Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation [Paperback]

Stephen Mitchell is widely known for his ability to make ancient masterpieces thrillingly new, to step in where many have tried before and create versions that are definitive for our time. His celebrated version of the Tao Te Ching is the most popular edition in print, and his translations of Jesus, Rilke, Genesis, and Job have won the hearts of readers and critics alike. Stephen Mitchell now brings to the Bhagavad Gita his gift for breathing new life into sacred texts.

The Bhagavad Gita is universally acknowledged as one of the world's literary and spiritual masterpieces. It is the core text of the Hindu tradition and has been treasured by American writers from Emerson and Thoreau to T. S. Eliot, who called it the greatest philosophical poem after theDivine Comedy. There have been more than two hundred English translations of the Gita, including many competent literal versions, but not one of them is a superlative literary text in its own right.

Now all that has changed. Stephen Mitchell'sBhagavad Gitasings with the clarity, the vigor, and the intensity of the original Sanskrit. It will, as William Arrowsmith said of Mitchell's translation ofThe Sonnets to Orpheus, "instantly make every other rendering obsolete.""Of this world-beloved, timeless classic this is the most poetic rendition."        
-- Huston SmithStephen Mitchell's many books includeThe Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke,The Book of Job,Tao Te Ching,Parables and Portraits,The Gospel According to Jesus,Meetings with the Archangel, andThe Frog Prince.ARJUNA'S DESPAIR

King Dhritarashtra said:

In the field of righteousness, the field of Kuru, tell me, Sanjaya, what happened when my army and the Pandavas faced each other, eager for battle?

The poet Sanjaya said:

Seeing the ranks of the Pandavas' forces, Prince Duryodhana applăs