Uddhava Gita

Bhagavad-gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to His friend Arjuna, on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, when the later refused to execute his duty fearing the death of many family members; in order to induce Arjuna to fight as a matter of duty, Bhagavad-gita was spoken. Now as a sequel to the Bhagavavad-gita, Uddhava gita was also spoken by the same Lord Krishna, to another dear and intimate devotee, Sri Uddhava. Uddhava-gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to Uddhava to exceute the final duty of this world – which is renunciation of all worldly attachments and take to the path of complete dedication to God. In essence, messages of Bhagavad-gita and Uddhava-gita are similar, but Uddhava-gita goes little bit further in the science of God. Lord Krishna instructed Arjuna at the end of Bhagavad-gita to abandone all varieties of religions and simply surrender to Him, and to execute His will only. So Arjuna did just that, as the Lord had instructed.

At the end of His manifest pastimes on earth five thousand years ago, the demigods headed by Lord Brahma, approached Lord Krishna and submitted to Him that the purpose for which the demigods had prayed for His descent into this world is now fulfilled. The demigods prayed to the Lord to return to His eternal abode in the spiritual world, since the purpose of His appearance had been executed. The Lord approved the request of the demigods, but felt there was one more duty that needed to be performed; that is the withdrawal of the Yadu dynasty from the face of the earth. Lord Krishna contemplated that should the Yadu dynasty be left behind after Him, the Yadus would feel unbearable separation from Him, and thus will subsequently create another burden for the planet earth. Thus under the pretext of some curses by great sages, there was fratricidal war among the Yadu members, and the Yadu dynasty were therefore withdrew from the earth. After this the Lord sat under a secluded place preparing to leave the planet. At that time, Uddhava approached the Lord, feeling great separation, prayed to the Lord to take him with Him. But the Lord had something else in mind for Uddhava. He wanted Uddhava to deliver His final teachings to the sages in the Himalayas, who will inturn benefit the humanity. Just as Uddhava was earlier deputed by the Lord to take a message to the inhabitants of Vrindavan, the Lord is now again sending Uddhava to take His ultimate teachings to the sages of Badarikashram in the Himalayas. Uddhava thus posed several questions and the Lord answered with sound logic and philosophy.

The instructions in the Uddhava gita bears lots of similarities to Bhagavad-gita, however, there are much more elaborations and practical analysis on how to execute the ideas that were briefly explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Lord Krishna elaborately explained the path of self realisation, various yoga and mystic perfections, real religion, the modes of material nature and their influences, analytical understading of material nature, the process of philosophical inquiries, and the ultimate path of bhakti, which is the process of total dedication to God. In one sense, Uddhava-gita is the ultimate companion to Bhagavad-gita, as what were briefly taught in the Bhagavad-gita were now elaborately explained by the same speaker, Lord Krishna, in the Uddhava gita.

While the Bhagavad Gita is part of the Mahabharata, similarly, the Uddhava Gita occurs in the Bhagavata Purana; both epics were composed by Srila Vyasadeva to highlight the glory of Lord Krishnas descents into the world. There are countless translations and editions of Bhagavad-gita, and the numbers are increasing everyday. The most potent edition of Bhagavavad-gita is the edition presented by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Srila Prabhupada presented Bhagavad-gita As Its, and opened the eyes of this darkened world, to the personality of Lord Krishna, which had previously being hidden by the unscrupulous and impersonal commentaries of the great book.

It is our great fortune that we are presenting the Uddhava-gita for the first time to the world. Though the Uddhava-gita is itelf form the bulk of eleventh canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, which had already being published, especially by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, however, this edition is special. Lord Krishnas final teaching is extracted from the great Srmad Bhagavat, and it is fully elaborated upon with the commentaries of two of our great Vaisnava spiritual masters: Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Bhaktiiddhanta also made a summary of each chapter, thus making the book easily understandable. The commentaries of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and the purports of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura are presented one after the other on each verse of the book.

This book, Uddhava Gita, with commentaries of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, is complete with the original sanskrit verses, roman transliterations, english translations, and full commentaries. At the end of the book are glossaries of the terms used, and full index.

This book, Uddhava Gita, with commentaries of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, is complete with the original sanskrit verses, roman transliterations, english translations, and full commentaries. At the end of the book are glossaries of the terms used, and full index.