The Bhagavad Gita is most popularly known as the “holy book of Hindus”, but did you know that there are actually several Gitas, out of which the Bhagavata Gita was taken up as the prime book encompassing the total message of Hinduism?

Historical progression of Hindusim

‘Hindusim’ became the name of an organised religion much later — initially it was simply a lifestyle termed Sanatan Dharma. Hinduism has developed for over 5000 years through eight phases in history:

Indus, Vedic, Upanishadic, Buddhist, Puranic, Bhakti

Orientalist, Modern.

It needs to be noted that though this is the historical progression of Hinduism, there are many who believe Hinduism to be an ahistorical school of thought where all Hindu ideas are timeless. This divide in the beliefs often hinder studies on Hinduism and politicise the issue.

Another problem with dating the history of Hinduism comes from the fact that writing became common in India only after Emperor Ashoka popularised the Brahmi script through his edicts barely 2300 years ago.

Fluidity of knowledge and ideas in Indian philosophy

As Devdutt Pattanaik explains in his book ‘My Gita’ — “No idea emerges from a vacuum. Different ideas amplify from time to time. Old ideas coexist with new ones. Contradictory ideas influence each other.”

He explains that unlike most parts of the world, ideas in India do not get completely wiped out to be replaced by a new idea. The Vedic ideas were very abstract in nature and the new worldviews — be it Buddhism or Islam or Christianity — helped reaffirm Vedic ideas in different ways.

“The same idea manifests as 4000-year-old Vedic rituals, 2000-year-old stories, 1000-year-old temple art and architecture and 500-year-old devotional poetry,” writes Pattanaik.

This timelessness of Vedic ideas often make people say that the writings are not human in nature, but this is most likely an undue glorification of Vedic ideas.

But what needs to be noted is that the information in the Vedas is not objective — they are fluid ideas and change as per the world time in which it is read, the reader’s perspective and the context of the reading.

Modern academicians frequently tend to project Hinduism as the product of violent Brahminism which is based on patriarchy and the oppression of minorities. But seeing the Gita through this lens is to try to explain an ideology using a premise that doesn’t fit it at all.

As per the scientific worldview, ‘truth’ is what is objective and factual — something that can be proven. In Hinduism, knowledge is looked at differently — every individual has a slice of the truth and when all the versions and perspective of truth come together, we find a limitless truth.

The Puranas, which included the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, were also called ‘itihasa’. The word ‘iti’ means ‘as things are’. Thus, symbolically, the word means ‘stories that will always be true’ – it denotes life in all its complexity and colour, including sex, violence, conflicts and desires.

What are the Vedas?

Vedas are a set of hymns, melodies and rituals put together around 4000 years ago that state some eternal truths through metaphorical stories that are full of symbols.

There are 4 Vedas:

Rig Veda (hymns)

Sama Veda (melodies)

Yajur Veda (rituals)

Atharva Veda (spells)

The Atharva Veda was included in the Vedas in later times. Moreover, even the Mahabharata and the Natya Shashtra also came to be viewed as the fifth Veda much later.

The Bhagavad Gita as a transition point between Vedic and Puranic ideologies

After the Vedas were written, the Upanishads speculated on these ideas, and later, Buddhism challenged them. After that, the ideas were elaborated in the Puranas — the epics of Mahabharata (of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part) and Ramayana which are part of the Puranas comprise a lot of stories revolving around Vedic ideas.

After the Puranic period, when Bhakti period came along, these ideas were communicated in regional languages. After the 18th century, Vedic ideas were first expressed in English.

Thus, understanding the Gita — which was written almost bang in the middle of Hinduism’s transformation journey — cannot be possible without taking into account all the ideologies of the various historical periods of Hinduism.

As Devdutt Pattanaik states, the Bhagavad Gita “marks the transition of the old ritual-based Vedic Hinduism into the new narrative-based Puranic Hinduism”. It was a marked change in the journey of Hinduism.

In the Vedic period, the idea of God was abstract and no temples existed at the time. As the Puranic stage of Hinduism progressed, the ideology changed — temples started to come up and the idea of a personal god or goddess started to become popular.

Who wrote the Vedas?

The Vedas were written by rishis or seers who could intuitively source information via days, weeks, or months of meditation that average humans cannot accomplish.

Hinduism changed slowly and organically over a long process of around 1000 years. No single person made this happen, notes Devdutt Pattanaik. The sages and rishis started to convey ideas through folktales instead of rituals and hymns.

These symbolic tales were all attributed to a person named Vyasa, who was known as the son of a fisherwoman. Not only is he credited with compiling the Vedas, he is also said to have written the Puranas.

However, it is very important to note that the word ‘vyasa’ means ‘compiler’.

What is the Bhagavad Gita?

The Bhagavad Gita is the advice given by chariot driver Krishna to chariot rider and archer Arjun right before the start of the great war of Kurukshetra between the Kaurava and Pandava brothers in the epic Mahabharata — a part of the Puranas.

The final form of the Bhagavad Gita comprises 18 chapters which have 700 verses — 574 by Krishna, 84 by Arjuna, 41 by Sanjaya, and 1 by Dhritarashtra.

The Gita is written in the form of a conversation and it supposedly takes place within a 90-minute span as soldiers on both sides wait for the war to begin.

Another fact most people aware of is — there are several Gitas in Hindu literature. We explain below eight other important Gitas apart from the Bhagavad Gita.