Gīta Bhāshya Introduction

देवं नारायणं नत्वा सर्वदोषविवर्जितम्। परिपूर्णं गुरूंश्चान् गीतार्थं वक्ष्यामि लेशतः॥

devaṁ nārāyaṇaṁ natvā sarvadoṣavivarjitam। paripūrṇaṁ gurūṁścān gītārthaṁ vakṣyāmi leśataḥ॥

[देवम् (devam) - god; नारायणम् (nārāyaṇam) - Narayana; नत्वा (natvā) - having bowed; सर्व-दोष-विवर्जितम् (sarva-doṣa-vivarjitam) - free from all faults; परिपूर्णम् (paripūrṇam) - complete; गुरून् (gurūn) - teachers; च (ca) - and; गीत-अर्थम् (gīta-artham) - meaning of the Gita; वक्ष्यामि (vakṣyāmi) - I shall speak; लेशतः (leśataḥ) - briefly;]

I bow to Lord Narayana, who is devoid of all defects, and to the perfect Guru, and I shall explain the meaning of the Gita in brief.

Summary

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 dēvas seeing the suffering of the ignorant people, prayed to the Godhead. The merciful Lord appeared as sage Vyasa and composed the Mahabharata to impart transcendental knowledge. It shows the nature of both impediments and enablement, the way to overcome accumulated sins and the means to realise reality. It also shows how to get liberation through the knowledge of dharma. By studying it, one can gain kēvala-jnāna, the transcendental knowledge that results in liberation. The significance of the Mahabharata and the divinity of Vyasa as an incarnation of the Godhead is established by providing various testimonials. These testimonials are drawn from various traditional texts (smritis) and statements coming down through disciple succession (risi-sampradāya). 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.

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