MEDITATION ON THE GITA

` pawaRy àitbaeixta< -gvta naray[enSvy<,
Vyasen ¢iwta< pura[muinna mXye mha-artm!,
AÖEtam&tvi;R[I— -gvtImòadzaXyaiynI<,
AMb TvamnusNdxaim -gvÌIte -vÖei;[Im!.

1. Om. O Bhagavad Gita, with which Partha was illumined by Lord Narayana Himself, and which was composed within the Mahabharata by the ancient sage, Vyasa, O Divine Mother, the destroyer of rebirth, the showerer of the nectar of Advaita, and consisting of eighteen discourses—upon Thee, O Gita, O affectionate Mother, I meditate!

nmaeStu te Vyas ivzalbuÏe )…‘arivNdaytpÇneÇ,
yen Tvya -arttElpU[R> àJvailtae }anmy> àdIp>.

2. Salutations unto thee, O Vyasa, of broad intellect and with eyes like the petals of a full-blown lotus, by whom the lamp of knowledge, filled with the oil of the Mahabharata, has been lighted!

àpÚpairjatay taeÇveÇEkpa[ye,
}anmuÔay k«:[ay gItam&tÊhe nm>.

3. Salutations to Lord Krishna, the Parijata or the Kalpataru or the bestower of all desires for those who take refuge in Him, the holder of the whip in one hand, the holder of the symbol of divine knowledge and the milker of the divine nectar of the Bhagavad Gita!

svaeRpin;dae gavae daeGxa gaepalnNdn>,
pawaeR vTs> suxI-aeRKta ÊGx< gItam&tm! mht!.

4. All the Upanishads are the cows; the milker is Krishna; the cowherd boy, Partha (Arjuna), is the calf; men of purified intellect are the drinkers; the milk is the great nectar of the Gita.

vsudevsut< dev< k<sca[UrmdRnm!,
devkIprmanNd< k«:[< vNde jgÌ‚ém!.

5. I salute Sri Krishna, the world-teacher, son of Vasudeva, the destroyer of Kamsa and Chanura, the supreme bliss of Devaki!

-I:mÔae[tqa jyÔwjla gaNxarnIlaeTpla,
zLy¢ahvtI i³pe[ vhnI k[eRn velak…la,
AñTwamivk[R"aermkra ÊyaeRxnavitRnI,
saeÄI[aR olu pa{fvEr[ndI kEvtRk> kezv>.

6. With Kesava as the helmsman, verily was crossed by the Pandavas the battle-river, whose banks were Bhishma and Drona, whose water was Jayadratha, whose blue lotus was the king of Gandhara, whose crocodile was Salya, whose current was Kripa, whose billow was Karna, whose terrible alligators were Vikarna and Asvatthama, whose whirlpool was Duryodhana.

parazyRvc>sraejmml< gItawRgNxaeTkq<
nanaOyankkesr< hirkwa sMbaexnabaeixtm!,
laeke s¾n ;qœpdErhrh> pepIyman< muda
-UyaÑartp<kj< kilml àXviMsn> ïeyse.

7. May this lotus of the Mahabharata, born in the lake of the words of Vyasa, sweet with the fragrance of the meaning of the Gita, with many stories as its stamens, fully opened by the discourses of Hari, the destroyer of the sins of Kali, and drunk joyously by the bees of good men in the world, become day by day the bestower of good to us!

mUk< kraeit vacal< p'!gu< l'!"yte igirm!,
yTk«pa tmh< vNde prmanNdmaxvm!.

8. I salute that Madhava, the source of supreme bliss, whose Grace makes the dumb eloquent and the cripple cross mountains!

y< äüa vé[eNÔéÔmét> StuNviNt idVyE> StvE>
vedE> sa'!gpd³maepin;dEgaRyiNt y< samga>,
XyanaviSwttÌten mnsa pZyiNt y< yaeignae
ySyaNt< n ivÊ> surasurg[a devay tSmE nm>.

9. Salutations to that God whom Brahma, Indra, Varuna, Rudra and the Maruts praise with divine hymns, of whom the Sama-chanters sing by the Vedas and their Angas (in the Pada and Krama methods), and by the Upanishads; whom the Yogis see with their minds absorbed in Him through meditation, and whose ends the hosts of Devas and Asuras know not!                 

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Translation by Sri Swami Satchidananda, Yogaville:

OM, 

0 Bhagavad Gita, by which Arjuna was illumined by Lord Krishna himself, and which was composed of eighteen chapters within the Mahabharata by the ancient sage Vyasa;

0 Divine Mother, Destroyer of rebirth, who showers the nectar of oneness on us; 0 Bnagavad Gita, my affectionate Mother, on Thee I meditate.

All the Upanishads are the cows, the milker is the cowherd boy, Krishna; Arjuna is the calf; people of purified intellect are the drinkers; the milk is the supreme nectar of the Gita.

My salutations to the Lord who is the source of supreme bliss, whose grace makes the mute eloquent and the crippled cross mountains.

The Gita Chants of Swami Brahmananda and the translations by Swami Sivananda are from gitasupersite.org;