[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Bhagavad Gita - As it actually is | Sanatana Dharma | Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada & Bhakti | Sringeri

[V Subrahmanian]

Dear Raghav ji,

This question: whether the Bh/Gitopadesha to Arjuna, where Arjuna too
speaks, happened in metrical form alone? is something that is difficult to
answer. Krishna might have had the capacity to convey his ideas in shloka
forms. But did Arjuna too have that capacity? And Dhritarashtra and Sanjaya
too speak in metrical verses. I think the sublime teaching has been
composed by the author of the Mahabharata, in verse form.  In the
Bhagavatam, fifth skandha and perhaps elsewhere, there is gadya, prose
too.  The Mahabharata too has prose sections, it is reliably learnt.

regards
subbu

On Sun, Apr 13, 2025 at 7:07 AM Raghav Kumar Dwivedula via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste Chandramouli ji
>
> On Sat, 12 Apr 2025 at 2:23 PM, H S Chandramouli via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> > Namaste.
> >
> > Sri Bhagavatpada, in the Introduction (upOdghAta)   of his Bhashya on BG,
> > states as follows.
> >
> > // तं धर्मं भगवता यथोपदिष्टं वेदव्यासः सर्वज्ञो भगवान् गीताख्यैः सप्तभिः
> > श्लोकशतैरुपनिबबन्ध ॥ //
> >
> > //  taM dharmaM bhagavatA yathopadiShTaM vedavyAsaH sarvaj~no bhagavAn
> > gItAkhyaiH saptabhiH shlokashatairupanibabandha || //
> >
> > Translation //  VedavyAsa,  who was omniscient and possessed of godly
> > qualities,  set forth in seven hundred verses under the name Gita, that
> > dharma as it was instructed by the Bhagavan //.
>
>
> Thank you for that very germane bhAShya reference.
>
> I have had to convey several times the same clear answer which you quoted
> from the primary source, to many friends who sometimes find it puzzling
> that the gItA *metrical* verses were taught in a *battlefield scenario*.
> (The younger members sometimes raise this question as if they have spotted
> a loophole  which nobody saw! They don’t know that the shAstra tradition
> already acknowledges this apprehension and has no hesitation in the role of
> vyAsa bhagavan (an avatAra or aadhikarika puruSha) in this.
>
> Om
> Raghav
>
> >
> >
> > Sri SSS, in a Foot Note, mentions as under.
> >
> > //  2. ವ್ಯಾಸರೂ ನಾರಾಯಣನ ಅಂಶಸಂಭೂತರೇ ; ಆದ್ದರಿಂದಲೇ ಅವರು ಶ್ರೀಕೃಷ್ಣನು
> > ಹೇಳಿದ್ದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವದಕ್ಕೂ ಸಂಜಯನಿಗೆ ಅದನ್ನು ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಂಡು
> > ಧೃತರಾಷ್ಟ್ರನಿಗೆ ಹೇಳುವ ದಿವ್ಯದೃಷ್ಟಿಯನ್ನು ಅನುಗ್ರಹಿಸುವದಕ್ಕೂ ಶಕ್ತರಾದರು
> ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು
> > ಸರ್ವಜ್ಞರಾದ, ಭಗವದ್ರೂಪರಾದ ಎಂಬ ವಿಶೇಷಣಗಳು ಸೂಚಿಸುತ್ತವೆ //.
> >
> > Translation // The adjectives  Sarvajna/BhagavadrUpa  indicate that ;;
> >  VyAsa is an incarnation of NarAyaNa only ; Hence  he  was able to
> > assimilate whatever Sri Krishna instructed, and also had the ability to
> > endow  Sanjaya with the Divine Vision  to understand and convey  the same
> > to DhritarAshtra  as well //.
> > Regards
> >
> > On Sat, Apr 12, 2025 at 3:32 AM putran M <putranm4 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Namaskaram,
> > >
> > > Wonderful initiative; knowledgeable and pleasing to hear. Typically we
> > see
> > > this type of scholarly discussion done in Sanskrit; but here it is a
> > fresh
> > > approach with young erudite vidwans discussing in the English language.
> > > Looking into their page, I recall seeing episode 1 of the earlier
> series
> > on
> > > Sanatana Dharma (which now has other videos on important topics).
> Ideally
> > > time-stamps can be added.
> > >
> > > The explanations on the importance of karma and the nature of advaita
> > > bhakti are presented clearly and convincingly. I have read people claim
> > > that adi shankara distorted Gita's meaning in order to push through his
> > own
> > > siddhanta. These scholars not only took that claim head on but simply
> > > inverted it on its head - that it is shankara who took great care to
> > convey
> > > the actual meanings without the least distortion.
> > >
> > > I was not sure about the statement that Veda Vyasa wrote the Gita based
> > on
> > > his knowledge of the Vedas. Is it not typically understood that Vyasa
> > wrote
> > > the Gita that Krishna spoke to Arjuna? We think of the verses as if
> that
> > is
> > > what Krishna actually uttered, and not as a paraphrasing into poetry by
> > > Vyasa - right?
> > >
> > > thollmelukaalkizhu
> > >
> > > On Fri, Apr 11, 2025 at 1:32 PM V Subrahmanian <
> v.subrahmanian at gmail.com
> > >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > >>
> > >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRholdfu_GM
> > >>
> > >> --
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> > >> <
> >
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> > >
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