Transcreation of the Bhagavad Gita

Ashok Kumar Malhotra

The Bhagavad Gita, more than any other book, has influenced the lives of generations of people in India. It has been a standard text on Hinduism for centuries. However, the Bhagavad Gita is not only a religious-historical work, but also a great book of literature. It has appealed to scholars in terms of its literary style and philosophical content, while to the layperson it has offered basic principles on how to live a meaningful life. Malhotra's innovative translation is meant for all those students and general readers who are curious about issues pertaining to the existential predicament of humankind. He presents these enduring themes in a language that will be easily understandable to the newly initiated. Indeed, Malhotra offers a "transcreation" rather than a translation, in which he does not translate every word and phrase but instead captures the essential ideas and meanings that are crucial to overall understanding of this great text.