Transcreation of the Bhagavad Gita, 1st edition

For courses in Indian or Asian Philosophy or Religions, Asian Studies, Non-Western Civilizations, Survey of World Religions, Great Texts of Humankind, and Philosophical Ideas in Literature. Unlike all other English translations of the Bhagavad Gita — which are either too literal and abstract, or written in very formal, incomprehensible English, or are philosophically one-sided — this student-friendly “transcreation” offers an unbiased philosophical perspective and presents the main religious and philosophical themes of the Bhagavad Gita in simple/ordinary language easily accessible to today's students. It enables them to read this great work as if it were originally written in their own language — and to capture the excitement of discovering its relevance to their own lives.

• Offers a student-friendly transcreation — rather than a pure translation — that enables the translation to be briefer and more effective in bringing out clearly the main teaching and spirit of each chapter of this great text. Pg.___

  • Uses a simple, clear, and non-pedantic style and language that is accessible to all levels of students — yet captures the religious and philosophical concepts in all their complexity. Pg.___

  • Omits words and phrases which are not essential to the understanding of the major themes or spirit of the book. Pg.___

  • Eliminates all diacritical marks for Sanskrit words (uses “sh” for the sibilant “s” and “ri” for “r”) and translates all Sanskrit words into simple English words — to provide a smoother reading of the text. Pg.___

• Describes difficult words and major names in simple language in footnotes at the bottom of each page and in a glossary at the back of the text. Pg.___

• Begins with a brief introduction and a short story outline of the Bhagavad Gita to stimulate students' interest for reading the actual text. Pg.___

• Presents the actual transcreation of the text of the Bhagavad Gita in eighteen chapters.

  • Begins each chapter with a succinct summary of the main issues covered in the chapter — and thus provides a continuing thematic map to the philosophical/religious territory of the Bhagavad Gita. Pg.___

• Concludes with an Afterword that presents a succinct analysis of classical, modern, contemporary, and recent interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita — and reveals the importance of this great text for Hindus as well as for the world. Pg.___