The Afterlives of the Bhagavad Gita

Book excerpt: This volume stems from the understanding that historiographical analyses of the Gita's reception overlook the element of its translation. It begins with this recognition and posits translation as fundamental to any understanding of the Gita's reception. It examines in depth and compares how translations of the Gita do not seek the same aims in all places and at all times and recognizes that translation theories and methodologies are not uniform across nations and eras. Therefore, this volume looks at insolites (unusual, strange) readings of the Gita and how they seek to fill the hermeneutical gap between readings tied to its canonical and scriptural status and those that are distant from the text's tradition.