ASSIGNMENT

Translation History of
Bhagavad-Gita Into Tamil

2019/TS/006 B.Tharankitha U.O.J

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The History of Tamil Translation about Bhagavad Gita

Introduction
The Bhagavad Gita occurs at the start of the sixth book of
the Mahabharata one of South Asia’s two main epics. Like the Ramayana, it
depicts the god Viṣṇu in avatara form. In the Ramayana, he was Rama; in
the Mahabharata he is Krishna. This time, Viṣṇu is not the protagonist of the
whole epic, but unlike the Ramayana, here he shows awareness of his own
identity as Ishvara or Bhagavan. Sovereignty. While moral theory is a topic of
discussion in both epics, the Bhagavad Gita is a protracted discourse and dialog
on moral philosophy. The text itself, as an excerpt from an epic, was received
variously in South Asian traditions. To some philosophers, such as those who
grounded their theorizing on the latter part of the Vedas, a position known as
Vedanta, the Bhagavad Gita, though a (a historical document) and not
a sruti (revealed text like the Vedas or scripture), nevertheless plays a
prominent role in constituting a source of argument and theory. The major
Vedanta philosophers, sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva, all wrote commentaries
on the Gita. Importantly, the Bhagavad Gita is very much part of South Asia’s
history of popular philosophy explored in literature, which unlike the Vedas,
was widely accessible. It informs South Asian understandings of Krishna, the
warrior philosopher, who is a prominent incarnation of Viṣṇu. What is unique
about this exploration of philosophy is that it happens on a battlefield, prior to a
fratricidal war, and it addresses the question of how we can and should make
tough decisions as the infrastructure of conventions falls apart.

The title of Bhagavad Gita is two Sanskrit words. Bhagavad comes from the word
Bhagavan which referrers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and ‘Gita’
means song. Sometimes we hear the Gita referred to in English as “The Song of
God,” and this is a reasonable English translation of the title and it is a fairly
accurate description of what the Bhagavad Gita is. It has been quoted by writers,
poets, scientists, theologians, and philosophers – among others – for centuries
and is often the introductory text to Hinduism for a Western audience. Authorship
& Origin of the Bhagavad Gita was written down at some point between 400 BCE
and 200 CE. Like the Vedas and the Upanishads, the authorship of the Bhagavad
Gita is unclear.

We do not have definite information regarding who composed the Bhagavad Gita
in the scriptural form. Since it forms part of the Bhisma Parva of the Mahabharata,
its authorship is traditionally ascribed to Ved Vyasa and the ultimate source to
Lord Krishna Himself. Historians tend to ascribe different dates to the
composition of the Bhagavad Gita. It is possible that the Bhagavad Gita existed as

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secret teaching and was transmitted orally and selectively to a chosen few before
it gained popularity and earned the status of scripture by itself, coinciding with
the rise of the Bhakti movement and Vaishnavism after the sixth century BCE.
Dhritarashtra, Sanjaya, Arjuna, Lord Krishna are the four main participants of the
Bhagavad-Gita. The four represent the four states of awareness and four means of
knowing. The most commonly accepted renderings of the Bhagavad Gita contain
18 chapters of varying lengths and in all 699 or 700 verses. It is believed that the
actual number of verses was originally 745. The verses are composed in an
Anustup meter and hence suitable for singing and chanting. Ved Vyasa is
considered the seer (rishi) of the Bhagavad Gita mantra.

Lord Krishna is its chief deity (devata).The message of the Bhagavad Gita is Know
your identity, do your duty, surrender to God, offer your actions and their fruit to
Him, practice detachment, renounce all desires, meditate upon God and His
manifestations, cultivate divine qualities, learn to discriminate the right from
wrong and the pure from the impure using your intelligence and work for your
salvation: this, in brief, is the message of the Bhagavad Gita. It is commonly
referred to as the Gita and was originally part of the great Indian
epic Mahabharata. Its date of composition, therefore, is closely associated with
that of the epic. 5th - 3rd century BCE. But not all scholars agree that the work was
originally included in the Mahabharata text and so date it later to 2nd century BCE.
the sage Vyasa, whose full name was Krishna Dvaipayana, also called Veda-Vyasa.
Another Hindu legend states that Vyasa narrated it while the elephant-headed
deity Ganesha broke one of his tusks and wrote down the Mahabharata along
with the Bhagavad Gita. Scholars consider Vyasa to be a mythical or symbolic
author, in part because Vyasa is also the traditional compiler of the Vedas and
the Puranas, texts dated to be from different millennia. The word Vyasa literally
means "arranger, compiler and is a surname in India. According to Kashi Nath
Upadhyaya, a Gita scholar, it is possible that several different individuals with the
same name compiled different texts.

The original Sanskrit text Bhagavad Gita translated into Tamil by Sir
Ponnampalam Ramanathan, Bhagavad Gita Tamil Translation and Commentary,
was first published in 1914. This was published in order that the Tamil speaking
community will have access to this sacred text. This book containing 532 pages is
republished today after 103 years on the last day of Vijayathasami (Sarawathi
Pooja) the day dedicated to commencement of learning, symbolising the victory
in life through learning.

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 Mahakavi Bharathi's translation of Bhagavad-Gita translations in Tamil is widely
known and undoubtedly very special. There is no parallel to Bharathi’s in
translating what is in the source without any damage.

This was a speech between Sri Krishna and Arjuna in Battle field. This did not
happen among those who learned in the middle of a congregation. The question
may arise as to how others got this argument. Whenever an incarnation comes to
the earth, a prophet comes with him who can write down his wonderful
correctness. Valmiki came to mark Srirama Sarita. Vyasa came to explain the
actions of Sri Krishna Paramatma. He is wise. Vyasa had the wisdom to know sri
Krishna’s views, whether he was nearby or within reach. By the grace of Vyasa,
Sanjaya had temporarily received the eye of wisdom. Therefore, it is possible for
Sanjaya to take what has happened to Dhritarashtra as it is. So Arjuna was
listening Bhagavad-Gita in person, while Vyasa and Sanjaya drank from the reach.
Vyasa wrote it down; Sanjaya continued to do so. After the end of the war, the
Sanjaya can only spread the sound; the feeling is not with it. The sense of wisdom
can be bought as it is. Whether it is the help of language or not, the wise man can
take the view

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https://www.dailymirror.lk/news-features/Republishing-Gita-in-Tamil/131-
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https://tamilnation.org/sathyam/east/gita/gita.htm

https://www.hinduwebsite.com/chapters.asp

https://www.quora.com/When-was-Bhagavad-Gita-translated-to-Tamil?share=1

https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/ _

https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/website-with-a-
difference-to-learn-bhagavad-gita/article22892544.ece

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