One of the greatest of the Hindu scriptures,the Bhagvad Gita is a sacred text of the Hindus. It consitutes the part of the Mahabharata and cheerished especially by the followers of Krishna and is taken from the Bhisma Parva of the Mahabharata epic.In Sanskrit it stands for `Divine Song of God`.The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most popular text and widely translated scriptural texts after the Bible. The scripture is meant for the entire human civilization irrespective of a person`s religious or ethnic background. It is commonly referred to as The Gita and has 700 verses in 18 chapters. Krishna the speaker of Bhagvad Gita is Bhagavan, the Supreme Being himself .It is written in the form of a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra just prior to the start of a climatic war .The Bhagvad Gita is also called Gitopaniad as well as Yogupaniad implying its status as an Upanishad.The date of composition of the text of the Bhagvad gita is not known with certainty but it is believed to be written around 150 B.C.

The most famous addition to the Mahabharat is the Bhagavad-Gita. It occurs in the sixth book and is now the most widely recognized of Hinduism`s sacred texts. The Bhagavad Gita tells how Arjun, the third of the Pandava princes, has misgivings about whether he should be fighting his cousins, the Kauravas. Krishna, speaking with the authority of the god Vishnu, persuades him that his action is just, and then Arjun`s military skill becomes a deciding factor in the ensuing Pandava victory. The teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita are fundamental to Hinduism. It considers the nature of God and ultimate reality and offers three disciplines for transcending the limitations of this world.

The part on Bhagavad Gita begins before the start of the climatic battle of the Pandavas and the Kauravas at Kurukshetra. It begins with the Pandava prince Arjuna, as he becomes filled with doubt on the battlefield. When Arjuna realized that the enemies, he his supposed to destroy is his own brothers and relatives, friends, teachers, then he turns himself into Krishna for advice. Thus, lord Krishna, gives him a sermon, which is the "Bhagavad Gita". In summary the main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-Gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths:

1. Ishvara (God or Supreme Controller)
2. Jiva (The Soul)
3. Prakrti (Matter)
4. Karma (Action)
5. Kala (Time)

Krishna counsels Arjuna on the greater idea of dharma (duty), or universal harmony and about the soul. He begins with the important part that the soul is eternal and immortal. Any `death` on the battlefield would involve only the shedding of the body, but the soul is permanent.

Arjuna`s hesitation stems from a lack of right understanding of the `nature of things,` the privileging of the unreal over the real. His fear and reticence become impediments to the proper balancing of the universal dharmic order. Essentially, Arjuna wishes to abandon the battle, to refrain from action; Krishna warns, however, that without action, the whole universe would fall out of order and truth would be difficult to understand.

In order to clarify his point, Krishna expounds the various Yoga processes, and understanding of the true nature of the universe. Krishna describes the yogic paths of devotional service, action, meditation and knowledge. Fundamentally, the Bhagavad-Gita proposes that true enlightenment comes from growing beyond identification with the temporal ego, the `False Self`, the ephemeral world, so that one identifies with the truth of the immortal self, the soul or Atman. Through detachment from the material sense of ego, the Yogi, or follower of a particular path of Yoga, is able to transcend his/her illusory mortality and attachment to the material world and enter the realm of the Supreme.

It should be noted, however, that Krishna does not propose that the physical world must be forgotten or neglected. Indeed, it is quite the opposite: one`s life on earth must be lived in accordance with greater laws and truths, one must embrace one`s temporal duties whilst remaining mindful of a more timeless reality, acting for the sake of action without consideration for the karmaphal (karmic fruits, whether bitter or sweet). Such a life would naturally lead towards stability, happiness and, ultimately, enlightenment.

To demonstrate his divine nature, Krishna grants Arjuna the boon of cosmic vision and allows the prince to see his `Universal Form`. He reveals that he is fundamentally both the ultimate essence of Being in the universe, and also its material body, called the Vishvarupa (`World Form`). In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna also refers to the war about to take place as `Dharma Yuddha`, meaning a righteous war for the purpose of justice. In Chapter 4, Krishna states that he incarnates in each age (yuga) to establish righteousness in the world.

Gita has been referred in many books written by thinkers and leaders of modern times,like Tilak`s `Gita Rahasya`,Aurobindo`s Essays on Gita and Mahatma Gandhi`s Ana sakti Yoga .Gita has a tremendous appeal because it deals with practical problems of life and contains lessons that we can follow to resolve our day to day conflicts .The 18 chapters of the Gita are as follows

1.Arjuna sees the Kauravas as the opponent and loses courage and bids Krishna to move the chariot between the hosts.
2.Krishna teaches Arjuna that the soul is immortal only the body may be hurt .He asks Arjuna to be courageous and move ahead to kill his enemies even though they are his relatives.
3.Arjuna asks why should he fight if knowledge is more important than action.Krishna stresses the importance of doing the necessary without thinking about worldly order
4.Krishna reveals that he has lived through many births and is always teaching Yoga for the protection of the pious and the destruction of the impious .
5.Arjuna asks if it is better to act or to give up action .Krishna answers that both are beneficial but that Karma Yoga is superior .
6. Krishna describes the correct posture for meditation and how to reach Brahman through proper action.
7. Krishna teaches Jnana Yoga
8. Krishna describes Brahman
9. Krishna teaches panentheism, "all beings are in me".
10.Krishna explains Vibhuti.
11.On Arjuna`s request Krishna comes in his true universal form `visvarupa`,emitting the radiance of thousand suns ,containing all deities and all beings .
12. Krishna describes the process of devotional service (Bhakti Yoga).
13. on the all-transcendant nature of God.
14. on the three gunas of Samkhya philosophy
15.Description of the tree symbol of the gunas ,which has its roots in the heavens and its foilage on earth .This tree should be felled with the `axe of detachment`
16.Krishna distinguishes human traits of divine and of inferior nature
17.Religion is divided into thought,deed and ingestion corresponding to the three gunas
18.Dharma is to be upheld and one must perform one`s duty in renunciation. Arjuna follows the recommendation of Krishna and joins the battle.