Gita Dhyanam is a collection of nine Sanskrit verses traditionally recited before studying the Bhagavad Gita. Below are the complete Sanskrit lyrics, Roman transliteration, and English translation of each verse.
(1)
ॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयं
व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारते ।
अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीमष्टादशाध्यायिनीं
अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्गीते भवद्वेषिणीम् ॥ १ ॥
oṃ pārthāya pratibodhitāṃ bhagavatā nārāyaṇena svayaṃ
vyāsena grathitāṃ purāṇamuninā madhye mahābhārate ।
advaitāmṛtavarṣiṇīṃ bhagavatīmaṣṭādaśādhyāyinīṃ
amba tvāmanusandadhāmi bhagavadgīte bhavadveṣiṇīm ॥
Translation: O Mother Bhagavad Gita, I meditate upon you. You were taught to Arjuna by Lord Narayana Himself and woven into the Mahabharata by the ancient sage Vyasa. Divine and consisting of eighteen chapters, you shower the nectar of nondual wisdom and destroy the bondage of worldly existence.
(2)
नमोऽस्तु ते व्यास विशालबुद्धे
फुल्लारविन्दायतपत्रनेत्र ।
येन त्वया भारततैलपूर्णः
प्रज्वालितो ज्ञानमयः प्रदीपः ॥ २ ॥
namo’stu te vyāsa viśālabuddhe
phullāravindāyatapatranetra ।
yena tvayā bhāratatailapūrṇaḥ
prajvālito jñānamayaḥ pradīpaḥ ॥
Translation: O Vyasa, whose understanding is vast and whose eyes are like the broad petals of a fully blossomed lotus, I offer my respects to you. You have lit the lamp of wisdom, filled with the oil of the Mahabharata.
(3)
प्रपन्नपारिजाताय तोत्रवेत्रैकपाणये ।
ज्ञानमुद्राय कृष्णाय गीतामृतदुहे नमः ॥ ३ ॥
prapannapārijātāya totravetraikapāṇaye ।
jñānamudrāya kṛṣṇāya gītāmṛtaduhe namaḥ ॥
Translation: I offer my respects to Krishna, who is like a wish-fulfilling parijata tree for those who take shelter of Him. Holding a goad in one hand and displaying the gesture of wisdom, He draws forth the nectar of the Gita.
(4)
सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपालनन्दनः ।
पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत् ॥ ४ ॥
sarvopaniṣado gāvo dogdhā gopālanandanaḥ ।
pārtho vatsaḥ sudhīrbhoktā dugdhaṃ gītāmṛtaṃ mahat ॥
Translation: All the Upanishads are cows, and Krishna, the cowherd’s son, is their milker. Arjuna is the calf, the wise person is the drinker, and the milk is the great nectar of the Gita.
(5)
वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् ।
देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ५ ॥
vasudevasutaṃ devaṃ kaṃsacāṇūramardanam ।
devakīparamānandaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ vande jagadgurum ॥
Translation: I bow to Lord Krishna, the son of Vasudeva, the destroyer of Kamsa and Chanura, the supreme joy of Devaki, and the spiritual teacher of the world.
(6)
भीष्मद्रोणतटा जयद्रथजला गान्धारनीलोत्पला
शल्यग्राहवती कृपेण वहनी कर्णेन वेलाकुला ।
अश्वत्थामविकर्णघोरमकरा दुर्योधनावर्तिनी
सोत्तीर्णा खलु पाण्डवैः रणनदी कैवर्तकः केशवः ॥ ६ ॥
bhīṣmadroṇataṭā jayadrathajalā gāndhāranīlotpalā
śalyagrāhavatī kṛpeṇa vahanī karṇena velākulā ।
aśvatthāmavikarṇaghoramakarā duryodhanāvartinī
sottīrṇā khalu pāṇḍavaiḥ raṇanadī kaivartakaḥ keśavaḥ ॥
Translation: The battle was a river: Bhishma and Drona were its banks, Jayadratha its water, and the king of Gandhara its blue lotus. Shalya was its crocodile, Kripa its current, and Karna its surging waves. Ashvatthama and Vikarna were its fearsome aquatic creatures, and Duryodhana its whirlpool. The Pandavas indeed crossed this river of battle, with Keshava as their boatman.
(7)
पाराशर्यवचः सरोजममलं गीतार्थगन्धोत्कटं
नानाख्यानककेसरं हरिकथासम्बोधनाबोधितम् ।
लोके सज्जनषट्पदैरहरहः पेपीयमानं मुदा
भूयाद्भारतपङ्कजं कलिमलप्रध्वंसि नः श्रेयसे ॥ ७ ॥
pārāśaryavacaḥ sarojamamalaṃ gītārthagandhotkaṭaṃ
nānākhyānakakesaraṃ harikathāsambodhanābodhitam ।
loke sajjanaṣaṭpadairaharahaḥ pepīyamānaṃ mudā
bhūyādbhāratapaṅkajaṃ kalimalapradhvaṃsi naḥ śreyase ॥
Translation: May the lotus of the Mahabharata bring us spiritual well-being and destroy the impurities of the age of Kali. This spotless lotus springs from the words of Vyasa, the son of Parashara. Its rich fragrance is the meaning of the Gita, its filaments are its many stories, and it blossoms through the telling of Lord Hari’s glories. Good people, like bees, joyfully drink its nectar day after day.
(8)
मूकं करोति वाचालं पङ्गुं लङ्घयते गिरिम् ।
यत्कृपा तमहं वन्दे परमानन्दमाधवम् ॥ ८ ॥
mūkaṃ karoti vācālaṃ paṅguṃ laṅghayate girim ।
yatkṛpā tamahaṃ vande paramānandamādhavam ॥
Translation: I bow to Madhava, the embodiment of supreme bliss, by whose grace the speechless become eloquent and those unable to walk can cross a mountain.
(9)
यं ब्रह्मा वरुणेन्द्ररुद्रमरुतः स्तुन्वन्ति दिव्यैः स्तवैः
वेदैः साङ्गपदक्रमोपनिषदैर्गायन्ति यं सामगाः ।
ध्यानावस्थिततद्गतेन मनसा पश्यन्ति यं योगिनो
यस्यान्तं न विदुः सुरासुरगणा देवाय तस्मै नमः ॥ ९ ॥
yaṃ brahmā varuṇendrarudramarutaḥ stunvanti divyaiḥ stavaiḥ
vedaiḥ sāṅgapadakramopaniṣadairgāyanti yaṃ sāmagāḥ ।
dhyānāvasthitatadgatena manasā paśyanti yaṃ yogino
yasyāntaṃ na viduḥ surāsuragaṇā devāya tasmai namaḥ ॥
Translation: I offer my respects to that Supreme Lord whom Brahma, Varuna, Indra, Rudra, and the Maruts praise with divine hymns. The singers of the Sama Veda sing His glories through the Vedas, together with their auxiliary disciplines, the pada and krama methods of recitation, and the Upanishads. Yogis behold Him with minds absorbed in meditation upon Him, yet neither the hosts of gods nor the demons know the limits of His greatness.
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