Bhagavad-gītā

translated by Swami Bhaktivijñāna Giri

Written in 1886, Rasika-Rañjana (“That which delights the relishers of rasa”) is Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s first Bengali commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā, presented as a combined translation and commentary. The work is closely based upon Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s celebrated Sārārtha-varṣiṇī commentary, which Bhaktivinoda regarded as the finest exposition of the Gītā from the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava perspective. The Ṭhākura prefaces the work with an elaborate introduction examining the relationship between the paths of karma, jñāna, and bhakti, establishing from the outset that the ultimate conclusion of the Gītā is the supremacy of pure devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Through his lucid Bengali prose Bhaktivinoda made the profound insights of Viśvanātha Cakravartī accessible to a wider Bengali readership, at a time when few such commentaries were available in the vernacular.