to living beings; it is concerned solely with the nature of Bhagavān; and it possesses indirect meanings.
तच्चोक्तम् –
And it is said:
"लोकेशा ब्रह्मरुद्राद्याः संसारे क्लेशिनं जनम्। वेदार्थाज्ञमधीकारवर्जितं च स्त्रियादिकम्॥"
"The lords of the world—Brahmā, Rudra, and others—(beheld) the people afflicted in saṃsāra, ignorant of the meaning of the Vedas, and also women and others who were excluded from Vedic eligibility."
"अवेक्ष्य प्रार्थयामासुर्देवेशं पुरुषोत्तमम्। ततः प्रसन्नो भगवान् व्यासो भूत्वा च तेन च॥ अन्यावताररूपैश्च वेदेन उक्तार्थभूषितम्। केवलेनात्मबोधेन दृष्टं वेदार्थसंयुतम्॥ वेदादपि परं चक्रे पञ्चमं वेदमुत्तमम्। भारतं पञ्चरात्रं च मूलरामायणं तथा॥ पुराणं भागवतं चेति सम्भिन्नः शास्त्रपुङ्गवः॥"
"Having observed, they prayed to the Lord of gods, the supreme person. Then Bhagavān, being pleased, appeared as Vyasa. Through that and other avatāra forms, made the foremost scripture — adorned with meanings stated by the Veda, imparting pure knowledge of the 'ātman', endowed with Vedic meaning, superior even to the Veda, the excellent fifth Veda — divided as the Bhārata, Pañcarātra, Mūlarāmāyaṇa, Purāṇa, and Bhāgavata."
इति नारायणाष्टाक्षरकल्पे।
- stated thus in the Narayana Ashtaksharakalpa.
"ब्रह्माऽपि तन्न जानाति ईषत् सर्वोऽपि जानति। बह्वर्थमृषयस्तत्तु भारतं प्रवदन्ति हि॥"
"Even Brahmā does not know it fully; everyone knows only a little of it. The sages indeed declare that the Bhārata has many meanings."
इत्युपनारदीये
- states Upanaradiya.
"ब्रह्माद्यैः प्रार्थितो विष्णुर्भारतं स चकार ह। यस्मिन् दशार्थाः सर्वत्र न ज्ञेयाः सर्वजन्तुभिः॥"
"Requested by Brahmā and others, Lord Viṣṇu indeed composed the Bhārata, in which ten meanings are present everywhere, (yet) are not knowable by all beings."
इति नारदीये।
- states Naradīya.
"भारतं चापि कृतवान् पञ्चमं वेदमुत्तमम्। दशावरार्थम् सर्वत्र केवलं विष्णुबोधकम्। परोक्षार्थं तु सर्वत्र वेदादप्युत्तमं तु यत्॥"
"He (Vyāsa) composed the Mahabharata as the supreme fifth Veda, which has at least ten meanings, and solely reveals Lord Vishnu everywhere. However, its indirect meanings are considered superior even to the Vedas."
इति स्कान्दे।
- stated thus in the Skanda Purana.
"यदि विद्याच्चतुर्वेदान् साङ्गोपनिषदान् द्विजः। न चेत् पुराणं संविद्यान्नैव स स्याद् विचक्षणः॥"
"Even if a twice-born person knows the four Vedas together with their limbs and the Upaniṣads, if he does not properly know the Purāṇa, he cannot be considered truly discerning."
(म.भा..१.१.२६८)
- (Mahābhārata 1.1.268)
"इतिहासपुराणाभ्यां वेदं समुपबृंहयेत्। बिभेत्यल्पश्रुताद् वेदो मामयं प्रचलिष्यति।"
"One should supplement the Veda by means of Itihāsa and Purāṇa. The Veda fears the person of little learning, (thinking), ‘Lest this one will distort me.’"
-म.भा.आदि.१.२९३
-Mahābhārata 1.1.293
"मन्वादि केचिद् ब्रुवते ह्यास्तीकादि तथाऽपरे। तथोपरिचराद्यन्ये भारतं परिचक्षते।"
"Some indeed say that the Bhārata begins with the story of Manu; others likewise say it begins with the story of Āstīka; and yet others describe the Bhārata as beginning with the story of Uparicara (Vasu)."
म.भा.आदि.१.६६
- Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Chapter 1, Verse 66.
"भारतं सर्ववेदाश्च तुलामारोपिताः पुरा। देवैर्ब्रह्मादिभिः सर्वैः ऋषिभिश्च समन्वितैः। व्यासस्यैवाज्ञया तत्र त्वत्यरिच्यत भारतम्॥"
"In ancient times, commanded by Vyāsa, all the gods, beginning with Brahmā, together with the sages, placed the Mahābhārata and all the Vedas upon a balance; the Bhārata outweighed them all."
-ब्रह्माण्डपुराणे
- stated thus in the Brahmanda Purana.
"महत्त्वाद् भारवत्त्वाच्च महाभारतमुच्यते। निरुक्तमस्य यो वेद सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते।"
"Because of its greatness and because of its weightiness, it is called the Mahābhārata. Whoever knows its etymological explanation is freed from all sins."
(म.भा.१.३००)
- Mahabharata, 1.1.300
"यदिहास्ति तदन्यत्र यन्नेहास्ति न कुत्रचित्॥"
"Whatever is found here (in the Mahabharata) is found elsewhere; whatever is not found here is found nowhere."
म.भा.आदि ५.५०
- Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Chapter 5, Verse 50.
"विराटोद्योगसारवान्"
"It possesses its essence in the Virāṭa and Udyoga Parvans."
-म भा.१.८९
-Mahabharata 1.89.
इत्यादितद्वाक्यपर्यालोचनया, ऋषिसम्प्रदायात्,
By examining the above statements and looking at the content that has come through the disciple succession of sages (risi-sampradaya), the following sentence:
"को ह्यन्यः पुण्डरीकाक्षान्महाभारतकृद् भवेत्"
"Who else but Puṇḍarīkākṣa could have composed the Mahābhārata?"
-वायुप्रोक्तवचनम्
- the message conveyed by the wind god.
इत्यादिपुराणग्रन्थान्तरगतवाक्यान्यथानुपपत्त्या, नारदाध्ययनादिलिङ्गैश्चावसीयते।
It is ascertained by statements such as these found in other Purāṇic texts, by the impossibility of any other explanation, and by indicators such as Nārada’s study and the like.
"कथमन्यथा भारतनिरुक्तिज्ञानमात्रेण सर्वपापक्षयः?"
"How otherwise (could there be) the destruction of all sins by mere knowledge of the etymology of ‘Bhārata’?"
प्रसिद्धश्च सोऽर्थः।
- this meaning is well established.
कथं चान्यस्य न कर्तुं शक्यते। ग्रन्थान्तरगतत्वाच्च नाविद्यमानस्तुतिः। न च कर्तुरेव। इतरत्रापि साम्यात्।
And how could another (other than Vyasa) have composed it? Since the statement is found in another work as well, it is not praise of something nonexistent; nor is it merely the composer’s own praise.
तत्र च सर्वभारतार्थसङ्ग्रहां वासुदेवार्जुनसंवादरूपां भारतपारिजातमधुभूतां गीताम् उपनिबबन्ध। तच्चोक्तम्–
There (within the Mahabharata) he composed the Gītā, which summarizes the meaning of the whole Bhārata, takes the form of the dialogue between Vāsudeva and Arjuna, being the honey of the pārijāta tree that is the Bhārata. And this is stated–
"भारतं सर्वशास्त्रेषु भारते गीतिका वरा। विष्णोः सहस्रनामापि ज्ञेयं पाठ्यं च तद् द्वयम्॥"
"Among all scriptures, the Bhārata is supreme; within the Bhārata, the Gītā is preeminent; likewise, the Thousand Names of Viṣṇu — these two should be understood and recited."
इति महाकौर्मे।
- stated thus in the great Kaurma Purana.
"स हि धर्मः सुपर्याप्तो ब्रह्मणः पदवेदने"
"That dharma (as shown in Gīta) is indeed fully sufficient for knowing the state of Brahman."
म.भा.१३.१६.१२. ।
- Mahabharata, 13.16.12.
इत्यादि च।
We find other such statements as well.
Summary
(1) The essence of Vedic knowledge was difficult to understand for common people in the olden days. Also, it was inaccessible to the working class and women. Kind-hearted sage Vyasa composed the Mahabharata to impart transcendental knowledge of Vedas to the whole of humanity.
(2) It shows the nature of both impediments and enablement, the way to overcome past defective impressions and the means to realise truth. By studying it, one can gain kēvala-jnāna, the transcendental knowledge that results in liberation.
(3) The significance of the Mahabharata and the divinity of Vyasa as an incarnation of the Godhead is established by providing various testimonials drawn from both traditional texts (smritis) and through disciple succession (risi-sampradāya).
(4) It is also established, through testimonials, that the Mahabharata has multiple layered meaning, not easily understandable by everyone.
(5) Within the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad-Gita, in the form of a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna, contains its essence. Hence, one should study the same.
(6) The testimonials quoted include Narayana Ashtaksharakalpa, Upanaradiya, Naradīya, Skanda Purana, Kaurma Purana, and also statements from other parts of the Mahabharata, of which Bhagavad Gita is a subset.
