The Bhagavad Gita (Suny Series in Cultural Perspectives) (Suny Series, Cultural Perspectives) [Paperback]

Christopher Chapple (Editor), Winthrop Sargeant (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1984 | Series: Suny Series, Cultural Perspectives

739 pages.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 766 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press; Revised edition (June 30, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873958306
• ISBN-13: 978-0873958301
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #575,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Bhagavad Gita

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and indispensable bilingual edition., March 1, 2001

By 

tepi "tepi" - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Bhagavad Gita (Suny Series in Cultural Perspectives) (Suny Series, Cultural Perspectives) (Paperback)

I long ago lost count of the different editions of the Bhagavad Gita that I have, but it must certainly be over twenty. Of them I keep two constantly by my side, one of which is that by Winthrop Sargeant. For lovers of the Gita who, even though they may be innocent of Sanskrit, would like to approach the text in its original language, a language of great force and beauty, there could be no finer edition.

Each page is devoted to a single verse of the Gita and gives, in the left column, line by line - the Sanskrit text in Devanagari letters, its transliteration, and a word by word literal translation. Then follows a prose translation of the entire verse with, at the bottom of the page, occasional light annotations.

In the right column we are given Sargeant's incredibly useful grammatical analysis of every single word. This analysis, which also gives relevant English synonyms, is evidently a labor of love which involved Sargeant in an enormous amount of work. In the many bilingual editions I have examined, I've never seen anything that even approached it, and we should all be intensely grateful to Mr Sargeant for having, out of the goodness of his heart, provided us with such an invaluable tool.

If this book has a weakness, it is perhaps that the Devanagari script is printed in far too tiny a font; but, since it is immediately followed by transliteration into the Roman alphabet, no great harm is done. Also, since Sargeant's edition has a linguistic orientation, one will have to look elsewhere for a 'philosophic' commentary.

Readers who may be new to Sanskrit, and who would like to get a bit of grounding in the language before approaching the Bhagavad Gita, might take a look at Thomas Egenes, 'Introduction to Sanskrit' (1989). There are many primers of Sanskrit on the market, but this is undoubtedly the best as not (like that, for example, of Michael Coulson) overloading the beginner with too much detail. It also has the additional merit of printing the Devanagari letters in a large clear font, something that will be appreciated by anyone who has ever attempted to learn this difficult script.

Those who may already be comfortable with Devanagari, and who are looking for a bilingual edition of the Bhagavad Gita which, besides giving a word by word transliteration and translation, also gives a prose translation and full commentary, might look at the edition by Swami Gambhirananda with the commentary of Sankaracarya (1995). This is the second edition that I keep constantly by my side, since the two serve to complement each other beautifully.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best and most useful Bhagavad Gita translation available, January 8, 2001

By 

Walter O. Koenig "Amoxtli" (San Diego, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bhagavad Gita (Suny Series in Cultural Perspectives) (Suny Series, Cultural Perspectives) (Paperback)

This Bhagavad Gita translation is probably the best currently available for a number of reasons. Four texts are given: The original Sanskrit Devanagari Script; a Romanized transliteration which allows the reader to hear the sound of the Sanskrit text; an interlinear word-for-word translation and finally Sargeant's rendering in English prose. A vocabulary is also provided which gives alternate meanings of the Sanskirt words, as well as their grammatical charactersitcs. Thus the reader can get a feeling for the Sanskrit Text, its metrical formation as well as grammatical structure. This is invaluable for Sanskrit Students and also for those seeking to get closer to the original text. I also like the fact that this is a one verse per page transalation, so there is ample room for all the features described. In addition there is a good introduction to the Mahabharata and the place of the Bhagavad Gita in the Epic.

Some may argue that Sargeant's prose rendering is not as "poetic" as some other translations. To this I answer that those translations are probably farther removed from the original than Sargaeant's, and he provides the other renderings as well, so the critical reader can check up on him. I have compared this translation to those of M.N. Dutt, Edgerton, K.M. Ganguli, Miller, Zimmer, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, Paramahansa Yogananda, and others, and Sargeant certainly holds his own. It is the apparatus he provides which sets his translation apart.

Finally I would like to stress that there is no one "correct" translation and much less interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita. Indeed no interpretation in the form of purports or commentaries is provided here. The universality and flexibility is the beauty of this text that seems to defy translation and specific categorization and interpretation. I am sure that many other translations will follow of this timless text, but in the meantime, Sargeant's translation will prove to be most useful to readers and scholars alike. I recommend it most highly.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, June 28, 2006

By 

Ashutosh Srivastava - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bhagavad Gita (Suny Series in Cultural Perspectives) (Suny Series, Cultural Perspectives) (Paperback)

There are already some reviews about this book. All of those reviews are 5-starred. My review is somewhat redundant. However, after owning the book for almost two years, I feel compelled to write a short 5-star review.

* The book is easy to read. Reading it improves your Sanskrit knowledge rather than requiring that you know Sanskrit in order to read the book. You can actually recite the verses with the correct pronunciation.

* The introduction is very nice. It orients you with the setting and introduces you to the main characters in the epic.

* There is absolutely no commentary. I found this useful because otherwise you have to spend too much time traversing the individual verses.

* The book is great for people with limited time on hand. I read and re-read most of the book on the train commuting to and from work.

* The typesetting/fonts are great. I could not find a single flaw.