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5.0 out of 5 stars
Monumental medieval commentary on Bhagavad Gita, Jan 12 2003
When a patron wants to look for available editions for Bhagavad Gita and commentary, maybe one would try search string "Bhagavad Gita", whether electronically or physically browsing in the library or bookstore. Thus this Gem cannot be possibly found along with other Gita commentaries, because the book name does not contain the title.It is a pity then this Book may be missed by faithful readers. At the same time, it could be an implication that there is an affinity for the fortunate enough to have come across this once reserved work, originally confined to Marathi and a few other Indian languages. In summary, this is a monumental medieval commentary on the great Indian classic Bhagavad Gita. Poet and Yogi, Jnani and Bhakta, the author Sri Jnanadev, also known as Jnaneshwar Maharaj, had, at a very young age, a vision of the Light of Knowledge of the Gita, and he gave discourses on the Gita which came to be known as Jnaneshwari, bringing to light the deeper meaning and hidden significance of the dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. However, it is recommended that the reader refers to one set of popular Gita commentary as the primary, like the Peake's Bible Commentary, as a parallel example to Christian Bible reading. The one I treasure is Swami Ramsukhdas's Srimad Bhagavadgita in 2 vols. His is detailed enough and delicately conceived with general "Fact on..." notes and Links.
As mentioned, Jnanadev's Jnaneshwari reveals deeper and mystical meanings of the verses of Gita, thus it is more fulfilling for one to read and understand the literary and common connotations from the primary source first, then contemplate on Jnaneshwari. Again using Christian reading example, reading Jnandev's Jnaneswari is like reading St. Hildegard von Bingen, St. Catherine of Siena's writings. If you wish to further delve into the background of Bhagavad Gita, read another Indian classical epic, The Mahabharata. My favorites are Kamala Subramanian's, and C. Rajagopalachari's presentation. Bhagavad Gita is the expanse of a chapter in Mahabharata.
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