The Bhagwad Gita is the most revered spiritual text for Bharat. It was recited by Krishna to Arjuna just before the great Indian war "Mahabharata Yuddha." Just before the war, Arjuna the greatest archer, requested Krishna, to drive his chariot amidst both the warring parties, so that Arjuna could have a look at both the side and to make up his mind and to know with whom he had to fight.When Krishna did so, Arjuna saw his own brethren, elders and teachers and he thought it to be meaningless to fight and kill them.
On that, Lord Krishna convinced him that the fight in the war was the only alternative. This argument of lord Krishna is compiled as the "Gita". It is described as though the Upanishads are like cows and the lord Krishna is milking them for the benefit of Arjuna.
It consists of eighteen chapters or Adhyayas and about seven hundred shlokas. The adhyayas include Samkhya Yoga, Karma Yoga, Gyan karm sanyas Yoga, Sanyas Yoga, Dhyan Yoga, etc. Hence it is regarded by almost all sections of the hindus as the most sacred work and large number of commentaries have been written on it by the adherents of different schools of thought, each of which explained the Gita in its own favor.
Geeta, though part of Epic Mahabharata, is believed to be written about 200 years BC in the compiled form. It is claimedto have some interpolations. Shankaracharya's commentory "Shankar Bhashya" is probably the earliest commentary available so far.He maintains that all duties hold good for us only in
the stage of ignorance and not in the stage of wisdom. When once the right knowledege of identity with brahman dawns and ignorance ceases, all notions of duality which are presupposed by performance of actions and responsibility of them cease.
Anandajnana wrote a commentary on the Gita bhashya called 'Bhagavad-Gita bhashya-vivaran', and Ramananda wrote it as Bhagavad-Gita-bhashya vyakhya. One Yamunacharya has written prose paraphrase of Gita verse. He was vishisthadvaita vadin. Another Yamunacharya in tenth century , teacher of Ramanuja, summarized Gita as Gitartha-sangraha. Nigamanta Mahadesika wrote Gitaartha-samgraha-raksha. In fourteenth century Varavara Muni wrote Gitartha samgraha- dipika.
Ramanuja in eleventh century wrote a commentary on vishisthadvaita lines. Venkatacharya or Vedantacharya wrote subcommentary to it called Tatparya chandrika. Madhvacharya or Anandatirtha in thirteenth century wrote Gita Bhashya which was further commented by Jayatirth in his Prameya-dipika.
Other major commentaries includes Gitavriti, Gitartha-sangraha and Gitartha-vivarana by Raghavendrasvami and Sudhindrea Yati in seventeenth century Kesava Bhatta of Nimbarka school gave Gitatattva prakashika.
Gita bhushanabhasya by Baladeva Vidyabhushama, from Shaiva point of view, Rajanak and Ramakantha wrote Sarvato Bhadra. The most recent commentary advocating not to give up the duty was written by patriotic leader Lokmanya Tilak while imprisoned at Mandalay by British Government early in the 20th century.
