Bhagavad Gita means the ‘song of God’ and is the discourse given by Krishna, the charioteer, to Arjuna, the archer, on the eve of the battle at Kurukshetra. Simply known as Gita, it is dated to around 300 BC, though some date it to 800 BC, the period of the Upanishads. It comprises 18 chapters and 700 verses and contains the essence of Hindu wisdom. Written in Sanskrit, it is considered one of Hinduism’s most sacred books that conveys the truth of life. It must be kept in mind that less than five per cent of Indians spoke Sanskrit in India’s long history. It was the language of the priests and kings, not the common folk. Yet, the ideas found in the Gita reached the masses through the regional songs and stories transmitted by bardsu00a0and minstrels.

Bhagavad Gita is often confused with Gita Govinda and Bhagavatam. All three are works in Sanskrit. Bhagavad Gita is part of the Bhisma Parva, which is the sixth chapter of the epic Mahabharata. Gita Govinda is a poem written by Jayadeva in the 12th century AD, that describes the romantic dalliance between Krishna and Radha. Bhagavatam or Bhagavat Purana is the story of Vishnu also known as Bhagavan, or God, focusing especially on Krishna. It is dated to between 9th and 13th century AD. Bhagavad Gita was thus written at least a thousand years before Gita Govinda
and Bhagavatam.