Ishvara Gita
The Ishvara Gita (Devanagari: ईश्वर गीता, IAST: Īśvara Gītā) is a Sanskrit text composed in India. It contains the teachings of the god Shiva, also called Ishvara, and is influenced by the Samkhya and Yoga schools of Indian philosophy. It makes up the first 11 chapters of the second section (uttara vibhaga) of the Kurma Purana.
The Isvara Gita contains many new themes not found in the Bhagavad Gita, such as the worship of the linga and the idea that Shiva, not Krishna, is the ultimate god. The Ishvara Gita also shows the influence of the 8-fold (ashtanga) yoga of Patanjali, and of the Pashupata sect of Shaivism. Several commentaries on this text are available in manuscript form, including one by Vijnanabhiksu, a 16th-century Hindu polymath.
The Ishvara Gita has been translated into English, French and Italian in stand-alone form, and into English as part of a complete translation of the Kurma Purana.
Primary sources: Sanskrit editions and translations
- Dumont, P.-E. (ed. and tr.) (1934). L’Īśvaragītā: Le Chant de Śiva. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
- Gupta, Anand Swarup (ed.) (1971). The Kūrma Purāṇa. Varanasi: All-India Kashiraj Trust.
- Nicholson, Andrew J. (tr.) (2014). Lord Siva's Song: The Isvara Gita. New York: SUNY Press.
- Piantelli, Mario (ed. and tr.) (1980). Īśvaragītā, o, Poema del Signore. Parma: L. Battei.
- Tagare, G.V. (tr.) (1982). The Kūrma Purāṇa, Part II. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
External links
- English
- Īśvara-gītā, its Philosophy as expounded by Vijñāna Bhikṣu, Surendranath Dasgupta, 1940
- Sanskrit