Entirely
reader-oriented

Apart from making the meanings of the verses clear through the translated verses themselves, Prof. Nair has used a few other devices to help the readers get a total picture of the whole of the Bhagavad Gita. He has given verse notes and footnotes wherever necessary, supplying additional information, clarifications and explanations. Cross-references have been given wherever a verse can be understood better by referring to other verses or groups of verses. The verses do not run on from page to page plainly, but have been divided not only under chapter headings, but also under a series of helpful sub-headings. The 11-page Table of Contents is quite detailed and gives a bird’s eye view of the whole of the Bhagavad Gita. There is also an elaborate index at the end of the book. Serious students of the Bhagavad Gita and researchers would find this index extremely useful.

This 307-page book has a detailed 8-page Preface, covering its scope and aims, and stating why it was written and how. In addition, the book contains an exhaustive 80-page, 3-part, Introduction. The first part, Bhagavad Gita, The Poem, introduces the readers to the Bhagavad Gita and deals with such topics as its relationship to the Mahabharata and its authorship and age. The second part, What led to the Battle of Kurukshetra?, accurately narrates the story of the Mahabharata till the morning of the first day of the battle, and thus makes the setting of the Bhagavad Gita clear to the readers. The third part, The Central Teachings of the Gita, is a fascinating discourse on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. This summary of the teachings is so comprehensive and valuable that this itself is worth its weight in gold.