Bhagavad Gita (Sargeant)
Encyclopedia
The Bhagavad Gita is the title of Winthrop Sargeant
's translation, first published in 1979, of the Bhagavad Gītā
(Sanskrit: , "Song of God
"), an important Hindu
scripture. Among Western English translations of the Gita
, Sargeant's is unusual in providing a word-by-word translation and grammatical explanation, along with Sanskrit
and English renderings. The original edition was published in 1979 with the lengthy subtitle An interlinear translation from the Sanskrit, with word-for-word transliteration and translation, and complete grammatical commentary, as well as a readable prose translation and page-by-page vocabularies. The subtitle was omitted from the 2nd edition (1984) and the 3rd edition (2009), which were edited by Christopher Chapple. Huston Smith
wrote a foreword to the 3rd edition. Sargeant's translation has been described in the New York Times, and reviewed in professional journals.
and romanized transliteration, followed by an English rendering. The second column contains a word-by-word translation and grammatical analysis.
In his foreword to the 2009 edition, Huston Smith
wrote that he had written forewords to many books,
New York Times,
Philosophy East and West
,
In the New York Times, Whitman described the work as a "soon-to-be-issued interlinear translation of the Bhagavad Gita for the nonspecialist reader" (p. 26). The Times quoted Sargeant as stating that "I had been interested in the Bhagavad Gita for many years, but I was never very happy with the various translations of that religious epic into English... so I decided to do one myself for my intellectual stimulation and, at first, without any thought of publication" (p. 26). It also stated that the final version of the translation had been bought by Doubleday in the US and by Allen & Unwin in Britain, and that it was being "composed[for printing] abroad because American printers are lacking in Sanskrit fonts."
A related book, containing only the English rendering of each verse (and not the Sanskrit text, grammatical information, or footnotes) is the "pocket edition": (195 pages)
Winthrop Sargeant
Winthrop Sargeant was an American music critic, violinist, and writer. He studied the violin in his native city with Albert Elkus and with Felix Prohaska and Lucien Capet in Europe. In 1922, at the age of 18, he became the youngest member of the San Francisco Symphony...
's translation, first published in 1979, of the Bhagavad Gītā
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
(Sanskrit: , "Song of God
Bhagavan
Bhagavan, also written Bhagwan or Bhagawan, from the Sanskrit nt-stem literally means "possessing fortune, blessed, prosperous" , and hence "illustrious, divine, venerable, holy", etc.In some traditions of Hinduism it is used to...
"), an important Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
scripture. Among Western English translations of the Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
, Sargeant's is unusual in providing a word-by-word translation and grammatical explanation, along with Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and English renderings. The original edition was published in 1979 with the lengthy subtitle An interlinear translation from the Sanskrit, with word-for-word transliteration and translation, and complete grammatical commentary, as well as a readable prose translation and page-by-page vocabularies. The subtitle was omitted from the 2nd edition (1984) and the 3rd edition (2009), which were edited by Christopher Chapple. Huston Smith
Huston Smith
Huston Cummings Smith is a religious studies scholar in the United States. His book The World's Religions remains a popular introduction to comparative religion.-Education:...
wrote a foreword to the 3rd edition. Sargeant's translation has been described in the New York Times, and reviewed in professional journals.
Topics covered
The book consists of more than 700 pages, including about 30 pages of introductory material. The translation itself consists of 701 pages, each devoted to a single verse. Each page is divided into two major columns. The first column containing the Sanskrit is given in both DevanāgarīDevanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
and romanized transliteration, followed by an English rendering. The second column contains a word-by-word translation and grammatical analysis.
In his foreword to the 2009 edition, Huston Smith
Huston Smith
Huston Cummings Smith is a religious studies scholar in the United States. His book The World's Religions remains a popular introduction to comparative religion.-Education:...
wrote that he had written forewords to many books,
but none with the urgency with which I write this one... Because this edition of the Gītā looks so daunting that general readers are likely to conclude that it is not for them. But that would be a serious mistake, for... this is a multivalent book -- there is something in it that will reward every serious reader.... For those who only want to read the Gītā's story... all they need do is read the verses on the bottom left-hand side of each page.... [for] elaboration, they will find it in the right-hand column... where, for example, dharmaDharmaDharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
is translated as duty, law, righteousness, virtue, and honor.
(p. ix)
Reviews and influence
Reviews and discussions have appeared in theNew York Times,
Philosophy East and West
Philosophy East and West
Philosophy East and West is an international, interdisciplinary academic journal that seeks to promote literacy on non-Western traditions of philosophy in relation to Anglo-American philosophy. Philosophy defined in terms of cultural traditions broadly integrates the professional discipline with...
,
In the New York Times, Whitman described the work as a "soon-to-be-issued interlinear translation of the Bhagavad Gita for the nonspecialist reader" (p. 26). The Times quoted Sargeant as stating that "I had been interested in the Bhagavad Gita for many years, but I was never very happy with the various translations of that religious epic into English... so I decided to do one myself for my intellectual stimulation and, at first, without any thought of publication" (p. 26). It also stated that the final version of the translation had been bought by Doubleday in the US and by Allen & Unwin in Britain, and that it was being "composed
Editions
The original edition was published in 1979 by Doubleday. Later US editions were published by SUNY Press. The editions are: (751 pages) (739 pages) (739 pages)A related book, containing only the English rendering of each verse (and not the Sanskrit text, grammatical information, or footnotes) is the "pocket edition": (195 pages)