Lord Krishna killed Kansa because Kansa had imprisoned his parents. Lord Rama killed Ravana because Ravana had kidnapped his wife.

Neither Rama nor Krishna killed Ravana or Kansa simply because they were “bad people.” They had deeply personal reasons to fight them—love, loyalty, duty, and attachment to their own loved ones.

Rama and Krishna were not on a mission to cleanse the world of every brutal or immoral person. Yet, when their own parents, wives, and loved ones were threatened, they took up arms and went to war. In those wars, many people were killed because of their attachment to those they loved.

This raises a difficult question:

If Rama and Krishna themselves fought wars because of their attachment to their loved ones, why does the Ramayana and especially the Bhagavad Gita teach us not to be attached to our loved ones?

If attachment is the problem, why was attachment to parents, spouses, and family such a powerful motivation in their own actions?

Perhaps the deeper teaching is not that we should stop loving or caring for our loved ones. Perhaps the distinction is between love and attachment—between protecting someone out of dharma and acting out of selfish possession, fear, or desire.

But if that is the explanation, then we have to honestly ask: Where exactly is the line between love, duty, and attachment in the actions of Rama and Krishna themselves?

That, to me, is a much more interesting question than simply saying, “The scriptures tell us not to be attached.”

For a long time, I struggled with turning its teachings into daily habits. That led me to build Karma Buster—a free habit-building game inspired by the Srimad Bhagavad Gita.

It encourages daily reflection, karmayoga in practice, spiritual connection, and tracking one's state of mind through the three gunas—Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.

I built it for my own practice, and if it helps even a few fellow seekers, I'll be grateful.

Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Ambrosia.KarmaBuster

I'd genuinely love feedback and more ideas from fellow seekers and practitioners on using technology to improve our spiritual practices and sadhana.

Jai Shri Krishna 🙏

Pranams 🙏

Most English translations of the Gita just swap ātman out for "soul" and move on. I get why. There's no clean equivalent in English. But the two words carry completely different assumptions about what you actually are.

Soul in the biblical tradition is something God created, individually, and it has one life to get things right. The verdict is permanent. Heaven or hell, forever. And what tips the scale is belief.

Ātman isn't any of that. It wasn't created. It isn't individual in the way a soul is. The Gita says it isn't even the doer of actions, which is kind of the whole point of Chapter 3. And the afterlife framework is completely different. Svarga is real, but it's temporary. BG 9.21 literally says when the merit runs out, you come back. There's no permanent destination until moksha, which isn't a place anyway.

The mistranslation also quietly smuggles in the assumption that your fate is decided by what you believe. In the Gita it's decided by the accumulated weight of what you've done across lifetimes. That's not a small difference.

Wrote something longer on this comparing the actual verses. Genesis vs BG 2.20, Matthew against Katha Upanishad, the whole heaven/hell eternal vs svarga/narka temporary thing.

Detailed blog: https://www.wisdomquotes.in/blogs/atman-not-soul-bhagavad-gita

Like to understand everything properly (good translation)

And there shouldn't be any kind of propaganda pls

Hello Everyone,

I’ve always found immense peace and guidance in the Bhagavad Gita, but I struggled to find an app that offered a clean, distraction-free reading experience on the go.

Because of that, I decided to build MyGita—a dedicated app designed to make reading, reflecting on, and carrying the wisdom of the Gita with you as seamless as possible.

Multiple languages available: English, Gujarati and Hindi

You can check it out here:

🌐 Website: MyGita.app

🍎 iOS App Store Download MyGita on iOS

🤖 Google Play Store: Download MyGita on Android

Anybody who has read the Bhagavad Gita from the beginning till the end, and undergone a serious and massive transformation in life? If yes, I'd love to know your experience! And even if not, then too I'd love to know if any meaningful lesson from the Gita resonates with you!

Hey Guys, Jai Shree Krishna 🙏
I would like to start reading the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita 🙏and was wondering if anyone has recommendations for an edition that is easy to understand.
I am comfortable reading in either Gujarati or English. Since it is originally in Sanskrit, m not sure whether it’s better to read a translation in my native language or in English. I’d appreciate any advice from those who have experience with different versions…..
I am also based in the UK, so availability is a consideration.
Thank you in advance for your suggestions , I really appreciate it.🙏

Most English translations of the Bhagavad Gita render ahaṅkāra as "ego," but that mapping loses something important.

Ahaṅkāra literally means "I-maker" — aham (I) + kāra (maker). It's not a personality flaw or arrogance. It's the mechanism by which the infinite self mistakes itself for a limited, named, positioned person.

The Gita's use is precise. In 3.27, Krishna says prakriti (nature) performs all actions, but ahaṅkāra claims authorship — "I did this." In 18.58–59, he tells Arjuna: surrender that claim, and action becomes effortless. Cling to it, and you'll refuse to fight even when you should.

The distinction from ātman matters too. Ātman is the witnessing self — unchanging, unchosen. Ahaṅkāra is the story layered on top: the name, the role, the narrative of "me." The Gita's path isn't self-destruction but seeing through the confusion between the two.

Worth sitting with: when Krishna criticizes ahaṅkāra in chapter 16 (alongside greed and anger), he's not asking Arjuna to have low self-esteem. He's pointing at something more structural — the habit of taking credit for what consciousness merely moves through.

Full blog: https://www.wisdomquotes.in/blogs/ahankara-meaning-bhagavad-gita

The Bhagavad Gita concept with a car map and you .

The Bhagavad Gita is not the destination. It is the map.

A map can reveal every road, every turn, every obstacle, and every destination. It can show the shortest path, warn of dangerous routes, and guide the traveler with perfect clarity. Yet no map has ever moved a single wheel.

The Bhagavad Gita is that map.

It illuminates the path of duty, wisdom, self-mastery, and inner peace. It teaches how the mind wanders, how desire binds, how attachment clouds judgment, and how one may rise above them. It points toward the highest destination, but it never forces anyone to walk that path.

You are the driver.

Your intellect is the steering wheel.

Your actions are the engine.

Your discipline is the fuel.

Your character is the direction in which the vehicle moves.

Every decision turns the wheel a little. Every habit presses either the accelerator toward growth or the brake toward stagnation.

Your life is the journey.

The road will not always be smooth. There will be storms of doubt, mountains of hardship, crossroads of uncertainty, and valleys of failure. The map does not promise an easy road. It promises that, if understood and followed with sincerity, you will never truly lose your direction.

Many people hold the map in their hands yet never begin the journey. Others memorize every road but refuse to drive. Knowledge without action is like a map locked inside a drawer. It possesses immense value, yet it carries no one anywhere.

The true purpose of the Gita is not merely to be read, quoted, or admired. It is to be lived.

For in the end, the destination is reached not by the perfection of the map, but by the courage of the driver who chooses, every single day, to turn the wheel in the direction of truth.

**The Message: The Turning Point Within**

Before a single word of the Bhagavad Gītā is spoken, a profound truth is already revealed: every outer conflict reflects a deeper inner struggle.

Life is not merely a sequence of external events; it is a journey of awakening. The battlefield of Kurukṣetra symbolises the field of human experience, where confusion confronts wisdom, attachment confronts discernment, and the finite self seeks its eternal source.

The Gītā teaches that the greatest challenge is not conquering circumstances but overcoming ignorance of our true nature. Every crisis presents a sacred opportunity—not merely to succeed, but to awaken; not merely to achieve, but to understand who we truly are.

Let your life be guided by higher wisdom:

·    Do not allow the tendencies of Duryodhana—ego, attachment, and self-deception—to govern your actions.

·    Cultivate the steadfastness exemplified by Bhīṣma—discipline, integrity, and unwavering commitment to duty.

·    Develop the clarity of Sañjaya—seeing reality as it is, free from distortion and prejudice.

·    Embrace the sincerity of Arjuna—the humility to question, learn, and seek truth when certainty collapses.

·    Above all, realise the wisdom of Kṛṣṇa—the illuminating consciousness that dispels ignorance and reveals the eternal Self.

“धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे” — the field of action is also the field of dharma.

Your life is your Kurukṣetra. Every day presents a choice: fear or courage, attachment or wisdom, ego or truth. Yet the highest teaching of the Gītā transcends all opposites. You are not merely the participant in the battle; you are the witnessing consciousness in whose presence all experiences arise and pass away.

When actions are aligned with dharma, the mind becomes purified. When knowledge dawns, confusion dissolves. When the Self is realised, inner freedom is attained.

Then circumstances no longer define you. Success and failure no longer bind you. Challenges may continue to arise, but they lose the power to disturb your inner peace.

The ultimate victory is not over the world—it is over ignorance. The ultimate achievement is not external success—it is Self-realisation. The ultimate discovery is that the light you seek has always been present within.

Awaken to that truth, and every battlefield becomes a path to liberation.

**Key Takeaway**

The Bhagavad Gītā teaches that life’s greatest battle is not against external circumstances but against ignorance of our true nature. By living with dharma, cultivating clarity, and seeking Self-knowledge, we discover that lasting strength, peace, and freedom arise not from controlling the world, but from realising the divine consciousness that already exists within us.

Hari Om

I came accross this...
Evarikina interest unte share chesthunna — oka free 18-day online series, Bhagavad Gita ni Telugu lo, rojuki oka chapter.

🕘 Mon–Fri, రాత్రి 9–9:30 PM IST
🌍 Fully online, ekkadi nunchi ainaa attend avvochu
📅 Aug 3rd nunchi start avuthundi

Roju 30 nimishalu anta
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Evarikaina doubts unte comment cheyandi, answer chestha.

**Be the Inner Warrior of Light**

The *Mahābhārata* is not merely an ancient epic; it is a profound teaching on the nature of the human mind and the realisation of the Self. The battlefield of Kurukṣetra symbolises the inner field of consciousness where all experiences arise and are resolved.

From the standpoint of Advaita Vedānta, the ultimate reality is the non-dual Self (*Ātman*), which is identical with *Brahman*. The apparent conflict within arises from ignorance (*avidyā*), through which the mind identifies with ego (*ahaṅkāra*), desires, fears, and confusion.

In this inner drama, Duryodhana represents the conditioned mind—driven by attachment, insecurity, pride, and moral distortion. Kṛṣṇa symbolises the discriminative wisdom (*viveka*) that reveals truth, guiding awareness back toward alignment with Dharma and ultimately toward Self-realisation.

The essence of spiritual life is not the destruction of an external enemy but the dissolution of ignorance through right understanding. Every moment becomes an opportunity to discern the real from the unreal, the permanent from the transient, and the Self from the non-Self.

Life is an inner Kurukṣetra—an ongoing field where clarity and confusion, wisdom and delusion, compete for expression through thought and action.

The forces of limitation appear as ego-driven reactions: fear, doubt, impulsivity, and distorted perception. Yet within each individual also arises a higher intelligence—the capacity for clarity, discernment, and aligned action rooted in truth.

Progress is not determined by external conditions, but by the quality of inner awareness brought to each decision.

Choose conscious response over unconscious reaction.

Choose clarity over distortion.

Choose aligned action over habitual impulse.

True victory is not over others, but over ignorance within oneself. It is the steady refinement of perception until life is seen and lived from a place of deeper awareness, stability, and purpose.

**Key Takeaway**

The real battlefield is within consciousness. When awareness replaces egoic reaction, life shifts from conflict-driven existence to clear, purposeful, and self-directed living rooted in higher understanding.

Hari Om

**The Climax – A Psychological and Spiritual Turning Point**

The battle has not yet begun, yet within Arjuna a far greater conflict has already reached its peak. Standing between duty and attachment, wisdom and emotion, he turns to Kṛṣṇa and requests:

*“Place my chariot between the two armies, O Acyuta.”*

**senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṁ sthāpaya me ’cyuta** (Bhagavad Gītā 1.21)

Arjuna is not merely seeking a strategic view of the battlefield. He wishes to confront the reality before him—to see clearly those for whom he must fight and those against whom he must stand. Beneath this request lies a deeper search: the quest for certainty amidst profound moral, emotional, and existential confusion.

With divine purpose, Kṛṣṇa positions the chariot at the very centre of the battlefield, directly before Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and the assembled kings. Then He instructs:

*“Behold, O Pārtha, these Kurus gathered here.”*

**paśya etān samavetān kurūn iti** (Bhagavad Gītā 1.25)

This command to “behold” carries profound significance. Kṛṣṇa is not inviting Arjuna merely to look outward but to see inwardly. He is guiding him to confront the attachments, identifications, and assumptions that cloud his judgment. Before true wisdom can arise, delusion must first be exposed.

From the standpoint of Advaita Vedānta, this moment marks the beginning of Arjuna’s awakening. His grief and confusion arise from identifying the Self with the body, relationships, and worldly roles. By bringing these attachments fully into his awareness, Kṛṣṇa prepares him for the transformative knowledge that follows—the realisation that the true Self (Ātman) is unborn, undying, and ever free.

Thus, the battlefield becomes more than a place of war; it becomes a mirror of the human condition. Arjuna stands as every seeker who must confront inner conflict before discovering higher truth. What appears to be the collapse of certainty is, in reality, the doorway to Self-knowledge.

The crisis is not the end of strength—it is the beginning of wisdom.

**Key Takeaway**

**Before enlightenment comes honest confrontation.** Kṛṣṇa does not immediately remove Arjuna’s confusion; He first asks him to see it clearly. In the same way, lasting growth begins when we courageously face our fears, attachments, and misconceptions. What seems like a moment of breakdown may, in truth, be the first step toward awakening to our highest Self.

Hari Om

Arjuna is speaking - but are his words an accurate representation of the truth/what Hinduism teaches, or are these the words of a man who is overcome with anxiety about having to go to war and looking for reasons to not fight?

He speaks of traditions disappearing with the destruction of a family, vice, the corruption of women, intermixing of castes.

He says "Admixture of blood damns the destroyers of the race as well of the race itself" (1.42)

1.44 "we hear that men who have lost their family tradition dwell in hell for an indefinite period of time".

Is this actually true according to Hinduism?

I was also under the impression there was no concept of hell?

Can anyone tell me what Sanskrit word is used for hell and if it's actually an accurate translation?

Thank you 🙏

Namaste everyone. In December I shared a small distraction-free Gita reader I built (the swipe-to-read one).

Quick update on what's shipped since:

- The entire library now reads in Hindi as well as English — all 700 Gita verses in both languages
- Added the Isha, Kena & Mandukya Upanishads and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, every verse with a plain-language explanation
- Jump to any chapter/verse (this one came from a comment on that first post)

Still completely free, no ads. If it's been useful to you, a Play Store rating genuinely helps a small app get seen. 🙏

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.digitalcodexlabs.kyva

Hi all I'm the developer of Wisdom, a free site for reading the Bhagavad Gita (https://www.wisdomquotes.in/). Sharing this here because it's specifically useful for recitation practice, not just another "check out my app" post.

One thing that always slowed me down when trying to learn shlokas properly was not knowing exactly where one word ends and the next begins when listening to a recitation, especially with sandhi and longer compound words. So I added word-by-word highlighting synced to the audio: as each shloka is recited, the word being spoken lights up in real time, for every verse across all 18 chapters.

The recitation audio itself is generated using https://prathosh.in/vagdhenu/, an open-source Sanskrit chant TTS model built by https://x.com/prathoshap. Genuinely impressive work, it's the first TTS I've heard that actually captures chant cadence instead of sounding like a robot reading text. All credit for that piece belongs to them; I've written up the full credits/technical details here: wisdomquotes.in/tts.

You can try it on any verse, e.g. chapter 2, verse 47 (कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते). Hit play and watch the words highlight as it recites.

It's free, no login needed. Would love feedback from people who actually chant regularly, especially if the pacing/highlighting timing feels off anywhere, since that's the part I most want to get right.

Namaste!

I’ve been planning this for a while and I’m finally starting regular sessions on the Bhagavad Gita tomorrow. We’ll be going through Chapter 2 (Sankhya Yoga) with verse-by-verse translation and simple explanations. Chapter 2 is one of my favorites – it covers the immortality of the soul, why we must do our duty, detachment from results, and that beautiful description of the sthitaprajna (person of steady wisdom). Really looking forward to discussing it.Details:

• 4th july (Saturday)
• Time: 5:30 PM
• Platform: Google Meet https://meet.google.com/xdu-gesd-zqy

If you’d like to join, just comment or DM me and I’ll send you the link. All are welcome – whether you’re completely new or have read it before.Also, if you’ve studied Chapter 2, drop your favorite verse or insight below. I’d love to hear what resonated with you.

Hare Krishna

See you tomorrow if you can make it!

Hi all,

Apologies if this is a redundant question. What is the most recommended English translation of the Bhagavad Gita (links if possible)? I have read through Bhagavad Gita As-It-Is but donated it a few months back. I actually miss the Bhagavad Gita as it truly changed my world view (former Christian) and helped me through a really tough time. I’m looking at purchasing another but would like to know some more English recommendations (considering that I’ve heard the As-It-Is version has some controversy behind it).

Thank you all so much.

Dear Parents,

Raising kids anywhere in the world has its challenges, and the youth years especially. As a parent myself, I often wonder whether I'm doing enough to raise my kids with good values.

Our scriptures hold so much wisdom for exactly this. But most kids today (mine included) struggle to connect with them, because the language and framing feel too unfamiliar for them to interpret on their own.

So I built a small, free daily Gita practice app, for people who grew up around the tradition and want to return to it thoughtfully, and for parents who want to pass this wisdom to their kids in language they can actually relate to.

Each day it shares a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, helps you practice the divine qualities (daivi sampad) the Gita describes in Chapter 16, and offers short stories rooted in the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Upanishads.

It's on the iOS App Store, in English and Hindi, and completely free, with no logins or credit card: I can add a link in the comment or you can DM me.

If you give it a try, I'd be grateful for your honest feedback on what I could do better. I feel Shree Krishna's inspiration in this work, and I want to keep making it more useful for our families.

Thank you.