Research Catalog
The Bhagavad Gita : a biography
- Title
- The Bhagavad Gita : a biography / Richard H. Davis.
- Author
- Davis, Richard H., 1951-
- Publication
- Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2015]
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | JFD 14-5410 | Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315 |
Details
- Description
- x, 243 pages : illustrations; 20 cm.
- Summary
- "The Bhagavad Gita, perhaps the most famous of all Indian scriptures, is universally regarded as one of the world's spiritual and literary masterpieces. Richard Davis tells the story of this venerable and enduring book, from its origins in ancient India to its reception today as a spiritual classic that has been translated into more than seventy-five languages. The Gita opens on the eve of a mighty battle, when the warrior Arjuna is overwhelmed by despair and refuses to fight. He turns to his charioteer, Krishna, who counsels him on why he must. In the dialogue that follows, Arjuna comes to realize that the true battle is for his own soul.Davis highlights the place of this legendary dialogue in classical Indian culture, and then examines how it has lived on in diverse settings and contexts. He looks at the medieval devotional traditions surrounding the divine character of Krishna and traces how the Gita traveled from India to the West, where it found admirers in such figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Aldous Huxley. Davis explores how Indian nationalists like Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda used the Gita in their fight against colonial rule, and how contemporary interpreters reanimate and perform this classical work for audiences today.An essential biography of a timeless masterpiece, this book is an ideal introduction to the Gita and its insights into the struggle for self-mastery that we all must wage"--
- Series Statement
- Lives of great religious books
- Uniform Title
- Lives of great religious books.
- Subjects
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Contents
- The Bhagavad Gita in the time of its composition -- Krishna and his Gita in medieval India -- Passages from India -- Krishna, the Gita, and the Indian nation -- Modern gitas : translations -- The Gita in our time : performances -- The Bhagavad Gita in great time -- Glossary of Sanskrit terms -- Select English translations of the Bhagavad Gita.
- Call Number
- JFD 14-5410
- ISBN
- 9780691139968 (hardback)
- 0691139962 (hardback)
- LCCN
- 2014023890
- 40024209681
- OCLC
- 894467113
- Author
- Davis, Richard H., 1951- author.
- Title
- The Bhagavad Gita : a biography / Richard H. Davis.
- Publisher
- Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2015]
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Series
- Lives of great religious booksLives of great religious books.
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Other Standard Identifier
- 40024209681
- Research Call Number
- JFD 14-5410