Sankhya Yoga with the Commentary of Sri Adi Sankaracharya (An Old and Rare Book)

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I have attempted to do a literal translation of the text of the Bhagavad Gita in the light of the Bhashya of Sri Sankaracharya. I have added in the form of footnotes explanations mostly extracted from Anandagiri's Tika, each such extract being marked at the end with (A.) This Tika is always the clearest and most to the point and is almost indispensable for a proper understanding of some important portions of the Bhashya. An immediate disciple of Sri Sankaracharya as he is reputed to be, he should also be the safest guide.

It has always been my special aim to make the English translation as clearly intelligible to a general reader as I could without unnecessary departing from the original, even as regards the structure of sentences. With this end in view, I have introduced into the translation as few technical terms as possible, whether of the Eastern or of the Western philosophy and theology. Where necessary, original Sanskrit terms have been used along with their English equivalents. In some cases Sanskrit terms alone have been used, in as much as their English equivalents are found not to convey adequately the intended idea. The exact sense of every such Sanskrit term will be found explained where it occurs for the first time.

In employing these Sanskrit terms in the translation, I have, in violation of the usual practice of Oriental writers, adopted the nominative forms in preference to the pratipadika or basic forms, especially for this reason, that it is in the nominative forms that they are current in the Vernacular languages of this country, and, as such, are more familiar to the general reader. In preference, however, to the form Brahma (the Neuter Nominative Singular) which should be used to denote the Absolute, the basic form Brahman has been used - as it is found used in all popular works on the subject-in order that it may be more easily distinguished from the form Brahma (Masculine Nominative Singular) which is used to denote the Demiurge.

The publication of the present volume and the possibility of prosecuting the work to me, of love - further on is altogether due to the kindness and liberality of Sir K Sheshadri lyer, K.C.S.I., the Hon'ble Justice Mr. S Subrahmanya lyer, C.I.E., and Mr. A Ramachandra lyer (Judge, Chief Court, Bangalore).

Sankhya Yoga, Chapter II of the Bhagavad Gita, is considered to be the summary of the philosophical content of the Gita.

Sankhya Yoga is one of the six Hindu schools of philosophy authored by Sage Kapila. However, Sankhya Yoga, here in the context of the Gita, does not mean the Sankhya philosophy as profounded by Kapila. According to Swami Chinmayananda, it is just a word denoting "the logic of thought in a philosophy".

In Chapter II of the Bhagavad Gita, Verses 11-46 expound the Sankhya philosophy as denoted by the practice of Jnana Yoga. Verses 47-60 give a sketch of Karma Yoga. Finally, verses 71-72 deal with Sannyasa Yoga. Hence many scholars consider that this Chapter II is the summary of the entire philosophy of the Gita.

Sri Adi Sankaracharya's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita has come down the centuries as the authentic text. His commentary has always been considered to be of seminal value. Sri Alladi Mahadeva Sastry translated into English the original Sanskrit text of the Gita Bhashya of Adi Sankaracharya and published in 1897. His translation has stood the test of time and is considered to be one of the best available English translations of Sri Adi Sankaracharya's commentary. In the footnotes "A" refers to the explanations extracted from Anandagiri's Tika which is always considered to be an authentic explanation of some of the important dimensions of the Gita Bhashya.

We consider it as a privilege to bring out a new edition of Sankhya Yoga for the benefit of the 21st century readers. This new edition consists of (a) full text (in English transliteration) of Chapter II with translation (in English), (b) the full Sanskrit text in Devanagari script of Chapter II of Gita Bhashya and (c) finally the English translation of Chapter II of Gita Bhashya. We hope that the readers will benefit from reading the original text, transliteration and translation of Chapter II of the Gita Bhashya.