The Bhagavad Gita, or song of the Lord, is part of one of the world's greatest epics, the Mahabharata. As such it is not only a work of great philosophical and religious meaning, but also a poem. This verse translation renders the Sanskrit poetry of the Gita into English iambic pentameters, which bring the vigour and beauty of the original into contemporary English. An introduction to Gita, written by the translator himself, sets the poem in a wider philosophical context. Brian Hodgkinson shows that the conversation which took place a few thousand years ago before fighting broke out between rival princes on an Indian battlefield is as relevant to us today as it was when Arjuna first spoke to his charioteer.

The author, Brian James Hodgkinson, was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's school, London and Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. He then taught Philosophy at Sussex University for some years, before teaching at Dulwich College and St James Schools. Whilst working in London he become the founding editor of the British Economy Survey. He now lives and teaches in Oxford, whilst maintaining his life-long interest in Philosophy.

In the philosophical tradition of which it forms a central part the Bhagavad Gita (The Song of the Lord) is classified as Smrti or works derived from the memory of those who know the Veda. Smrti forms one of the four conditions required as tests to confirm any matter of truth which may arise. Prior to Smrti is Sruti, which refers to the Veda itself, the very source of the tradition. The Veda - the linguistic root of which vid (to know) is not itself a written work, but rather knowledge which is said to be coeval with mankind. Sruti (by derivation, that which is heard) is revelation based directly upon the Veda and passed down for the benefit of humanity by an oral tradition. The Gita itself refers to this:

Samkaracarya, who wrote commentaries on the scriptures and taught the system of Advaita philosophy. The final test of truthfulness is the experience of the man himself who is confronted with the question or problem at issue. Without this he would be unable to recognize fully the validity of the answer; it would not be accepted, as it were, in the heart. The agreement of Sruti, Smrti, the self-realized man and the individual, therefore, guarantees the truthfulness of an answer to any question. It is the seal of truth'.