Bhagavad Gita - Or Dialogue of Kree?shna and Arjoon - Translated by Charles Wilkins

Sep 18, 2026

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Translation and prefatory material for the Bhagavat-Geeta presented as dialogues of Kree?shna and Arjoon, framed within the Mahabharat tradition. The text discusses the work’s antiquity and cultural veneration, explains its place in the larger Hindu literary and moral system, and sets expectations for readers regarding obscurity, redundancy, and interpretive judgments. It includes publication context and an address recommending the work to the public.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages116

Reading Time4 h 52 min

AccessFree to download

Letter and publication motives

Context within the Mahabharat

Reader guidance and editorial intent

Bagavadgita.English O4t # a"BhagorecdzaBHĂGVĂT-GEETA, OR D IA LOGUE S OF # KRĚESHNA AND ARyOON. TRANSLATED BY CHA RLES NEW YOR K: REPRINTED FOR GEO.P.PHILES,NEw YoRK UNIVERS₁TY. M.D.ccc.LXVII. [261 coPIE PKINTED roR sUBCRIBZRs.] BL1130w5 1867a BRADSTREET PRES8. 67- TH E BHÅGVAT-G EE TA, O R D I A L 0 G U E S O F KRĚSHNA AND ARyoON; I N EIGHTEEN LECTURES; WIT H N 0 T E S. TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL,IN THE San/kreet,OR ANCIENTLANGUAGE OF THE Brabmans, B Y C H A R L E S W IL K I N S, 8ENIOR MERCHANT IN THE 8ERVICE OF THE HONOURABLE THE EA8T INDIACOMPANY,ON THEIR BENGAL ESTABLI8HMENT, L O N D o N: PRINTED FOR c.NOUR8E,OPPOSITE CATHARINE-8TREET,IN THE 8TRAND. M.DCC.LXXXV.. MAY 3otb,I785. # ADV E RT I S EM EN T. THE following Work is publijbed under the authority of theCourt of Direcors of the Eaf India Company,by the particulardefire and recommendation of the Governor General of India;whofeletter to the Chairman of the Company will fuficiently explain themotives for its publication,and furnib the bef tefimony of thefidelity,accuracy,and merit of the Tranflator. The antiquity of the original,and the veneration in wbicb it bathbeen held for fo many ages,by a very confderable portion of thebuman race,muf render it one of the greatef curio fities ever prefentedto the literary world. TO NAT HANIEL SMITH,Efquire. Banaris,4th October 1784. S I R, TOyou,as to the firft member of the first commercial body,not only of the prelent age,but of all the known genera-tions of mankind,I prefume to offer,and to recommend throughyou,for an offering to the public,a very curious fpecimen of theLiterature,the Mythology,and Morality of the ancient Hindoos.It is an epifodical extract from the“Mahabharat,”a moft volu-minous pocm,affirmed to havc_bccn written upwards of fourthoufand years ago,by Kreefhna Dwypayen Veias,a learned Bra-min;to whom is alfo attributed the compilation of“The Four“Vedes,or Bedes,”the only exifting original fcriptures of thereligion of Brahma;and the compofition of all the Poorâns,which are to this day taught in their fchools,and venerated aspoems of divine infpiration.Among thefe,and of fuperior efti-mation to the reft,is ranked the Mahabharat.But if the feveralbooks here enumerated be really the productions of their reputedauthor,which is greatly to be doubted,many arguments may beadduced to afcribe to the fame fource the invention of the religionitfelf,as well as its promulgation:and he muft,at all events,claim the merit of having firft reduced thegrofs and fcattered tenetsof their former faith into a fcientific and allegorical fyftem. The Mahabharat contains the genealogy and general hiftoryof the houfe of Bhaurut,fo called from Bhurrut,its founder;theepithet Mahâ,or Great,being prefixed in token of diftincion:butits [6] its more particular objeat is to relate the diffentions and wars oíthe two great collateral branches of it,called Kooroos and Pan-doos;both lineally defcended in the fecond degree from Veechee-traveerya,their common anceftor,by their refpedive fathers Dree-trarafhtra and Pandoo. The Kooroos,which indeed is fometimes ufed as a term com-prehending the whole family,but moft frequently applied as thepatronymic of the elder branch alone,are faid to have been onehundred in number,of whom Dooryodun was efteemed the headand reprefentative even during the life of his father,who was in-capacitated by blindrefs.The fons of Pandoo were five;Yood-hifhteer,Bheem,Arjoon,Nekool,and Sehadeo;who,through theartifices of Dooryodun,were banifhed,by their uncle and guardianDreetrarafhtra,from Haftenapoor,at that time the feat of govern-ment of Hindoftan. The exiles,after a feries of adventures,worked up with a won-derful fertility of genius and pomp of language into a thoufandfublime defcriptions,returned with a powerful army to avengetheir wrongs,and affert their pretenfions to the empire in right oftheir father;by whom,though the younger br

FAQs

What work is being presented in this document?

It presents the Bhagavat-Geeta as a dialogue between Kree?shna and Arjoon, with translation by Charles Wilkins.

How does the document relate the Geeta to the Mahabharat?

It describes the Geeta as an episodical extract from the Mahabharat and explains the larger family history that frames the dialogue.

What guidance does the translator give to readers?

The translator asks readers to allow for obscurity and apparent redundancy, and to judge the work without applying European standards or unrelated religious and moral references.

Sep 18, 2026

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