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Bhagavadgita: A New Translation

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No translation of the Bhagavad Gita into English will please everyone. The reason is simple: readers have different purposes in reading the Gita. For the devout Hindu and yogi, a translation that stays as close to the original Sanskrit is no doubt to be preferred. Yet even between Hindu and yogi there can be a difference of opinion. The Hindu, especially if he or she is of a conservative bent, may prefer a translation that chooses English words that support a literal interpretation of this great spiritual work, while a yogi, especially if he or she is follower of Patanjali, might prefer a translation that emphasizes practice and study. A general reader might prefer a translation that makes the text readily accessible without having to delve too deeply into Vedic philosophy. A student of literature might prefer the most elegant and poetic translation. And so it goes. A poetic translation must of necessity sacrifice some literal meaning, while a strictly literal translation may make for difficult reading. There is a dictum to which I subscribe, and it is repeated here by Professor Bolle on page 238, to the effect that when translating literature and in particular poetry, something is always lost in translation. Consequently, by this rule, if by no other, no single translation of the Gita will serve. Therefore we have many translations, and as English grows and our attitudes toward the world change, ever so subtly, there will arise a need for new translations.

Professor Bolle's belief that "A translation should speak for itself" (p. 220) means that one should be able to read the text and make sense of it without recourse to other works. As a practical matter this means that a work that arose in a time and place far different from here and now, and within a culture with assumptions, traditions and beliefs very different from our own, must perforce be somewhat altered from the original in order that we may understand it without help. Another of Bolle's beliefs is that if possible every Sanskrit word should be translated into English. Thus he avoids such words as yoga, brahman, karma, etc.

Bolle also believes that "a good translation creates the illusion that the text...could have been composed in the modern tongue of the reader" (p. 221). Very literal translations, such as the one Franklin Edgerton did for the Harvard Oriental Series many years ago, necessarily give up this illusion. Which is better, a translation agreeable with "the modern tongue," or one that is as close to a word for word translation as possible? As above, it really depends on your reasons for reading the text. For this reason, and for others, I believe that all translations of the Gita are good, and rate this book, as I have others, as a five-star effort. However, beware that there are some translations of the Gita that are not very good and would not in my mind rate even one star. Bolle gives an example on page 236 of an attempt by one Arthur W. Ryder from 1929 who rhymed every other line, e.g., "To work? or not to work? Such are/The questions that perplex/Even the poets. Therefore I/Will solve the doubts that vex,/Imparting knowledge apt to save/Your soul from sinful flecks..." (p. 236; Gita 4.16 ff.). Such an (interesting) effect is certainly not in keeping with the dignity and serious purpose of the Gita!

Bolle's is a very readable and accessible version in which the Sanskrit appears on the left facing page and the English on the right, verse by verse. The text of the Gita is presented first in this book without any introduction in keeping with Bolle's dictum that "a translation should speak for itself." The text is followed by Part Two, "On Translating the Gita," which is an elegant and fascinating essay on not only the considerations and challenges the translator faces in rendering the Gita into English, but on translating in general. There is a short bibliography and then a Sanskrit Concordance and an English Guide to the concordance. This is a superior book that ought to be brought back into print.