The Bhagavad Gita (/ˌbʌɡəvəd ˈɡiːtɑː/; Sanskrit: श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, romanized: śrīmadbhagavadgītā, lit. 'The Song by God';[a]), often referred to as the Gita (IAST: gītā), is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic Mahabharata (chapters 23–40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the Bhishma Parva), dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE and is typical of the Hindu synthesis. It is considered to be one of the holy scriptures for Hinduism.
The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna, the Personality of Godhead. At the start of the Dharma Yuddha (righteous war) between Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna is preoccupied by a moral and emotional dilemma and despair about the violence and death the war will cause in the battle against his kin. Wondering if he should renounce the war, he seeks Krishna's counsel, whose answers and discourse constitute the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna counsels Arjuna to "fulfil his Kshatriya (warrior) duty to uphold the Dharma" through Karma "selfless action". The Krishna–Arjuna dialogues cover a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon ethical dilemmas and philosophical issues that go far beyond the war Arjuna faces.
