(The Hymn of Creation), Rig Veda 10.129. This is arguably the most famous philosophical hymn in the entire Vedic corpus. This text is fascinating because it doesn't offer a dogmatic creation myth; instead, it offers a radical skepticism. It asks if even the "Gods" know the origin, since they came after the act of creation.
The Nasadiya Sukta नासदीय सूक्तः – The Quest about creation
नास॑दासी॒न्नो सदा॑सीत्त॒दानी॒म् नासी॒द्रजो॒ नो व्यो॑मा प॒रो यत्।
किमाव॑रीव॒: कुह॒ कस्य॒ शर्म॒न्नंभ॒: किमा॑सी॒द्गह॑नं गभी॒रम्॥१॥
naasadaa-siinno sadaa-siit tadaaniim naasiidrajo no vy-o-maa paro yat |
kimaavariivah kuha kasya sharmannambhah kim-aa-siidgahanam gabhiiram ||1||
There was neither existence nor non-existence, neither matter nor space
What covered it? Where was it? What was its purpose? What protected it? Who was the master of the cosmic water (space plasma) that was dense and deep?
न मृ॒त्युरा॑सीद॒मृतं॒ न तर्हि॒ न रात्र्या॒ अह्न॑ आसीत्प्रके॒तः।
आनी॑दवा॒तं स्व॒धया॒ तदेकं॒ तस्मा॑द्धा॒न्यन्न प॒रः किञ्च॒नास॑॥२॥
na mrutyur-aa-siidamritam na tarhi na raatryaa annha-aasiit praketaha |
aan-ii-davaatam svadhayaa tadekan-tasm-aa-ddhaanyanna parah-kinchanaasa ||2||
There was neither death nor immortality and nothing to separate night and day,
That One existed enclosed in nothingness, there was only that One and no other.
तम॑ आसी॒त्तम॑सा गू॒ळ्हमग्रे॑ऽप्रके॒तं स॑लि॒लं सर्व॑मा इ॒दं।
तु॒च्छ्येना॒भ्वपि॑हितं॒ यदासी॒त्तप॑स॒स्तन्म॑हि॒ना जा॑य॒तैकं॑॥ ३॥
tama aasiit tamasaa guuL hamagre-e’praketam salilam sarvamaa idam |
tuchhyenaabh-vapihitam –yadaasiit-tapasastan-mahinaa jaa-yataikam-m || 3 ||
Darkness covered darkness, all this was hidden intelligence in cosmic water (Space Plasma)
And the One enclosed in nothing arose from the power of heat.
काम॒स्तदग्रे॒ सम॑वर्त॒ताधि॒ मन॑सो॒ रेत॑: प्रथ॒मं यदासी॑त्।
स॒तो बन्धु॒मस॑ति॒ निर॑विन्दन् हृ॒दि प्र॒तीष्या॑ क॒वयो॑ मनी॒षा॥४॥
kaamastadagre sama-varta-taa-dhimanaso retah prathamam- yadaasii-t |
sato bandhuma-sati niravindan hrudi pratiishy-aa kava-y-o manishaa ||4||
Desire entered and the primal seed appeared from the cosmic mind.
The wise who searched deep within their heart could discern between that which is and that which is not
ति॒र॒श्चीनो॒ वित॑तो र॒श्मिरे॑षाम॒धः स्वि॑दा॒सी दु॒परि॑ स्विदासी त्।
रे॒तो॒धा आ॑सन्महि॒मान॑ आसन्त्स्व॒धा आ॒वस्ता॒त्प्रय॑तिः प॒रस्ता॑त्॥५॥
tirash-chiino vitato rashmir-e-shaamadhah svidaasiiii dupari svidaasiiii ta |
retodhaa –aa-sanmahimaana aasantsvadhaa aavastaatprayatih parast-aat ||5||
From the primal seed sprang crisscross rays holding all the forces above and below.
The strong powers made fertile forces with strength below and impulse above.
को अ॒द्धा वे॑द॒ क इ॒ह प्र वो॑च॒त्कुत॒ आजा॑ता॒ कुत॑ इ॒यं विसृ॑ष्टिः।
अ॒र्वाग्दे॒वा अ॒स्य वि॒सर्ज॑ने॒नाथा॒ को वे॑द॒ यत॑ आब॒भूव॑॥६॥
ko addhaa v-e-da ka iha pra v-o-chatkuta aaj-aa-taa kuta iyam visrushtihi |
arvaagdevaa asya visarjanenaathaa ko v-e-da yata aababhuuvaa ||6 ||
Who can say and know where all this came from and how all this came to be?
The ‘devas’ (‘gods) came after all this manifested so who knows where all this came from?
इ॒यं विसृ॑ष्टि॒र्यत॑ आब॒भूव॒ यदि॑ वा द॒धे यदि॑ वा॒ न।
यो अ॒स्याध्य॑क्षः पर॒मे व्यो॑म॒न्त्सो अ॒ङ्ग वे॑द॒ यदि॑ वा॒ न वेद॑॥ ७॥
iyam visrushtir-yata aabhabhuuva yadi vaa dadhe yadi va na |
yo asyaadhyakshah parame vy-o-mantso anga ve-eda yadi va ne veda || 7 ||
Where did creation have its origin? Who is One that created it or did the One not create it?
That One alone perceives all from above and knows the beginning or maybe doesn’t?
Here is a substantial rendering of the Purusha Sukta (Rig Veda 10.90), the Hymn of the Cosmic Person:
I. The Purusha has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. Encompassing the earth on every side, he extends beyond it by ten fingers' breadth.
II. The Purusha alone is all this universe, what has been and what is yet to be. He is the lord of immortality, which he transcends through sacrificial food.
III. Such is the measure of his greatness, but the Purusha is yet more than this. All creatures constitute but one quarter of him; three quarters are the immortal in heaven.
IV. With three quarters the Purusha rose upward; one quarter of him remained here below. From this he spread in all directions into that which eats and that which does not eat.
V. From him Viraj was born, and from Viraj came the Purusha. When born, he extended beyond the earth, both behind and before.
VI. When the gods prepared the sacrifice with the Purusha as their offering, spring was the clarified butter, summer the fuel, and autumn the oblation.
VII. They consecrated on the sacred grass the Purusha, born in the beginning. With him the gods performed the sacrifice, together with the Sadhyas and the ancient seers.
VIII. From that great cosmic sacrifice, the dripping fat was gathered. From it he fashioned the creatures of the air, the forest animals, and those of the village.
IX. From that great cosmic sacrifice were born the verses of the Rig and the Saman. The sacred formulas were born from it; from it the Yajur was born.
X. From it were born the horses, and all creatures with two rows of teeth. Cattle were born from it; from it were born goats and sheep.
XI. When they divided the Purusha, into how many parts did they apportion him? What was his mouth? What his two arms? What are his thighs and feet called?
XII. The Brahmin was his mouth; his two arms became the Rajanya (Kshatriya). His thighs became the Vaishya; from his feet the Shudra was born.
XIII. The moon was born from his mind; from his eye the sun was born. From his mouth came Indra and Agni; from his breath Vayu was born.
XIV. From his navel the atmosphere was fashioned; from his head the sky evolved. From his feet came the earth; from his ear the directions. Thus they formed the worlds.
XV. Seven were his enclosing sticks; thrice seven were made the fuel sticks, when the gods, performing the sacrifice, bound the Purusha as the victim.
XVI. With sacrifice the gods sacrificed to the sacrifice. These were the first of the sacred laws. These mighty beings reached the firmament where dwell the ancient Sadhyas and the gods.
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The Purusha Sukta occupies a unique and somewhat anomalous position within the Rig Veda. It appears in the tenth and final mandala (book), which scholars generally consider the youngest stratum of the Rigvedic corpus, likely composed between 1200-1000 BCE, several centuries after the oldest hymns.
From a philosophical standpoint, the Purusha Sukta introduces several concepts that would prove generative for Indian thought: the notion of organic wholeness (the universe as a living body rather than a mechanism), the principle of microcosm-macrocosm correspondence (the individual as reflection of the cosmos), and the idea that division and multiplicity emerge from primordial unity through a process that is simultaneously creative and sacrificial.
This last point deserves emphasis: the hymn presents existence itself as involving loss, separation, and self-giving. The One becomes many not through joyful emanation but through dismemberment. This tragic dimension of creation—that being requires division, that life necessitates death—would echo through subsequent Indian philosophy, from the Upanishadic discussions of maya to Buddhist analyses of suffering inherent in conditioned existence.
The hymn's most controversial element is verse twelve, which derives the four varnas (social classes) from different parts of Purusha's body: Brahmins from the mouth, Kshatriyas from the arms, Vaishyas from the thighs, and Shudras from the feet. This is the earliest textual reference to the four-fold varna system, which suggests the hymn was composed when social hierarchy had become sufficiently entrenched to require cosmological legitimation.
Here is a selection of foundational passages from Hindu sacred texts, organized thematically to highlight key philosophical concepts:
From the Chandogya Upanishad (6.2.1-2): "In the beginning, my dear, this world was just Being, one only, without a second. Some people say: 'In the beginning this world was just Non-being, one only, without a second; from that Non-being, Being was produced.' But how, my dear, could it be thus? How could Being be produced from Non-being? On the contrary, my dear, in the beginning this world was just Being, one only, without a second."
From the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (3.9.28): "That Imperishable, O Gargi, is unseen but is the Seer; unheard, but is the Hearer; unthought, but is the Thinker; unknown, but is the Knower. There is no other seer but This, no other hearer but This, no other thinker but This, no other knower but This."
From the Chandogya Upanishad (6.8.7): "That which is the subtle essence—this whole world has that as its soul. That is Reality. That is Atman. That thou art, Svetaketu." (Tat tvam asi - "That thou art" - one of the four great sayings)
From the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.4.10): "Whoever knows 'I am Brahman' becomes this All. Even the gods cannot prevent him from becoming thus, for he becomes their Self."
From the Mandukya Upanishad (2): "All this is indeed Brahman. This Self is Brahman. This Self has four quarters."
From the Isa Upanishad (9-11): "Into blind darkness enter those who worship ignorance, and into still blinder darkness those who delight in knowledge. Different indeed is what arises from knowledge, and different what arises from ignorance—thus we have heard from the wise who taught us this. He who knows both knowledge and ignorance together, by ignorance crosses over death, by knowledge attains immortality."
From the Katha Upanishad (1.2.23-24): "This Atman cannot be attained by instruction, nor by intellectual power, nor even through much hearing. He is attained only by the one whom the Atman chooses. To such a one the Atman reveals his own nature. This Atman cannot be attained by one without strength, nor through heedlessness, nor through false austerity. But when a wise man strives by these means, his Atman enters the abode of Brahman."
From the Bhagavad Gita (2.47): "Your right is to work only, but never to the fruits thereof. Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction."
From the Bhagavad Gita (3.19): "Therefore, without attachment, constantly perform action which is duty, for by performing action without attachment, man reaches the Supreme."
From the Bhagavad Gita (2.20): "The Self is never born, nor does it die; nor having come to be will it ever cease to be. Unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient, it is not slain when the body is slain."
From the Bhagavad Gita (4.7-8): "Whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness, O Bharata, then I send forth Myself. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being from age to age."
From the Bhagavad Gita (9.22): "Those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have."
From the Katha Upanishad (1.3.14): "Arise! Awake! Having attained the boons, understand them! Sharp as a razor's edge, hard to traverse, difficult of going is that path—so say the wise."
From the Mundaka Upanishad (3.2.3): "When a man knows the Self, the Lord of what was and what shall be, he does not shrink away from Him. This, verily, is That."
From the Svetasvatara Upanishad (6.20-21): "There is one Unborn, red, white, and black, who gives birth to numerous offspring resembling herself. There is one unborn male who loves her and lies by her; there is another who leaves her after having enjoyed her... Two birds, close companions, cling to the same tree. Of these two, one eats the sweet fruit; the other looks on without eating."
From the Svetasvatara Upanishad (4.10): "Know that Prakriti (Nature) is Maya, and that the Great Lord is the wielder of Maya. This whole world is pervaded by beings that are parts of Him."
From the Kena Upanishad (1.5-6): "That which cannot be expressed by speech, but by which speech is expressed—That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship. That which cannot be apprehended by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is apprehended—That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship."
From the Taittiriya Upanishad (2.9.1): "He who knows Brahman as non-existing becomes himself non-existent. He who knows Brahman as existing—him people know as existing. Of that former student, the Self is the beloved, the body is the dear, the vital force is the companion, prosperity is the dwelling."
These passages represent the core of Hindu philosophical thought: the non-dual nature of reality, the identity between individual consciousness and ultimate reality, the problem of knowledge and liberation, the ethical framework of action without attachment, and the mysterious origins of existence itself. They establish both the apophatic (what cannot be said) and cataphatic (what can be affirmed) dimensions of Hindu metaphysics.
The Upanishads represent the final phase of Vedic literature, composed roughly between 800-400 BCE, though some later Upanishads extend into the Common Era. The earliest and most philosophically significant—the Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Kaushitaki, and Kena—are generally dated to 800-500 BCE. These are called the "principal" or "classical" Upanishads, and they form the textual foundation for the Vedanta philosophical tradition.
The word "Upanishad" itself derives from upa (near) + ni (down) + sad (to sit), suggesting "sitting down near" a teacher—indicating that these were secret or esoteric teachings transmitted in intimate master-disciple relationships, not public rituals.
The Upanishads introduce several concepts that would become foundational to all subsequent Indian philosophy:
Brahman: The ultimate, unchanging reality underlying all existence—formless, infinite, beyond attributes yet the source of all that is.
Atman: The innermost self or soul, understood not as personality or ego but as pure consciousness itself.
Atman-Brahman identity: The revolutionary teaching that the individual self and ultimate reality are not two but one—expressed in the great sayings (mahavakyas) like "That thou art" (tat tvam asi) and "I am Brahman" (aham brahmasmi).
Maya: The concept that the phenomenal world, while not unreal, is nevertheless appearance rather than ultimate truth—a veil obscuring the underlying unity.
Karma and Samsara: The systematization of the doctrine of rebirth and moral causation, where one's actions determine future existences.
Moksha: Liberation from the cycle of rebirth, achieved through knowledge (jnana) of one's true nature as Brahman.
What makes the Upanishads philosophically distinctive is their radical questioning of ordinary experience and common sense. They claim that our normal awareness of ourselves as separate, embodied individuals in a world of distinct objects is fundamentally mistaken. True reality is non-dual consciousness—without parts, without change, without boundaries. Liberation comes not through moral improvement or ritual action but through the dissolution of the illusion of separateness, through realizing what one already is and always has been.
This is not mystical anti-intellectualism but a rigorous philosophical position: the Upanishads employ sophisticated arguments about the conditions of knowledge, the limits of language, the nature of causation, and the structure of consciousness. They ask how the unchanging can become many, how the infinite can appear finite, how that which is beyond all attributes can be known—questions that would occupy Indian philosophers for the next two millennia.
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From the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (3.8.8-11) - The Teaching of Gargi:
Gargi questioned him: "Yajnavalkya, since all this world is woven, warp and woof, in water, in what then is water woven?"
"In air, O Gargi."
"In what then is air woven?"
"In the worlds of the sky, O Gargi."
"In what then are the worlds of the sky woven?"
"In the worlds of the Gandharvas, O Gargi... In the worlds of the sun... In the worlds of the moon... In the worlds of the stars... In the worlds of the gods... In the worlds of Indra... In the worlds of Prajapati... In the worlds of Brahman, O Gargi."
"In what then are the worlds of Brahman woven?"
Yajnavalkya said: "Gargi, do not question too much, lest your head fall off. You are questioning about a divinity about which further questions cannot be asked. Gargi, do not over-question." Thereupon Gargi, daughter of Vachaknu, held her peace.
From the Kena Upanishad (1.3-9):
The ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of speech, the breath of breath, the eye of the eye—having abandoned these, the wise, departing from this world, become immortal.
There the eye goes not, speech goes not, nor the mind. We know not, we understand not how one can teach this. It is distinct from the known; it is, moreover, above the unknown. Thus have we heard from the ancients who explained it to us.
That which is not expressed by speech, but that by which speech is expressed—know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship as an object.
That which is not thought by the mind, but that by which, they say, the mind thinks—know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship as an object.
That which is not seen by the eye, but that by which the eyes see—know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship as an object.
That which is not heard by the ear, but that by which the ear hears—know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship as an object.
That which is not breathed by the breath, but that by which breath is drawn—know that alone to be Brahman, not what people worship as an object.
From the Katha Upanishad (1.2.18-25) - Nachiketas and Death:
The knowing Self is never born, nor does it die. It has not sprung from anything; nothing has sprung from it. Unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient, it is not slain when the body is slain.
If the slayer thinks "I slay," if the slain thinks "I am slain," both these do not understand. It neither slays nor is slain.
Smaller than the small, greater than the great, the Self is set in the heart of every creature. One who is free from desire, with mind and senses composed, beholds the majesty of the Self and becomes free from sorrow.
Sitting, it travels far; lying, it goes everywhere. Who else but I can know that God who rejoices and rejoices not?
When the wise one knows the Self, the bodiless among bodies, the stable among the unstable, the great, all-pervading—then he grieves no more.
This Self cannot be attained by instruction, nor by intellectual power, nor even through much hearing. It is attained only by the one whom it chooses. To such a one the Self reveals its own nature.
This Self cannot be attained by one without strength, nor through heedlessness, nor through austerity without an aim. But when a wise man strives by these means, his Self enters the abode of Brahman.
From the Chandogya Upanishad (8.7.1-4; 8.12.1-3) - The Teaching to Indra:
"The Self which is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger and thirst, whose desire is the Real, whose conception is the Real—that is what should be searched out, that is what one should desire to understand. He who has found out and who understands that Self obtains all worlds and all desires."
[After much instruction, Prajapati finally reveals:]
"When one is sound asleep, composed, serene, and knows no dream—that is the Self. That is the immortal, the fearless. That is Brahman."
But Indra, even before reaching the gods, saw this danger: "Although it is true that this Self is not blinded when the body is blind, nor lamed when the body is lamed, nor injured when the body is injured, yet it is as though they slay it when they slay the body, as though they make it lame when they lame the body. It experiences, as it were, what is pleasant and what is unpleasant. I see no good in this."
[Finally, Prajapati teaches:]
"When a person, fully asleep, serene, and knowing no dream, stirs—these are his arteries called hita. From the heart they extend to the surrounding body. As a spider might come out by its thread, as small sparks come forth from fire, even so from this Self come forth all vital forces, all worlds, all gods, all beings. Its secret meaning is 'the Real of the real.' The vital forces are the real, and it is their Real."
From the Mandukya Upanishad (1-7):
Om. This syllable is this whole world. Its further explanation is: the past, the present, the future—everything is just the word Om. And whatever else that transcends threefold time—that, too, is just the word Om.
For truly, everything here is Brahman; this Self is Brahman. This Self has four quarters.
The first quarter is Vaishvanara, whose sphere is the waking state, who is conscious of external objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths, and who experiences gross objects.
The second quarter is Taijasa, whose sphere is the dream state, who is conscious of internal objects, who has seven limbs and nineteen mouths, and who experiences subtle objects.
If one asleep desires no desire whatsoever and sees no dream whatsoever, that is deep sleep. The third quarter is Prajna, whose sphere is deep sleep, in whom all experiences become unified, who is a mass of consciousness, who is full of bliss, who experiences bliss, whose mouth is consciousness.
This is the lord of all, this is the knower of all, this is the inner controller, this is the source of all, for this is the origin and dissolution of beings.
They consider the fourth quarter as that which is not conscious of the internal world, nor conscious of the external world, nor conscious of both worlds, nor a mass of consciousness, nor conscious, nor unconscious; which is unseen, beyond empirical dealings, beyond the grasp of the organs, unthinkable, unnameable, whose essence is the firm conviction of the oneness of the Self, in which all phenomena cease, which is tranquil, benign, without a second. That is the Self; that is to be known.
From the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2.4.5; 2.4.12-14) - Yajnavalkya to Maitreyi:
"Truly, it is not for the sake of the husband, my dear, that the husband is loved, but for the sake of the Self that the husband is loved. It is not for the sake of the wife that the wife is loved, but for the sake of the Self that the wife is loved. It is not for the sake of the sons that the sons are loved, but for the sake of the Self that the sons are loved... It is not for the sake of all that all is loved, but for the sake of the Self that all is loved. The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should be seen, should be heard, should be reflected upon, should be meditated upon. When the Self, my dear, is seen, heard, reflected upon, and known, then all this becomes known."
"As a lump of salt thrown into water dissolves with the water, and none is able to pick it out again, but wherever one takes the water, it is salty—even so, O Maitreyi, this great Being, endless, limitless, consists of nothing but knowledge. Having arisen out of these elements, into them it vanishes again. After death there is no consciousness. This is what I say, my dear." Thus spoke Yajnavalkya.
Then Maitreyi said: "Here, Sir, you have bewildered me by saying 'after death there is no consciousness.'"
But Yajnavalkya replied: "I say nothing bewildering. This is enough for understanding, my dear. For where there is duality, as it were, there one sees another, there one smells another, there one tastes another, there one speaks to another, there one hears another, there one thinks of another, there one touches another, there one understands another. But where everything has become the Self itself, then by what and whom would one see? By what and whom would one smell? By what and whom would one taste? By what and to whom would one speak? By what and whom would one hear? By what and of whom would one think? By what and whom would one touch? By what and whom would one understand? By what would one understand that by which all this is understood? By what, my dear, would one understand the Understander?"
From the Isa Upanishad (1-8, 15-18):
All this, whatever moves in this moving world, is pervaded by the Lord. Through that renunciation, protect yourself. Do not covet anyone's wealth.
Even while doing deeds here, one may desire to live a hundred years. For you, as such a person, there is no other way than this whereby deeds do not adhere to you.
Sunless are those worlds, covered with blind darkness, to which go, after death, those people who are slayers of the Self.
Unmoving, the One is swifter than the mind. The senses cannot reach it, for it speeds before them. Standing still, it outruns those who run. In it, the all-pervading wind supports the activities of beings.
It moves and it moves not. It is far and it is near. It is within all this and it is also outside all this.
He who sees all beings in the Self itself, and the Self in all beings, feels no hatred by virtue of that understanding.
When, to one who knows, all beings have become the very Self, then what delusion and what sorrow can there be for that seer of oneness?
It has pervaded all—the bright, the bodiless, the without-wound, the without-sinews, the pure, the unpierced by evil. The all-seeing, all-knowing, self-dependent Ordainer has duly assigned to the eternal Creators their respective functions.
[At death:]
The face of truth is covered with a golden disc. Unveil it, O Pushan, for one who has truth as his dharma, to see.
O Pushan, sole seer, O Controller, O Sun, offspring of Prajapati, spread forth your rays and gather up your radiant light that I may behold your fairest form. That Person who is there—I myself am he.
Let this life enter into the immortal breath; then may this body end in ashes. Om. O Intelligence, remember, remember what has been done. O Intelligence, remember, remember what has been done.
O Agni, you who know all our deeds, lead us by the good path to prosperity. Keep us away from the wandering evil sin. To you we shall offer most ample speech of adoration.
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These passages showcase the Upanishads' distinctive philosophical method: moving beyond ritual to direct inquiry into ultimate reality, employing dialogue and dialectic to push beyond conceptual limitations, and culminating in the radical claim that the individual self and absolute reality are identical—a teaching that cannot be grasped intellectually but only realized through transformation of consciousness itself.
Literary Setting
The Bhagavad Gita ("Song of the Lord") is a 700-verse philosophical dialogue embedded in the sixth book of the Mahabharata, the vast Sanskrit epic composed roughly between 400 BCE and 400 CE. The Gita itself is generally dated to the 2nd-1st centuries BCE, though some scholars place it earlier. It occurs at the narrative climax: two branches of the same royal family, the Pandavas and Kauravas, face each other on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjuna, the great warrior of the Pandavas, experiences a moral crisis as he prepares to fight his own kinsmen, teachers, and friends.
The charioteer who has driven Arjuna between the two armies is Krishna—ostensibly a human prince and Arjuna's friend, but in reality an avatar (descent, incarnation) of the supreme deity Vishnu. What follows is one of the most influential philosophical texts in world literature: Krishna's teaching to the despairing Arjuna about duty, action, knowledge, devotion, and the nature of ultimate reality.
Philosophical Innovation
The Gita represents a brilliant synthesis of several strands of Indian thought that had developed over the preceding centuries:
From the Upanishads: The metaphysics of Brahman-Atman, the imperishable self, the goal of liberation (moksha), and the path of knowledge (jnana).
From the Samkhya philosophy: The dualism of matter (prakriti) and consciousness (purusha), the analysis of the three gunas (qualities of nature: sattva, rajas, tamas), and a naturalistic account of cosmic evolution.
From Yoga: The discipline of meditation, control of the mind and senses, and techniques for spiritual practice.
Original to the Gita: The concept of karma yoga (the path of disciplined action), the theology of devotion (bhakti) to a personal God, and—most revolutionary—the teaching that liberation can be achieved while remaining active in the world, not only through renunciation.
The Gita's central problem is existential and ethical: How should one act in a morally ambiguous world? Arjuna faces what appears to be an impossible dilemma: his duty (dharma) as a warrior demands he fight, but fighting means killing those he loves and reveres. Withdrawal seems morally superior but violates his social obligations. Krishna's teaching dissolves this dilemma by reframing action itself.
Philosophical Method
Unlike the Upanishads' exploratory dialogues, the Gita is essentially didactic: Krishna instructs, Arjuna receives. Yet it proceeds dialectically, with Krishna offering progressively deeper teachings as Arjuna's understanding develops. The text moves from practical ethics (do your duty) to metaphysics (the self is eternal) to theology (I am the supreme reality) to mystical vision (Arjuna's experience of Krishna's universal form) and finally to the ultimate teaching of loving devotion.
The Gita is also notably syncretic and sometimes deliberately paradoxical. It advocates both action and renunciation, knowledge and devotion, discipline and grace. Commentators from different schools—Shankara's non-dualist Advaita, Ramanuja's qualified non-dualism, Madhva's dualism—have each found support for their interpretations, suggesting the text's philosophical richness and perhaps deliberate multivalence.
Arjuna (1.28-31, 45-46):
"Seeing these kinsmen, O Krishna, arrayed and eager to fight, my limbs give way, my mouth is parched, my body trembles, and my hair stands on end. The bow Gandiva slips from my hand, my skin burns, I cannot stand steady, and my mind seems to reel.
I see omens of evil, O Krishna, nor do I foresee any good from slaying my own kinsmen in battle. I desire not victory, O Krishna, nor kingdom, nor pleasures. Of what use is kingdom to us, O Krishna, or enjoyment, or even life itself?
Better it would be for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, should slay me in battle, unarmed and unresisting."
Having thus spoken, Arjuna sank down on the seat of his chariot, casting away his bow and arrows, his mind overwhelmed with sorrow.
Krishna (2.11-13, 16-25):
"You grieve for those who should not be grieved for, yet you speak words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor for the dead.
Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these lords of men; nor will there ever be a time hereafter when we shall cease to be.
As the embodied soul continuously passes through childhood, youth, and old age in this body, so does it pass into another body at death. The wise are not deluded by this.
The unreal has no being; the real never ceases to be. The truth about both has been perceived by the seers of truth.
Know that to be indestructible by which all this is pervaded. No one can bring about the destruction of this immutable being.
These bodies of the eternal, indestructible, incomprehensible embodied Self are said to have an end. Therefore fight, O Arjuna.
He who thinks this slays, and he who thinks this is slain—both of them fail to perceive the truth. This neither slays nor is slain.
This is never born, nor does it die; nor having come to be will it ever cease to be. Unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient—it is not slain when the body is slain.
Knowing it to be indestructible, eternal, unborn, and unchanging, how can a person, O Arjuna, cause anyone to be slain or slay anyone?
As a person casts off worn-out garments and puts on others that are new, even so does the embodied Self cast off worn-out bodies and enter into others that are new.
Weapons do not cleave it, fire does not burn it, waters do not wet it, wind does not dry it. It cannot be cloven, it cannot be burned, it cannot be wetted, it cannot be dried. Eternal, all-pervading, stable, immovable, everlasting is this Self.
It is said to be unmanifest, unthinkable, unchanging. Therefore, knowing it as such, you should not grieve."
Krishna (2.47-51; 3.19-20, 30):
"Your right is to work only, but never to its fruits. Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.
Established in yoga, perform actions, having abandoned attachment, remaining even-minded in success and failure. This evenness of mind is called yoga.
Action is far inferior to the yoga of wisdom, O Arjuna. Seek refuge in wisdom. Pitiable are those whose motive is the fruit of action.
One endowed with wisdom abandons here both good and evil deeds. Therefore, devote yourself to yoga. Yoga is skill in action.
The wise, endowed with evenness of mind, abandoning the fruits of their actions, freed from the bondage of rebirth, go to the place that is beyond suffering.
Therefore, without attachment, constantly perform action which is duty, for by performing action without attachment, one attains the Supreme.
Abandoning all actions to Me, with mind intent on the Self, freed from longing and selfishness, fight—untroubled by fever of the soul."
Krishna (3.4-9):
"Not by abstention from action does one attain freedom from action, nor by renunciation alone does one attain perfection.
No one can remain even for a moment without performing action. Everyone is made to act helplessly by the qualities born of nature.
He who restrains the organs of action but continues in his mind to brood over the objects of the senses is called a hypocrite, a man of deluded understanding.
But superior is he, O Arjuna, who, controlling the senses by the mind, undertakes the path of action through the organs of action, remaining unattached.
Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. Even the maintenance of your body would not be possible through inaction.
This world is bound by action other than that performed for the sake of sacrifice. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform action for that sake alone, freed from attachment."
Krishna (4.5-8, 13-14):
"Many are My past births and yours also, O Arjuna. I know them all, but you do not know yours, O scorcher of foes.
Though I am unborn and My Self is imperishable, though I am the Lord of all beings, yet, governing My own nature, I come into being through My own maya.
Whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of adharma, O Bharata, then I send forth Myself.
For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of dharma, I come into being age after age.
The four-fold order was created by Me according to the division of qualities and actions. Though I am its creator, know Me to be the non-doer, immutable.
Actions do not taint Me, nor do I have desire for the fruit of action. He who knows Me thus is not bound by actions."
Arjuna (11.15-20, 24, 36, 45):
"I see all the gods in Your body, O God, and hosts of various beings—Lord Brahma seated on the lotus, all the seers and divine serpents.
I see You with infinite forms on all sides, with countless arms, bellies, faces, and eyes. I see neither Your end, nor middle, nor beginning, O Lord of the Universe, O Universal Form.
I see You with crown, mace, and discus—a mass of radiance blazing everywhere, hard to look at, immeasurable, with the brilliance of flaming fire and sun on all sides.
You are the Imperishable, the Supreme to be known. You are the ultimate resting place of this universe. You are the immortal guardian of eternal dharma. You are the primeval Person—this is my conviction.
I see You without beginning, middle, or end, of infinite power, with innumerable arms, with the sun and moon as Your eyes, with blazing fire as Your mouth, heating this entire universe with Your radiance.
This space between heaven and earth is pervaded by You alone, and all the directions. Seeing this, Your wondrous, terrible form, the three worlds tremble, O Great Soul.
Seeing Your great form with many mouths and eyes, with many arms, thighs, and feet, with many bellies, terrible with many tusks—the worlds tremble, and so do I.
O Vishnu, seeing You touching the sky, blazing with many colors, with gaping mouths and large flaming eyes, my inmost soul trembles, and I find neither firmness nor peace.
It is fitting that the world delights and rejoices in Your praise, O Krishna. Terrified demons flee in all directions, and all the hosts of perfected beings bow down to You."
Krishna (11.54-55):
"But by devotion to Me alone, O Arjuna, can I be known in this form, seen in truth, and entered into.
He who does all actions for My sake, who regards Me as the supreme goal, who is devoted to Me, who is free from attachment, who bears enmity toward no being—he comes to Me, O Arjuna."
Krishna (12.13-20):
"He who has no ill will toward any being, who is friendly and compassionate, free from possessiveness and egoism, even-minded in pleasure and pain, forgiving,
Always content, self-controlled, firm in conviction, with mind and intellect dedicated to Me—he who is thus devoted to Me is dear to Me.
He from whom the world does not shrink and who does not shrink from the world, who is freed from joy, envy, fear, and agitation—he is dear to Me.
He who is free from dependence, pure, capable, unconcerned, untroubled, renouncing all undertakings—he who is thus devoted to Me is dear to Me.
He who neither rejoices nor hates, neither grieves nor desires, renouncing both good and evil, full of devotion—he is dear to Me.
Alike to foe and friend, in honor and dishonor, in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, freed from attachment,
Holding praise and blame as equal, silent, content with whatever comes, homeless, steady-minded, full of devotion—that person is dear to Me.
But those who honor this immortal dharma as described, endowed with faith, regarding Me as supreme, devoted—they are exceedingly dear to Me."
Krishna (18.64-66):
"Hear again My supreme word, the most secret of all. Because you are greatly beloved of Me, I shall tell you what is for your good.
Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me. Thus you shall come to Me. Truly do I promise you, for you are dear to Me.
Abandoning all dharmas, take refuge in Me alone. I shall liberate you from all evils. Do not grieve."
The Gita's enduring power lies in its synthesis of seemingly incompatible positions. It teaches that one can pursue liberation while fulfilling worldly duties, that action and renunciation are not opposites but complementary paths, that the impersonal Absolute of the Upanishads and a personal God worthy of love are ultimately the same reality viewed from different perspectives.
Its doctrine of nishkama karma (desireless action) offered a middle way between world-affirming ritualism and world-denying asceticism. One acts, but without ego-identification, offering all actions to the divine. This made spiritual life accessible beyond the renunciant elite, democratizing liberation.
The Gita's bhakti theology—loving devotion to a personal God who responds with grace—would become central to popular Hindu devotion. Yet it never abandons the Upanishadic teaching of non-duality; Krishna reveals himself as both the personal Lord and the impersonal Absolute, both transcendent and immanent.
For contemporary readers, the Gita addresses perennial questions: How should we act in morally ambiguous situations? How can we remain engaged with the world without being consumed by attachment and anxiety? How do we reconcile freedom and determinism, personal agency and cosmic order? Its answer—act with full commitment but without clinging to outcomes, seeing all action as participation in a larger order—continues to resonate across philosophical and cultural boundaries.