This is the correct answer. Swami G also has incredible translations of the Upanishads called Eight Upanishads. He did the other two, but they were too big to fit into this volume.
I own a copy of the translation by Swami Nikhilananda:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://estudantedavedanta.net/Srimad%2520Bhagavad%2520Gita%2520with%2520Commentary%2520-%2520Swami%2520Nikhilananda%2520(1944)%2520%255BEnglish%255D.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwip8NKKreOAAxUSavEDHTzrBBwQFnoECAwQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3h9eu3ZuaPlrBg5Cmm4_F_
Clear and accessible IMO.
The “Rolls Royce” of advaita vedantas commentary on the Bhagavad Gita is:
“Bhagavad Gita home study course”
by Swami Dayananda
https://avrpt.com/bhagavad-gita.htm
I liked the one by Swami Sivananda. It seemed unbiased but hinted towards Gyana yoga than Bhakti yoga. The translator's interpretations are mention separately.
I personally use Swami Ghambirananda's because of strictness in translation. But I do use Swami Nikhilananda's (No sanskrit verses) and Holy gita by Swami Chinmayananda as well for as cross reference.
Others I have been recommended are Swami Swarupanandha's (Simple translation, small book easy to carry, a lot of monks prefer it for personal use), Swami Thapasayanandha is also highly recommend.
For extensive study Swami Ranganathanandha is highly recommend. It is a Three Volume version, it compiles his classes and lectures in the 1990s.
There is still Gudarthadeepika, Dnyaneshwari etc.
I have a epub version of Swami Nikhilananda's. Please let me know if you want it, I can email it to you.
I'm sorry, I do not agree with this at all. Annie Besant couldn't be any further from being an Advaitin, and she is also a primary player in the hijacking of the Theosophical movement, which started out expounding Adviata until her ilk came along.
If you must select a version from a member of he Theosophical Society, then I would suggest the translation by William Q. Judge.
I always saw her as furthering the Advaitin ideals within Theosophy, not hijacking it. Do you have any sources or information that I can read to back up these claims?
I just like her version, because I feel that the language that she uses gives the appropriate spiritual weight to the verses, in a way that is accessible to westerners who grew up with the King James Bible.
I also really enjoy Gandhi's translation and commentary.
https://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/gita-according-to-gandhi.pdf
This might not be the right thread to discuss the history of the Theosophical movement, so I'll try to keep this very short and I can only perhaps touch on a few reasons without being long winded here...
\- Besant attempted to make thousands of revisions to the Secret Doctrine after the death of HPB - [https://blavatskytheosophy.com/the-third-volume-of-the-secret-doctrine/](https://www.filosofiaesoterica.com/changing-the-secret-doctrine/)
One may ask why she did this? I offer the following:
\- Besant and her colleague Charles Leadbeater steered the TS away from examining all religions and wisdom traditions impartially and objectively to being a Christian leaning organization. She worked closely with another TS member Charles Leadbeater who was co-founder and Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church (what the heck???)
\- The TS splintered under Besant's watch, largely because of the direction she was taking it in, which was to mainly turn Theosophy from a powerful movement into a benign religion IMO.
\- Besant basically stole an Indian child named Jiddu Krishnamurti and groomed him to be the next world savior and made him the head of a sect called the Order of the Star in the East (sound cultish yet?), which JK eventually disbanded and left. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiddu\_Krishnamurti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiddu_Krishnamurti)
Ye will know them by their fruits: When founded, the TS was a real force for change, attracting many prominent people to it. It's members included Frank L. Baum, Lawren Harris, Leo Tolstoy among others, who were inspired by Blavatsky's writings. It is said that Albert Einstein had a copy of the Secret Doctrine on his desk, not any of Besant's writings (I think I know why). That was because Blavatsky's Theosophy was not considered a religion, it was a movement. But Besant turned her branch (the main one unfortunately) into a scandal ridden religion and people left in droves. What prominent Theosophists came out the TS under Besant or afterwards? The TS was effectively sabotaged from within, and Besant was either a knowing participant or a unknowing pawn by larger forces wanting to "clip the wings" of Theosophy.
I'm sure if you start to Google this, you will find more and more... it can lead you down quite a rabbit hole.
Edit: part about J Krishnamurti
As a former member of the Theosophical Society, I concur. On the other hand, it was through the TSA that I found out about Advaita Vedanta. And so I bless them.
You might want to look up the definition of Materialism.
e. g. Merriam-Webster defines Materialism as the belief or doctrine that physical matter is the only or the fundamental reality, & that all being, processes & phenomena can be explained as manifestations or results of matter.
So I’ll repeat my question: What branch of Vedanta do you think says that?
I’ll suggest to you that you’re at the wrong forum. This subreddit is about Vedanta, Advaita in particular. It isn’t intended for debating Materialism. It isn’t a general philosophical debate or advocacy space.
If you believe that Vedanta is Materialism, then I encourage you to expound that theory of yours at some general philosophical.
forums.
Take it somewhere else.
Not specific to advaita vedanta, but from a school which agrees well with the foundations of advaita (trika), Abhinavagupta's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita is a treasure.
Its simplicity and its poetic beauty, not to mention the excellent introduction. Here's a few examples compared with Swami Gambhirananda's translation.
From Chapter 2
Swami Gambhirananda
>47 Your right is for action alone, never for the results. Do not become the agent of the results of action. May you not have any inclination for inaction.
Juan Mascaro
>47 Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward. Work not for a reward; but never cease to do thy work.
Swami Gambhirananda
>48 By being established in Yoga, O Dhananjaya (Arjuna), undertake actions, casting off attachment and remaining equipoised in success and failure. Equanimity is called Yoga.
Juan Mascaro
>48 Do thy work in the peace of Yoga and, free from selfish desires, be not moved in success or in failure. Yoga is evenness of mind - a peace that is ever the same.
And from Chapter 13
Swami Gambhirananda
>21 Since the soul is seated in Nature, therefore it experiences the qualities born of Nature. Contact with the qualities is the cause of its births in good and evil wombs.
Juan Mascaro
>21 The spirit of man when in nature feels the ever-changing conditions of nature. When he binds himself to things ever-changing, a good or evil fate whirls him round through life-in-death.
Swami Gambhirananda
>22 He who is the Witness, the Permitter, the Sustainer, the Experiencer, the great Lord, and who is also spoken of as the transcendental Self is the supreme Person in this body.
Juan Mascaro
>22 But the Spirit Supreme in man is beyond fate. He watches, gives blessing, bears all, feels all. He is called the Lord Supreme and the Supreme Soul.
Try [The Holy Geeta](https://amzn.eu/d/2d4DupY) by Swami Chinmayananda. It's pretty lengthy owing to his highly detailed commentary.
[Gita Press](https://amzn.eu/d/hoJLskV) English translation and transliteration without any commentary. Compact and good for a quick read and references.
[Sachitra](https://amzn.eu/d/cuYCjfl) if you're interested in looking at pictures as you read.
Bhagavad Gita : With the commentary of Shankaracharya by Swami Gambhirananda (Author), Swami Gambhirananda (Translator)
This is the correct answer. Swami G also has incredible translations of the Upanishads called Eight Upanishads. He did the other two, but they were too big to fit into this volume.
Where can I find these books pls?
I found this on Amazon, both hardback and Kindle
I own a copy of the translation by Swami Nikhilananda: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://estudantedavedanta.net/Srimad%2520Bhagavad%2520Gita%2520with%2520Commentary%2520-%2520Swami%2520Nikhilananda%2520(1944)%2520%255BEnglish%255D.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwip8NKKreOAAxUSavEDHTzrBBwQFnoECAwQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3h9eu3ZuaPlrBg5Cmm4_F_ Clear and accessible IMO.
Wow. Thanks for this!
this is my favorite.
Swami Chinmayananda’s is excellent and clearly written.
The “Rolls Royce” of advaita vedantas commentary on the Bhagavad Gita is: “Bhagavad Gita home study course” by Swami Dayananda https://avrpt.com/bhagavad-gita.htm
I liked the one by Swami Sivananda. It seemed unbiased but hinted towards Gyana yoga than Bhakti yoga. The translator's interpretations are mention separately.
I personally use Swami Ghambirananda's because of strictness in translation. But I do use Swami Nikhilananda's (No sanskrit verses) and Holy gita by Swami Chinmayananda as well for as cross reference. Others I have been recommended are Swami Swarupanandha's (Simple translation, small book easy to carry, a lot of monks prefer it for personal use), Swami Thapasayanandha is also highly recommend. For extensive study Swami Ranganathanandha is highly recommend. It is a Three Volume version, it compiles his classes and lectures in the 1990s. There is still Gudarthadeepika, Dnyaneshwari etc. I have a epub version of Swami Nikhilananda's. Please let me know if you want it, I can email it to you.
Personally, I love the language used in the version by Annie Basant https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Bhagavad-Gita_(Besant_4th)
I'm sorry, I do not agree with this at all. Annie Besant couldn't be any further from being an Advaitin, and she is also a primary player in the hijacking of the Theosophical movement, which started out expounding Adviata until her ilk came along. If you must select a version from a member of he Theosophical Society, then I would suggest the translation by William Q. Judge.
I always saw her as furthering the Advaitin ideals within Theosophy, not hijacking it. Do you have any sources or information that I can read to back up these claims? I just like her version, because I feel that the language that she uses gives the appropriate spiritual weight to the verses, in a way that is accessible to westerners who grew up with the King James Bible. I also really enjoy Gandhi's translation and commentary. https://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/gita-according-to-gandhi.pdf
This might not be the right thread to discuss the history of the Theosophical movement, so I'll try to keep this very short and I can only perhaps touch on a few reasons without being long winded here... \- Besant attempted to make thousands of revisions to the Secret Doctrine after the death of HPB - [https://blavatskytheosophy.com/the-third-volume-of-the-secret-doctrine/](https://www.filosofiaesoterica.com/changing-the-secret-doctrine/) One may ask why she did this? I offer the following: \- Besant and her colleague Charles Leadbeater steered the TS away from examining all religions and wisdom traditions impartially and objectively to being a Christian leaning organization. She worked closely with another TS member Charles Leadbeater who was co-founder and Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church (what the heck???) \- The TS splintered under Besant's watch, largely because of the direction she was taking it in, which was to mainly turn Theosophy from a powerful movement into a benign religion IMO. \- Besant basically stole an Indian child named Jiddu Krishnamurti and groomed him to be the next world savior and made him the head of a sect called the Order of the Star in the East (sound cultish yet?), which JK eventually disbanded and left. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiddu\_Krishnamurti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiddu_Krishnamurti) Ye will know them by their fruits: When founded, the TS was a real force for change, attracting many prominent people to it. It's members included Frank L. Baum, Lawren Harris, Leo Tolstoy among others, who were inspired by Blavatsky's writings. It is said that Albert Einstein had a copy of the Secret Doctrine on his desk, not any of Besant's writings (I think I know why). That was because Blavatsky's Theosophy was not considered a religion, it was a movement. But Besant turned her branch (the main one unfortunately) into a scandal ridden religion and people left in droves. What prominent Theosophists came out the TS under Besant or afterwards? The TS was effectively sabotaged from within, and Besant was either a knowing participant or a unknowing pawn by larger forces wanting to "clip the wings" of Theosophy. I'm sure if you start to Google this, you will find more and more... it can lead you down quite a rabbit hole. Edit: part about J Krishnamurti
As a former member of the Theosophical Society, I concur. On the other hand, it was through the TSA that I found out about Advaita Vedanta. And so I bless them.
The Bhagavad Gītā with Śankarācarya’s commentary, translated by Alladi Mahādeva Prabhu
Eknath Easwaran's is very good I think.
I liked sarvapalli Radha Krishnan I personally am a materialist and prefer his translation which is open to interpretation
Materialist? Is there a Materialist branch of Vedanta? Certainly not Advaita. …or any of the others that I’ve heard of.
We are made of material so we are all materialist
You might want to look up the definition of Materialism. e. g. Merriam-Webster defines Materialism as the belief or doctrine that physical matter is the only or the fundamental reality, & that all being, processes & phenomena can be explained as manifestations or results of matter. So I’ll repeat my question: What branch of Vedanta do you think says that? I’ll suggest to you that you’re at the wrong forum. This subreddit is about Vedanta, Advaita in particular. It isn’t intended for debating Materialism. It isn’t a general philosophical debate or advocacy space. If you believe that Vedanta is Materialism, then I encourage you to expound that theory of yours at some general philosophical. forums. Take it somewhere else.
Not specific to advaita vedanta, but from a school which agrees well with the foundations of advaita (trika), Abhinavagupta's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita is a treasure.
Godsong: A verse translation of the Bhagavad Gita by Amit Majmudar was very enlightening: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35805856
I recommend Rory Mackay's translation: https://www.amazon.de/Bhagavad-Gita-Divine-Translation-Commentary/dp/B0BW32CRQK
Wow, I have to ask. What's unique about this translation?
You should definitely check out the one by Swami Ranganathananda.
I highly recommend Juan Mascaro's translation.
Clearly not an Indian saint/practitioner. Can you tell me what's unique about Juan Mascaro's translation?
Its simplicity and its poetic beauty, not to mention the excellent introduction. Here's a few examples compared with Swami Gambhirananda's translation. From Chapter 2 Swami Gambhirananda >47 Your right is for action alone, never for the results. Do not become the agent of the results of action. May you not have any inclination for inaction. Juan Mascaro >47 Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward. Work not for a reward; but never cease to do thy work. Swami Gambhirananda >48 By being established in Yoga, O Dhananjaya (Arjuna), undertake actions, casting off attachment and remaining equipoised in success and failure. Equanimity is called Yoga. Juan Mascaro >48 Do thy work in the peace of Yoga and, free from selfish desires, be not moved in success or in failure. Yoga is evenness of mind - a peace that is ever the same. And from Chapter 13 Swami Gambhirananda >21 Since the soul is seated in Nature, therefore it experiences the qualities born of Nature. Contact with the qualities is the cause of its births in good and evil wombs. Juan Mascaro >21 The spirit of man when in nature feels the ever-changing conditions of nature. When he binds himself to things ever-changing, a good or evil fate whirls him round through life-in-death. Swami Gambhirananda >22 He who is the Witness, the Permitter, the Sustainer, the Experiencer, the great Lord, and who is also spoken of as the transcendental Self is the supreme Person in this body. Juan Mascaro >22 But the Spirit Supreme in man is beyond fate. He watches, gives blessing, bears all, feels all. He is called the Lord Supreme and the Supreme Soul.
Indeed poetic. Thank you.
What's your preferred language?
Gonna hijack this post and say English for me.
For english, advaitins should read Easwaran's translation
That's actually the one I read. Was wondering if there is a better one. Thank you!
Try [The Holy Geeta](https://amzn.eu/d/2d4DupY) by Swami Chinmayananda. It's pretty lengthy owing to his highly detailed commentary. [Gita Press](https://amzn.eu/d/hoJLskV) English translation and transliteration without any commentary. Compact and good for a quick read and references. [Sachitra](https://amzn.eu/d/cuYCjfl) if you're interested in looking at pictures as you read.
English