The Literary Genius of the Bhagavad Gita

The Gita is one of the most important canonical works of Indian literature. Illustrious seers and philosophers such as Adi Sankara, Sri Ramanujacharya, and Madhvacharya have commented on its spirituality and darshana, its Vedanta, sankhya, bhakti, jnana and karma yoga, rhetoric, and logic. But there is one aspect of the Gita that has been ignored so far. That is its literary quality and symphonic structure.

The author submits that the literary design and tropes of the Gita are unique and intrinsic to its message. Without this design of its chapters and shlokas, the themes and motifs addressed by the scripture would not have had such a lasting effect on the mind of India.

The Gita may itself be seen as an alankara, an ornament, in the grand structure of the epic Mahabharata. It is a miniature Veda, carrying on the traditions of the Sruti and its masterful compositions. The author uses both Indian and Western modes of aesthetics to explore and bring out the genius of the Gita, a first in the tradition of modern literary criticism.

Approaching the Gita as literature allows the student to view it in a fresh manner and with greater freedom. In the process, they might begin to see how certain key concepts, such as dharma, yoga, yudha, and karma, are developed as if a living guru were instructing a student, allowing them to grow in consciousness like the protagonist Arjuna.