document_title: Bhagavad Gita

question_text: how many chapters are there in bhagavad gita

question_tokens: how many chapters are there in bhagavad gita

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text: Bhagavad Gita

text: Composition and significance[edit]

text: Authorship[edit]

text: The epic Mahabharata is traditionally ascribed to the Sage Vyasa; the Bhagavad Gita, being a part of the Mahabharata's Bhishma Parva, is also ascribed to him.[15]

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text: Date of composition[edit]

text: Theories on the date of composition of the Gita vary considerably. Scholars accept dates from the fifth century to the second century BCE as the probable range. Professor Jeaneane Fowler, in her commentary on the Gita, considers second century BCE to be the likely date of composition.[16] Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, a Gita scholar, on the basis of the estimated dates of Mahabharata, Brahma sutras, and other independent sources, concludes that the Bhagavad Gita was composed in the fifth or fourth century BCE.[17]

text: It is generally agreed that, "Unlike the Vedas, which have to be preserved letter-perfect, the Gita was a popular work whose reciters would inevitably conform to changes in language and style", so the earliest "surviving" components of this dynamic text are believed to be no older than the earliest "external" references we have to the Mahabharata epic, which may include an allusion in Panini's fourth century BCE grammar. It is estimated that the text probably reached something of a "final form" by the early Gupta period (about the 4th century CE). The actual dates of composition of the Gita remain unresolved.[15]

text: Bhagavad Gita in ancient sanskrit literature[edit]

text: There is no reference to the Bhagavad Gita in Buddhist literature, the Tripitaka. The Buddha refers to 3 Vedas rather than 4 Vedas, as per general perception in many dialogues. So, there is doubt about whether the Bhagavad Gita was widely known about during the lifetime of Gautama Buddha.The Namboothiris of Kerala follows 3 Vedas only. According to Manusmriti (the law book of Manu) a Brahmanan who does not know the Vedic verses (at least of one Vedam) is useless. So it is safe to say Buddha only mentioned 3 Vedas just like the Brahman community of Kerala.

text: Hindu synthesis and smriti[edit]

text: Due to its presence in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita is classified as a Smriti text or "that which is remembered".[note 2] The smriti texts of the period between 200 BCE and 100 CE belong to the emerging "Hindu Synthesis", proclaiming the authority of the Vedas while integrating various Indian traditions and religions. Acceptance of the Vedas became a central criterion for defining Hinduism over and against the heterodoxies, which rejected the Vedas.[18]

text: The so-called "Hindu Synthesis" emerged during the early Classical period (200 BCE – 300 CE) of Hinduism.[18][9][19] According to Alf Hiltebeitel, a period of consolidation in the development of Hinduism took place between the time of the late Vedic Upanishad (ca. 500 BCE) and the period of the rise of the Guptas (ca. 320–467 CE) which he calls the "Hindu Synthesis", "Brahmanic Synthesis", or "Orthodox Synthesis".[18] It developed in interaction with other religions and peoples:

text: The emerging self-definitions of Hinduism were forged in the context of continuous interaction with heterodox religions (Buddhists, Jains, Ajivikas) throughout this whole period, and with foreign people (Yavanas, or Greeks; Sakas, or Scythians; Pahlavas, or Parthians; and Kusanas, or Kushans) from the third phase on [between the Mauryan empire and the rise of the Guptas].[18]

text: The Bhagavad Gita is the sealing achievement of this Hindu Synthesis, incorporating various religious traditions.[18][11][9][web 1][10] According to Hiltebeitel, Bhakti forms an essential ingredient of this synthesis, which incorporates Bhakti into Vedanta.[18] According to Deutsch and Dalvi, the Bhagavad Gita attempts "to forge a harmony"[20] between different strands of Indian thought: jnana, dharma and bhakti.[11] Deutsch and Dalvi note that the authors of the Bhagavad Gita "must have seen the appeal of the soteriologies both of the "heterodox" traditions of Buddhism and Jainism and of the more "orthodox" ones of Samkhya and Yoga",[8] while the Brahmanic tradition emphasised "the significance of dharma as the instrument of goodness".[8] Scheepers mentions the Bhagavat Gita as a Brahmanical text which uses the shramanic and Yogic terminology to spread the Brahmanic idea of living according to one's duty or dharma, in contrast to the yogic ideal of liberation from the workings of karma.[9] According to Basham,

text: The Bhagavadgita combines many different elements from Samkhya and Vedanta philosophy. In matters of religion, its important contribution was the new emphasis placed on devotion, which has since remained a central path in Hinduism. In addition, the popular theism expressed elsewhere in the Mahabharata and the transcendentalism of the Upanishads converge, and a God of personal characteristics is identified with the brahman of the Vedic tradition. The Bhagavadgita thus gives a typology of the three dominant trends of Indian religion: dharma-based householder life, enlightenment-based renunciation, and devotion-based theism.[web 1]

text: Bhagavad Gita as a synthesis:

text: The Bhagavadgita may be treated as a great synthesis of the ideas of the impersonal spiritual monism with personalistic monotheism, of the yoga of action with the yoga of transcendence of action, and these again with yogas of devotion and knowledge.[10]

text: The influence of the Bhagavad Gita was such, that its synthesis was adapted to and incorporated into specific Indian traditions. Nicholson mentions the Shiva Gita as an adaptation of the Vishnu-oriented Bhagavat Gita into Shiva-oriented terminology,[21] and the Isvara Gita as borrowing entire verses from the Krishna-oriented Bhagavad Gita and placing them into a new Shiva-oriented context.[22]

text: Status[edit]

text: The Bhagavad Gita is part of the Prasthanatrayi, which also includes the Upanishads and Brahma sutras. These are the key texts for the Vedanta,[23][24][25] which interprets these texts to give a unified meaning. Advaita Vedanta sees the non-dualism of Atman and Brahman as its essence,[13] whereas Bhedabheda and Vishishtadvaita see Atman and Brahman as both different and non-different, and Dvaita sees them as different. In recent times the Advaita interpretation has gained worldwide popularity, due to the Neo-Vedanta of Vivekananda and Radhakrishnan, while the Achintya Bheda Abheda interpretation has gained worldwide popularity via the Hare Krishnas, a branch of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.[26]

text: Although early Vedanta gives an interpretation of the sruti texts of the Upanishads, and its main commentary the Brahman Sutras, the popularity of the Bhagavad Gita was such that it could not be neglected.[6] It is referred to in the Brahman Sutras, and Shankara, Bhaskara and Ramanuja all three wrote commentaries on it.[6] The Bhagavad Gita is different from the Upanishads in format and content, and accessible to all, in contrast to the sruti, which are only to be read and heard by the higher castes.[6]

text: Some branches of Hinduism give it the status of an Upanishad, and consider it to be a Śruti or "revealed text".[27][28] According to Pandit, who gives a modern-orthodox interpretation of Hinduism, "since the Bhagavad Gita represents a summary of the Upanishadic teachings, it is sometimes called 'the Upanishad of the Upanishads'."[29]

text: Explanation of the Purushamedha[edit]

text: The Bhagavad Gita is a Bhagavata explanation of the Purusha Sukta and the Purushamedha Srauta yajna described in the Satapatha Brahmana.[12] Chapters 7 and 8 of the Bhagavad Gita describe the relationship between teacher and disciple, where the teacher is viewed as the absolute person, Purusa Narayana.[12] In Chapters 10 and 11 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna begins to instruct Arjuna about the directions of space-time within himself reflecting what is written in the Satapatha Brahmana and Purusa Sukta.[12] The vision of Krishna in his universal form shows the self-devouring nature of the absolute person, as described in the Satapatha Brahmana and Purusa Sukta.[12] Chapters 12 describes the two paths one chooses after one completes the Purushamedha yajna i.e. become a renunciate or remain as a householder.[12] Chapter 14 is the highest teaching within the Bhagavad Gita, the knowledge to achieve the same state as Purusa Narayana, which is the goal of the Purushamedha.[30]

text: Content[edit]

text: Narrative[edit]

text: In the epic Mahabharata, after Sanjaya—counsellor of the Kuru king Dhritarashtra—returns from the battlefield to announce the death of Bhishma, he begins recounting the details of the Mahabharata war. Bhagavad Gita forms the content of this recollection.[31] The Gita begins before the start of the climactic Kurukshetra War, where the Pandava prince Arjuna is filled with doubt on the battlefield. Realising that his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends, and revered teachers, he turns to his charioteer and guide, God Incarnate Lord Shri Krishna, for advice. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince, elaborating on a variety of philosophical concepts.[32]

text: Characters[edit]

text:
Arjuna, one of the Pandavas
Lord Shri Krishna, Arjuna's charioteer and guru who was actually an incarnation of Lord Vishnu
Sanjaya, counsellor of the Kuru king Dhritarashtra
Dhritarashtra, Kuru king.[citation needed]

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text: Overview of chapters[edit]

text: Bhagavad Gita comprises 18 chapters (section 25 to 42)[33][web 2] in the Bhishma Parva of the epic Mahabharata and consists of 700 verses.[34] Because of differences in recensions, the verses of the Gita may be numbered in the full text of the Mahabharata as chapters 6.25–42 or as chapters 6.23–40.[web 3] According to the recension of the Gita commented on by Adi Shankara, a prominent philosopher of the Vedanta school, the number of verses is 700, but there is evidence to show that old manuscripts had 745 verses.[35] The verses themselves, composed with similes and metaphors, are poetic in nature. The verses mostly employ the range and style of the Sanskrit Anustubh metre (chhandas), and in a few expressive verses the Tristubh metre is used.[36]

text: The Sanskrit editions of the Gita name each chapter as a particular form of yoga. However, these chapter titles do not appear in the Sanskrit text of the Mahabharata.[web 3] Swami Chidbhavananda explains that each of the eighteen chapters is designated as a separate yoga because each chapter, like yoga, "trains the body and the mind". He labels the first chapter "Arjuna Vishada Yogam" or the "Yoga of Arjuna's Dejection".[37] Sir Edwin Arnold translates this chapter as "The Distress of Arjuna"[38]

text:
Prathama adhyaya[41] (The Distress of Arjuna[38] contains 46 verses): Arjuna has requested Krishna to move his chariot between the two armies. His growing dejection is described as he fears losing friends and relatives as a consequence of war.[web 5]
Sankhya yoga (The Book of Doctrines[38] contains 72 verses): After asking Krishna for help, Arjuna is instructed into various subjects such as, Karma yoga, Gyaana yoga, Sankhya yoga, Buddhi yoga and the immortal nature of the soul. Sankhya here refers to one of six orthodox schools of the Hindu Philosophy. This chapter is often considered the summary of the entire Bhagavad Gita.[web 6]
Karma yoga (Virtue in Work[38] or Virtue Of Actions contains 43 verses): Krishna explains how Karma yoga, i.e. performance of prescribed duties, but without attachment to results, is the appropriate course of action for Arjuna.[web 7]
Gyaana–Karma-Sanyasa yoga (The Religion of Knowledge[38] contains 42 verses): Krishna reveals that he has lived through many births, always teaching yoga for the protection of the pious and the destruction of the impious and stresses the importance of accepting a guru.[web 8]
Karma–Sanyasa yoga (Religion by Renouncing Fruits of Works[38] contains 29 verses): Arjuna asks Krishna if it is better to forgo action or to act ("renunciation or discipline of action").[42] Krishna answers that both are ways to the same goal,[web 9] but that acting in Karma yoga is superior.
Dhyan yoga or Atmasanyam yoga (Religion by Self-Restraint[38] contains 47 verses): Krishna describes the Ashtanga yoga. He further elucidates the difficulties of the mind and the techniques by which mastery of the mind might be gained.[web 10]
Gyaana–ViGyaana yoga (Religion by Discernment[38] contains 30 verses): Krishna describes the absolute reality and its illusory energy Maya.[web 11]
Aksara–Brahma yoga (Religion by Devotion to the One Supreme God[38] contains 28 verses): This chapter contains eschatology of the Bhagavad Gita. Importance of the last thought before death, differences between material and spiritual worlds, and light and dark paths that a soul takes after death are described.[web 12]
Raja–Vidya–Raja–Guhya yoga (Religion by the Kingly Knowledge and the Kingly Mystery[38] contains 34 verses): Krishna explains how His eternal energy pervades, creates, preserves, and destroys the entire universe.[web 13] According to theologian Christopher Southgate, verses of this chapter of the Gita are panentheistic,[43] while German physicist and philosopher Max Bernhard Weinstein deems the work pandeistic.[44]
Vibhuti–Vistara–yoga (Religion by the Heavenly Perfections[38] contains 42 verses): Krishna is described as the ultimate cause of all material and spiritual existence. Arjuna accepts Krishna as the Supreme Being, quoting great sages who have also done so.[web 14]
Visvarupa–Darsana yoga (The Manifesting of the One and Manifold[38] contains 55 verses): On Arjuna's request, Krishna displays his "universal form" (Viśvarūpa),[web 15] a theophany of a being facing every way and emitting the radiance of a thousand suns, containing all other beings and material in existence.
Bhakti yoga (The Religion of Faith[38] contains 20 verses): In this chapter Krishna glorifies the path of devotion to God. Krishna describes the process of devotional service (Bhakti yoga). He also explains different forms of spiritual disciplines.[web 16]
Ksetra–Ksetrajna Vibhaga yoga (Religion by Separation of Matter and Spirit[38] contains 35 verses): The difference between transient perishable physical body and the immutable eternal soul is described. The difference between individual consciousness and universal consciousness is also made clear.[web 17]
Gunatraya–Vibhaga yoga (Religion by Separation from the Qualities[38] contains 27 verses): Krishna explains the three modes (gunas) of material nature pertaining to goodness, passion, and nescience. Their causes, characteristics, and influence on a living entity are also described.[web 18]
Purusottama yoga (Religion by Attaining the Supreme[38] contains 20 verses): Krishna identifies the transcendental characteristics of God such as, omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.[web 19] Krishna also describes a symbolic tree (representing material existence), which has its roots in the heavens and its foliage on earth. Krishna explains that this tree should be felled with the "axe of detachment", after which one can go beyond to his supreme abode.
Daivasura–Sampad–Vibhaga yoga (The Separateness of the Divine and Undivine[38] contains 24 verses): Krishna identifies the human traits of the divine and the demonic natures. He counsels that to attain the supreme destination one must give up lust, anger, greed, and discern between right and wrong action by discernment through Buddhi and evidence from the scriptures.[web 20]
Sraddhatraya-Vibhaga yoga (Religion by the Threefold Kinds of Faith[38] contains 28 verses): Krishna qualifies the three divisions of faith, thoughts, deeds, and even eating habits corresponding to the three modes (gunas).[web 21]
Moksha–Sanyasa yoga (Religion by Deliverance and Renunciation[38] contains 78 verses): In this chapter, the conclusions of previous seventeen chapters are summed up. Krishna asks Arjuna to abandon all forms of dharma and simply surrender unto him and describes this as the ultimate perfection of life.[web 22]

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text: Themes[edit]

text: This section contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.

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text: Dharma[edit]

text: The term dharma has a number of meanings.[45] Fundamentally, it means "what is right".[45] Early in the text, responding to Arjuna's despondency, Krishna asks him to follow his swadharma,[46][note 3] "the dharma that belongs to a particular man (Arjuna) as a member of a particular varna, (i.e., the kshatriya)."[46] Many traditional followers accept and believe that every man is unique in nature(svabhava) and hence svadharma for each and every individual is also unique and must be followed strictly with sole bhakthi and shraddha.[citation needed]

text: According to Vivekananda:

text: If one reads this one Shloka, one gets all the merits of reading the entire Gita; for in this one Shloka lies imbedded the whole Message of the Gita."[47]

text: क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते । क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परंतप॥

text: klaibhyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitattvayyupapadyate, kṣudraṁ hṛdayadaurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha paraṁtapa.

text: Do not yield to unmanliness, O son of Prithā. It does not become you. Shake off this base faint-heartedness and arise, O scorcher of enemies! (2.3)

text: Dharma and heroism[edit]

text: The Bhagavad Gita is set in the narrative frame of the Mahabharata, which values heroism, "energy, dedication and self-sacrifice",[4] as the dharma, "holy duty"[48] of the Kshatriya (Warrior).[48][4][49] Axel Michaels in his book Hinduism: Past and Present writes that in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is "exhorted by his charioteer, Kṛiṣhṇa, among others, to stop hesitating and fulfil his Kṣatriya (warrior) duty as a warrior and kill."[4]

text: According to Malinar, the dispute between the two parties in the Mahabharata centres on the question how to define "the law of heroism".[50][note 4] Malinar gives a description of the dharma of a Kshatriya (warrior) based on the Udyogaparvan, the fifth book of the Mahabharata:

text: This duty consists first of all in standing one's ground and fighting for status. The main duty of a warrior is never to submit to anybody. A warrior must resist any impulse to self-preservation that would make him avoid a fight. In brief, he ought to be a man (puruso bhava; cf. 5.157.6; 13;15). Some of the most vigorous formulations of what called the "heart" or the "essence" of heroism (ksatrahrdaya) come from the ladies of the family. They bare shown most unforgiving with regard to the humiliations they have gone through, the loss of their status and honour, not to speak of the shame of having a weak man in the house, whether husband, son or brother.[5][note 5]

text: Michaels defines heroism as "power assimilated with interest in salvation".[51] According to Michaels:

text: Even though the frame story of the Mahabharata is rather simple, the epic has an outstanding significance for Hindu heroism. The heroism of the Pandavas, the ideals of honor and courage in battle, are constant sources of treatises in which it is not sacrifice, renunciation of the world, or erudition that is valued, but energy, dedication and self-sacrifice. The Bhagavad Gita, inserted in the sixth book (Bhishmaparvan), and probably completed in the second century CE, is such a text, that is, a philosophical and theistic treatise, with which the Pandava is exhorted by his charioteer, Krishna, among others, to stop hesitating and fulfill his Kṣatriya (warrior) duty as a warrior and kill.[4]

text: According to Malinar, "Arjuna's crisis and some of the arguments put forward to call him to action are connected to the debates on war and peace in the UdP [Udyoga Parva]".[52] According to Malinar, the UdP emphasises that one must put up with fate and, the BhG personalises the surrender one's personal interests to the power of destiny by "propagating the view that accepting and enacting the fatal course of events is an act of devotion to this god [Krsna] and his cause."[52]

text: Modern interpretations of dharma[edit]

text: Svadharma and svabhava[edit]

text: The eighteenth chapter of the Gita examines the relationship between svadharma and svabhava.[note 6][53] This chapter uses the gunas of Shankya philosophy to present a series of typologies, and uses the same term to characterise the specific activities of the four varnas, which are distinguished by the "gunas proceeding from their nature."[53]

text: Aurobindo modernises the concept of dharma and svabhava by internalising it, away from the social order and its duties towards one's personal capacities, which leads to a radical individualism,[54] "finding the fulfilment of the purpose of existence in the individual alone."[54] He deduced from the Gita the doctrine that "the functions of a man ought to be determined by his natural turn, gift, and capacities",[54] that the individual should "develop freely"[54] and thereby would be best able to serve society.[54]

text: Gandhi's view differed from Aurobindo's view.[55] He recognised in the concept of swadharma his idea of swadeshi, the idea that "man owes his service above all to those who are nearest to him by birth and situation."[55] To him, swadeshi was "swadharma applied to one's immediate environment."[56]

text: The Field of Dharma[edit]

text: The first reference to dharma in the Bhagavad Gita occurs in its first verse, where Dhritarashtra refers to the Kurukshetra, the location of the battlefield, as the Field of Dharma, "The Field of Righteousness or Truth".[45] According to Fowler, dharma in this verse may refer to the sanatana dharma, "what Hindus understand as their religion, for it is a term that encompasses wide aspects of religious and traditional thought and is more readily used for ""religion".[45] Therefore, 'Field of action' implies the field of righteousness, where truth will eventually triumph.[45]

text: "The Field of Dharma" is also called the "Field of action" by Sri Aurobindo, a freedom fighter and philosopher.[45] Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a philosopher and the second president of India, saw "The Field of Dharma" as the world (Bhavsagar), which is a "battleground for moral struggle".[57]

text: Allegory of war[edit]

text: Unlike any other religious scripture, the Bhagavad Gita broadcasts its message in the centre of the battlefield.[58] The choice of such an unholy ambience for the delivery of a philosophical discourse has been an enigma to many commentators.[web 25] Several modern Indian writers have interpreted the battlefield setting as an allegory of "the war within".[59]

text: Eknath Easwaran writes that the Gita's subject is "the war within, the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious",[60] and that "The language of battle is often found in the scriptures, for it conveys the strenuous, long, drawn-out campaign we must wage to free ourselves from the tyranny of the ego, the cause of all our suffering and sorrow."[61]

text: Swami Nikhilananda, takes Arjuna as an allegory of Ātman, Krishna as an allegory of Brahman, Arjuna's chariot as the body, and Dhritarashtra as the ignorance filled mind.[note 7]

text: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in his commentary on the Gita,[62] interprets the battle as "an allegory in which the battlefield is the soul and Arjuna, man's higher impulses struggling against evil".[63]

text: Swami Vivekananda also emphasised that the first discourse in the Gita related to the war could be taken allegorically.[64] Vivekananda further remarked,

text: This Kurukshetra War is only an allegory. When we sum up its esoteric significance, it means the war which is constantly going on within man between the tendencies of good and evil.[65]

text: In Aurobindo's view, Krishna was a historical figure, but his significance in the Gita is as a "symbol of the divine dealings with humanity",[66] while Arjuna typifies a "struggling human soul".[67] However, Aurobindo rejected the interpretation that the Gita, and the Mahabharata by extension, is "an allegory of the inner life, and has nothing to do with our outward human life and actions":[67]

text: ... That is a view which the general character and the actual language of the epic does not justify and, if pressed, would turn the straightforward philosophical language of the Gita into a constant, laborious and somewhat puerile mystification ... the Gita is written in plain terms and professes to solve the great ethical and spiritual difficulties which the life of man raises, and it will not do to go behind this plain language and thought and wrest them to the service of our fancy. But there is this much of truth in the view, that the setting of the doctrine though not symbolical, is certainly typical.[67]

text: Swami Chinmayananda writes:

text: Here in the Bhagavad Gita, we find a practical handbook of instruction on how best we can re-organise our inner ways of thinking, feeling, and acting in our everyday life and draw from ourselves a larger gush of productivity to enrich the life around us, and to emblazon the subjective life within us.[68]

text: Promotion of just war and duty[edit]

text: Other scholars such as Steven Rosen, Laurie L. Patton and Stephen Mitchell have seen in the Gita a religious defense of the warrior class's (Kshatriya Varna) duty (svadharma), which is to conduct combat and war with courage and do not see this as only an allegorical teaching, but also a real defense of just war.[69][70]

text: Indian independence leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak saw the Gita as a text which defended war when necessary and used it to promote war against the British Empire. Lajpat Rai wrote an article on the "Message of the Bhagavad Gita". He saw the main message as the bravery and courage of Arjuna to fight as a warrior.[71] Bal Gangadhar Tilak saw the Gita as defending killing when necessary for the betterment of society, such as, for example, the killing of Afzal Khan.[71]

text: According to J. N. Farquhar:

text: "Even the Gita was used to teach murder. Lies, deceit, murder, everything, it was argued, may be rightly used. How far the leaders really believed this teaching no man can say; but the younger men got filled with it, and many were only too sincere."[72]

text: Moksha: Liberation[edit]

text: Liberation or moksha in Vedanta philosophy is not something that can be acquired or reached. Ātman (Soul), the goal of moksha, is something that is always present as the essence of the self, and can be revealed by deep intuitive knowledge. While the Upanishads largely uphold such a monistic viewpoint of liberation, the Bhagavad Gita also accommodates the dualistic and theistic aspects of moksha. The Gita, while occasionally hinting at impersonal Brahman as the goal, revolves around the relationship between the Self and a personal God or Saguna Brahman. A synthesis of knowledge, devotion, and desireless action is given as a prescription for Arjuna's despondence; the same combination is suggested as a way to moksha.[73] Winthrop Sargeant further explains, "In the model presented by the Bhagavad Gītā, every aspect of life is in fact a way of salvation."[74]

text: Yoga[edit]

text: Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita refers to the skill of union with the ultimate reality or the Absolute.[75] In his commentary, Zaehner says that the root meaning of yoga is "yoking" or "preparation"; he proposes the basic meaning "spiritual exercise", which conveys the various nuances in the best way.[76]

text: Sivananda's commentary regards the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita as having a progressive order, by which Krishna leads "Arjuna up the ladder of Yoga from one rung to another."[77] The influential commentator Madhusudana Sarasvati divided the Gita's eighteen chapters into three sections of six chapters each. Swami Gambhirananda characterises Madhusudana Sarasvati's system as a successive approach in which Karma yoga leads to Bhakti yoga, which in turn leads to Gyaana yoga:[78][79]

text:
Chapters 1–6 = Karma yoga, the means to the final goal
Chapters 7–12 = Bhakti yoga or devotion
Chapters 13–18 = Gyaana yoga or knowledge, the goal itself

text: Karma yoga[edit]

text: As noted by various commentators, the Bhagavad Gita offers a practical approach to liberation in the form of Karma yoga. The path of Karma yoga upholds the necessity of action. However, this action is to be undertaken without any attachment to the work or desire for results. Bhagavad Gita terms this "inaction in action and action in inaction (4.18)". The concept of such detached action is also called Nishkam Karma, a term not used in the Gita.[80] Lord Krishna, in the following verses, elaborates on the role actions, performed without desire and attachment, play in attaining freedom from material bondage and transmigration:

text: To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction

text: Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna), abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga. (2.47–8)[81]

text: The yogīs, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence, and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification. (5.11)[web 26]

text: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi writes, "The object of the Gita appears to me to be that of showing the most excellent way to attain self-realization", and this can be achieved by selfless action, "By desireless action; by renouncing fruits of action; by dedicating all activities to God, i.e., by surrendering oneself to Him body and soul." Gandhi called the Gita "The Gospel of Selfless Action".[82] To achieve true liberation, it is important to control all mental desires and tendencies to enjoy sense pleasures. The following verses illustrate this:[83]

text: When a man dwells in his mind on the object of sense, attachment to them is produced. From attachment springs desire and from desire comes anger.

text: From anger arises bewilderment, from bewilderment loss of memory; and from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence and from the destruction of intelligence he perishes. (2.62–3)[83]

text: Bhakti yoga[edit]

text: The introduction to chapter seven of the Bhagavad Gita explains bhakti as a mode of worship which consists of unceasing and loving remembrance of God. Faith (Śraddhā) and total surrender to a chosen God (Ishta-deva) are considered to be important aspects of bhakti.[84] Theologian Catherine Cornille writes, "The text [of the Gita] offers a survey of the different possible disciplines for attaining liberation through knowledge (Gyaana), action (karma), and loving devotion to God (bhakti), focusing on the latter as both the easiest and the highest path to salvation."[85] M. R. Sampatkumaran, a Bhagavad Gita scholar, explains in his overview of Ramanuja's commentary on the Gita, "The point is that mere knowledge of the scriptures cannot lead to final release. Devotion, meditation, and worship are essential."[86] Ramakrishna believed that the essential message of the Gita could be obtained by repeating the word Gita several times,[87] "'Gita, Gita, Gita', you begin, but then find yourself saying 'ta-Gi, ta-Gi, ta-Gi'. Tagi means one who has renounced everything for God." In the following verses, Krishna elucidates the importance of bhakti:

text: And of all yogins, he who full of faith worships Me, with his inner self abiding in Me, him, I hold to be the most attuned (to me in Yoga). (6.47)[88]

text: For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Pṛthā, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death. (12.6–7)[web 27]

text: Radhakrishnan writes that the verse 11.55 is "the essence of bhakti" and the "substance of the whole teaching of the Gita":[89]

text: Those who make me the supreme goal of all their work and act without selfish attachment, who devote themselves to me completely and are free from ill will for any creature, enter into me.(11.55)[90]

text: Jnana yoga[edit]

text: Jnana yoga is the path of wisdom, knowledge, and direct experience of Brahman as the ultimate reality. The path renounces both desires and actions, and is therefore depicted as being steep and very difficult in the Bhagavad Gita. This path is often associated with the non-dualistic Vedantic belief of the identity of the Ātman with the Brahman. For the followers of this path, the realisation of the identity of Ātman and Brahman is held as the key to liberation.[91]

text: When a sensible man ceases to see different identities, which are due to different material bodies, he attains to the Brahman conception. Thus he sees that beings are expanded everywhere. (13.31)[web 28]

text: One who knowingly sees this difference between the body and the owner of the body and can understand the process of liberation from this bondage, also attains to the supreme goal. (13.35)[web 29]

text: Commentaries and translations[edit]

text: The Bhagavad Gita was first translated into English in the year 1785, by Charles Wilkins, on the orders of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, with special interest shown by Warren Hastings, the then Governor General of India. This edition had an introduction to the Gita by Warren Hastings. Soon the work was translated into other European languages such as German, French and Russian.

text: In 1849, the Weleyan Mission Press, Bangalore published The Bhagavat-Geeta, Or, Dialogues of Krishna and Arjoon in Eighteen Lectures, with Sanskrit, Canarese and English in parallel columns, edited by Rev. John Garrett, and the efforts being supported by Sir. Mark Cubbon[92]

text: Bhagavad Gita integrates various schools of thought, notably Vedanta, Samkhya and Yoga, and other theistic ideas. It remains a popular text for commentators belonging to various philosophical schools. However, its composite nature also leads to varying interpretations of the text. In the words of Mysore Hiriyanna,

text: [The Gita] is one of the hardest books to interpret, which accounts for the numerous commentaries on it–each differing from the rest in one essential point or the other.[93]

text: Richard H. Davis cites Callewaert & Hemraj's 1982 count of 1891 BG translations in 75 languages, including 273 in English.[94][page needed]

text: Classical commentaries[edit]

text: Śaṅkara[edit]

text: The oldest and most influential medieval commentary was that of Adi Shankara (788–820 CE),[95] also known as Shankaracharya (Sanskrit: Śaṅkarācārya).[96][97] Shankara's commentary was based on a recension of the Gita containing 700 verses, and that recension has been widely adopted by others.[98]

text: Rāmānuja[edit]

text: Ramanujacharya's commentary chiefly seeks to show that the discipline of devotion to God (Bhakti yoga) is the way of salvation.[99]

text: Madhva[edit]

text: Madhva, a commentator of the Dvaita Vedanta school,[100] whose dates are given either as (1199–1276 CE)[101] or as (1238–1317 CE),[74] also known as Madhvacharya (Sanskrit: Madhvācārya), wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, which exemplifies the thinking of the "dualist" school.[96] Winthrop Sargeant quotes a dualistic assertion of the Madhva's school that there is "an eternal and complete distinction between the Supreme, the many souls, and matter and its divisions".[74] His commentary on the Gita is called Gita Bhāshya. It has been annotated on by many ancient pontiffs of Dvaita Vedanta school like Padmanabha Tirtha, Jayatirtha, and Raghavendra Tirtha.[102]

text: Abhinavagupta[edit]

text: In the Shaiva tradition,[103] the renowned philosopher Abhinavagupta (10–11th century CE) has written a commentary on a slightly variant recension called Gitartha-Samgraha.

text: Others[edit]

text: Other classical commentators include

text:
Bhāskara
Nimbarka (1162 CE)
Vidyadhiraja Tirtha, Vallabha (1479 CE)
Madhusudana Saraswati,
Raghavendra Tirtha,
Vanamali Mishra,
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486 CE),[104]
Dnyaneshwar (1275–1296 CE) translated and commented on the Gita in Marathi, in his book Dnyaneshwari.[105]

text: Independence movement[edit]

text: At a time when Indian nationalists were seeking an indigenous basis for social and political action, Bhagavad Gita provided them with a rationale for their activism and fight against injustice.[106] Among nationalists, notable commentaries were written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, who used the text to help inspire the Indian independence movement.[107][108] Tilak wrote his commentary Shrimadh Bhagvad Gita Rahasya while in jail during the period 1910–1911 serving a six-year sentence imposed by the British colonial government in India for sedition.[109] While noting that the Gita teaches possible paths to liberation, his commentary places most emphasis on Karma yoga.[110] No book was more central to Gandhi's life and thought than the Bhagavad Gita, which he referred to as his "spiritual dictionary".[111] During his stay in Yeravda jail in 1929,[111] Gandhi wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in Gujarati. The Gujarati manuscript was translated into English by Mahadev Desai, who provided an additional introduction and commentary. It was published with a foreword by Gandhi in 1946.[112][113] Mahatma Gandhi expressed his love for the Gita in these words:

text: I find a solace in the Bhagavadgītā that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavadgītā. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies – and my life has been full of external tragedies – and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of Bhagavadgītā.[114][115]

text: Hindu revivalism[edit]

text: Although Vivekananda did not write any commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, his works contained numerous references to the Gita, such as his lectures on the four yogas – Bhakti, Gyaana, Karma, and Raja.[116] Through the message of the Gita, Vivekananda sought to energise the people of India to claim their own dormant but strong identity.[117] Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay thought that the answer to the problems that beset Hindu society was a revival of Hinduism in its purity, which lay in the reinterpretation of Bhagavad Gita for a new India.[118] Aurobindo saw Bhagavad Gita as a "scripture of the future religion" and suggested that Hinduism had acquired a much wider relevance through the Gita.[119] Sivananda called Bhagavad Gita "the most precious jewel of Hindu literature" and suggested its introduction into the curriculum of Indian schools and colleges.[120] In the lectures Chinmayananda gave, on tours undertaken to revive of moral and spiritual values of the Hindus, he borrowed the concept of Gyaana yajna, or the worship to invoke divine wisdom, from the Gita.[121] He viewed the Gita as a universal scripture to turn a person from a state of agitation and confusion to a state of complete vision, inner contentment, and dynamic action. Teachings of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organisation which spread rapidly in North America in the 1970s and 1980s, are based on a translation of the Gita called Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.[122]

text: Other modern commentaries[edit]

text: Among notable modern commentators of the Bhagavad Gita are Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vinoba Bhave, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Chinmayananda, etc. Chinmayananda took a syncretistic approach to interpret the text of the Gita.[123][124]

text: Paramahansa Yogananda's two volume commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, called God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita, was released 1995.[125]

text: Eknath Easwaran has also written a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. It examines the applicability of the principles of Gita to the problems of modern life.[126]

text: The version by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, entitled Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, is "by far the most widely distributed of all English Gita translations."[127] For each verse, he gives the verse in the Sanskrit Devanagari script, followed by a roman transliteration, a gloss for each word, and then a translation and commentary.[128] His publisher, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, estimates sales at twenty-three million copies, a figure which includes the original English edition and secondary translations into fifty-six other languages.[129]

text: Other notable commentators include Jeaneane Fowler, Ithamar Theodor, Swami Parthasarathy, and Sadhu Vasvani.[130][131] In 1966, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi published a partial translation.[132]

text: Scholarly translations[edit]

text: The first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita was done by Charles Wilkins in 1785.[133][134] In 1981, Larson listed more than 40 English translations of the Gita, stating that "A complete listing of Gita translations and a related secondary bibliography would be nearly endless".[135]:514 He stated that "Overall ... there is a massive translational tradition in English, pioneered by the British, solidly grounded philologically by the French and Germans, provided with its indigenous roots by a rich heritage of modern Indian comment and reflection, extended into various disciplinary areas by Americans, and having generated in our time a broadly based cross-cultural awareness of the importance of the Bhagavad Gita both as an expression of a specifically Indian spirituality and as one of the great religious "classics" of all time."[135]:518 Sanskrit scholar Barbara Stoler Miller produced a translation in 1986 intended to emphasise the poem's influence and current context within English Literature, especially the works of T.S. Eliot, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.[136] The translation was praised by scholars as well as literary critics[137] and became one of the most continually popular translations to date.[138]

text: The Gita in other languages[edit]

text: The Gita has also been translated into European languages other than English. In 1808, passages from the Gita were part of the first direct translation of Sanskrit into German, appearing in a book through which Friedrich Schlegel became known as the founder of Indian philology in Germany.[139] Swami Rambhadracharya released the first Braille version of the scripture, with the original Sanskrit text and a Hindi commentary, on 30 November 2007.[web 30] The former Turkish Scholar-Politician, Bulent Ecevit translated several Sanskrit scriptures, including the Gita, into Turkish. Mahavidwan

text: Gita Press has published the Gita in multiple Indian languages.[140] R. Raghava Iyengar translated the Gita into Tamil in sandam metre poetic form.[141] The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust publishes the Gita in more than forty languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Kazakh, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hebrew, Arabic, Swahili, and sixteen Indian languages.[142]

text: Philological research[edit]

text: The textual development of the Bhagavad Gita has been researched, but the methods of this research have developed since its onset in the late 18th century. According to Adluri and Bagchee, 19th century German indologists had an anti-Brahmanic stance,[143] due to their "Protestant suspicion of the Brahmans."[144] They conceived of the Mahabharata as an Indo-Germanic war-epic in origin, to which layers of text were added by the later Brahmins, including the Bhagavad Gita.[145] This interpretation was fueled by the search for Germanic origins and identity, in which the Brahmins were anti-thetical to the pure Aryans.[146] According to Adluri and Bagchee, 20th century Indology professionalized, but remained anti-Brahmanic, though the anti-Brahmanism disappeared from sight and went "underground."[147][note 8]

text: Contemporary popularity[edit]

text: With the translation and study of the Bhagavad Gita by Western scholars beginning in the early 18th century, the Bhagavad Gita gained a growing appreciation and popularity.[web 1] According to the Indian historian and writer Khushwant Singh, Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If—" is "the essence of the message of The Gita in English."[150]

text: Appraisal[edit]

text: The Bhagavad Gita has been highly praised, not only by prominent Indians including Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,[151] but also by Aldous Huxley, Henry David Thoreau, J. Robert Oppenheimer,[152] Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung, Herman Hesse,[153][154] Bülent Ecevit[155] and others. The Gita's emphasis on selfless service was a prime source of inspiration for Gandhi,[82] who said:

text: When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of external tragedies and if they have not left any visible or invisible effect on me, I owe it to the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita.[156]

text: Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, commented on the Gita:

text: The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe.[157]

text: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, 11th President of India, despite being a Muslim, used to read Bhagavad Gita and recite mantras.[158][159][160][161][162]

text: J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and director of the Manhattan Project, learned Sanskrit in 1933 and read the Bhagavad Gita in the original form, citing it later as one of the most influential books to shape his philosophy of life. Upon witnessing the world's first nuclear test in 1945, he later said he had thought of the quotation "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds", verse 32 from chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.[152][163]

text: Adaptations[edit]

text: Philip Glass retold the story of Gandhi's early development as an activist in South Africa through the text of the Gita in the opera Satyagraha (1979). The entire libretto of the opera consists of sayings from the Gita sung in the original Sanskrit.[web 31] In Douglas Cuomo's Arjuna's dilemma, the philosophical dilemma faced by Arjuna is dramatised in operatic form with a blend of Indian and Western music styles.[web 32] The 1993 Sanskrit film, Bhagavad Gita, directed by G. V. Iyer won the 1993 National Film Award for Best Film.[web 33][web 34]

text: The 1995 novel and 2000 golf movie The Legend of Bagger Vance are roughly based on the Bhagavad Gita.[164]


document_title: List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders

question_text: who has the most rbis in major league baseball

text: The list[edit]

text:
Bold denotes active player.
† denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame.
numbers in parentheses denote 2018 Major League Baseball season RBIs for active players
Stats updated as of August 28, 2018.

text:
Rank

Player

RBI

1

Hank Aaron †

2,297

2

Babe Ruth †

2,214

3

Alex Rodriguez

2,086

4

Barry Bonds

1,996

5

Lou Gehrig †

1,995

6

Albert Pujols (64)

1,982

7

Stan Musial †

1,951

8

Ty Cobb †

1,944

9

Jimmie Foxx †

1,922

10

Eddie Murray †

1,917

11

Willie Mays †

1,903

12

Cap Anson †

1,879[a][1]

13

Mel Ott †

1,860

14

Carl Yastrzemski †

1,844

15

Ted Williams †

1,839

16

Ken Griffey, Jr. †

1,836

17

Rafael Palmeiro

1,835

18

Dave Winfield †

1,833

19

Manny Ramirez

1,831

20

Al Simmons †

1,828

21

Frank Robinson †

1,812

22

David Ortiz

1,768

23

Honus Wagner †

1,732

24

Frank Thomas †

1,704

25

Reggie Jackson †

1,702

26

Jim Thome †

1,699

27

Cal Ripken, Jr. †

1,695

28

Gary Sheffield

1,676

29

Adrián Beltré (33)

1,675

30

Sammy Sosa

1,667

31

Tony Pérez †

1,652

32

Ernie Banks †

1,636

33

Miguel Cabrera (22)

1,635

34

Harold Baines

1,628

35

Chipper Jones †

1,623

36

Goose Goslin †

1,609

37

Nap Lajoie †

1,599

38

George Brett †

1,596

39

Mike Schmidt †

1,595

40

Andre Dawson †

1,591

41

Carlos Beltrán

1,587

42

Rogers Hornsby †

1,584

Harmon Killebrew †

1,584

44

Al Kaline †

1,583

45

Jake Beckley †

1,575

46

Willie McCovey †

1,555

47

Fred McGriff

1,550

48

Willie Stargell †

1,540

49

Harry Heilmann †

1,539

50

Joe DiMaggio †

1,537

51

Jeff Bagwell †

1,529

Tris Speaker †

1,529

53

Sam Crawford †

1,525

54

Jeff Kent

1,518

55

Carlos Delgado

1,512

56

Mickey Mantle †

1,509

57

Vladimir Guerrero †

1,496

58

Dave Parker

1,493

59

Billy Williams †

1,475

60

Rusty Staub

1,465

61

Ed Delahanty †

1,464

62

Eddie Mathews †

1,453

63

Jim Rice †

1,451

64

Joe Carter

1,445

65

Jason Giambi

1,441

66

Luis Gonzalez

1,439

67

George Davis †

1,437

68

Yogi Berra †

1,430

69

Charlie Gehringer †

1,427

70

Andrés Galarraga

1,425

71

Joe Cronin †

1,424

text:
Rank

Player

RBI

72

Jim Bottomley †

1,422

73

Aramis Ramírez

1,417

74

Mark McGwire

1,414

75

Paul Konerko

1,412

76

José Canseco

1,407

77

Todd Helton

1,406

Robin Yount †

1,406

79

Juan González

1,404

80

Torii Hunter

1,391

81

Ted Simmons

1,389

82

Dwight Evans

1,384

83

Joe Medwick †

1,383

84

Johnny Bench †

1,376

85

Chili Davis

1,372

86

Lave Cross

1,371

87

Garret Anderson

1,365

Orlando Cepeda †

1,365

89

Bobby Abreu

1,363

Carlos Lee

1,363

91

Brooks Robinson †

1,357

92

Darrell Evans

1,354

93

Gary Gaetti

1,341

94

Johnny Mize †

1,337

95

Mike Piazza †

1,335

96

Duke Snider †

1,333

97

Iván Rodríguez †

1,332

98

Ron Santo †

1,331

99

Carlton Fisk †

1,330

100

Al Oliver

1,326

101

Roger Connor †

1,322

Rubén Sierra

1,322

103

Graig Nettles

1,314

Pete Rose

1,314

105

Derek Jeter

1,311

Mickey Vernon

1,311

Larry Walker

1,311

108

Paul Waner †

1,309

109

Steve Garvey

1,308

110

Paul Molitor †

1,307

111

Roberto Clemente †

1,305

112

Enos Slaughter †

1,304

113

Hugh Duffy †

1,302

Miguel Tejada

1,302

115

Eddie Collins †

1,300

116

Sam Thompson †

1,299

117

Mark Teixeira

1,298

118

Dan Brouthers †

1,296

119

Andruw Jones

1,289

120

Moisés Alou

1,287

Scott Rolen

1,287

122

Del Ennis

1,284

123

Bob Johnson

1,283

124

Don Baylor

1,276

Hank Greenberg †

1,276

126

Gil Hodges

1,274

127

Pie Traynor †

1,273

128

Tino Martinez

1,271

129

Paul O'Neill

1,269

130

Dale Murphy

1,266

131

Edgar Martínez

1,261

132

Bernie Williams

1,257

133

Zack Wheat †

1,248

134

Bobby Doerr †

1,247

135

Frankie Frisch †

1,244

Lee May

1,244

137

Albert Belle

1,239

George Foster

1,239

139

Magglio Ordóñez

1,236

140

Lance Berkman

1,234

141

Bill Dahlen

1,233

142

John Olerud

1,230

text:
Rank

Player

RBI

143

Gary Carter †

1,225

144

Matt Williams

1,218

145

Matt Holliday (0)

1,217

146

Dave Kingman

1,210

147

Bill Dickey †

1,209

148

Bill Buckner

1,208

149

Raúl Ibañez

1,207

150

Ellis Burks

1,206

Robinson Canó (23)

1,206

152

Will Clark

1,205

153

Adrian Gonzalez (26)

1,202

154

Chuck Klein †

1,201

155

Jim Edmonds

1,199

156

Bob Elliott

1,195

157

Julio Franco

1,194

Ryan Howard

1,194

Joe Kelley †

1,194

160

Tony Lazzeri †

1,191

161

Boog Powell

1,187

162

Joe Torre †

1,185

163

Heinie Manush †

1,183

164

Robin Ventura

1,182

165

Jack Clark

1,180

166

Gabby Hartnett †

1,179

167

Vic Wertz

1,178

168

Sherry Magee

1,176

169

Craig Biggio †

1,175

George Sisler †

1,175

171

Vern Stephens

1,174

172

Bobby Bonilla

1,173

173

Vada Pinson

1,170

174

Adam Dunn

1,168

175

Steve Finley

1,167

Bobby Veach

1,166

177

Earl Averill †

1,164

178

Willie Horton

1,163

179

Alfonso Soriano

1,159

Victor Martinez (35)

1,159

181

Rocky Colavito

1,155

182

B. J. Surhoff

1,153

183

Rudy York

1,152

184

Roy Sievers

1,147

185

Mark Grace

1,146

186

Dante Bichette

1,141

187

Ken Boyer

1,139

Ron Cey

1,139

Johnny Damon

1,139

190

Tony Gwynn †

1,138

191

Tommy Corcoran

1,135

192

Roberto Alomar †

1,134

193

Joe Morgan †

1,133

194

Greg Luzinski

1,128

195

Cecil Cooper

1,125

Tim Wallach

1,125

197

Ed McKean

1,124

198

Joe Adcock

1,122

Edwin Encarnación (73)

1,122

200

Bobby Wallace †

1,121

201

Dick Allen

1,119

Frank Howard

1,119

203

Luke Appling †

1,116

204

Rickey Henderson †

1,115

205

Fred Lynn

1,111

George Hendrick

1,111

207

Todd Zeile

1,110

208

Buddy Bell

1,106

Wally Joyner

1,106

210

Vinny Castilla

1,105

211

Norm Cash

1,104

212

Don Mattingly

1,099

213

Hal McRae

1,097

text:
Rank

Player

RBI

214

Jimmy Ryan

1,093

215

Reggie Smith

1,092

216

Kent Hrbek

1,086

217

Kirby Puckett †

1,085

Lou Whitaker

1,084

219

Brian Giles

1,078

Derrek Lee

1,078

Sam Rice †

1,078

Bill Terry †

1,078

223

José Cruz

1,077

Charlie Grimm

1,077

225

Pinky Higgins

1,075

226

Brian Downing

1,073

227

Jermaine Dye

1,072

Greg Vaughn

1,072

229

Jeff Conine

1,071

Keith Hernandez

1,071

231

Shawn Green

1,070

Lance Parrish

1,070

233

Jimmie Dykes

1,069

234

Bid McPhee †

1,067

Bob Meusel

1,067

236

Kiki Cuyler †

1,065

Jorge Posada

1,065

Ken Singleton

1,065

239

Mo Vaughn

1,064

240

Hack Wilson †

1,063

241

Stuffy McInnis

1,062

242

Ryne Sandberg †

1,061

243

Carl Furillo

1,058

244

Herman Long

1,055

Joe Sewell †

1,055

246

Willie Davis

1,053

247

Tommy Davis

1,052

248

George Scott

1,051

249

Joe Kuhel

1,049

250

Ron Fairly

1,044

251

Bobby Murcer

1,043

252

Sal Bando

1,039

253

Joe Judge

1,034

254

Michael Young

1,030

255

Ryan Braun (40)

1,029

256

Ted Kluszewski

1,028

Prince Fielder

1,028

258

Eric Karros

1,027

259

Bobby Thomson

1,026

260

Chase Utley (14)

1,025

261

Bobby Bonds

1,024

262

Minnie Miñoso

1,023

Dixie Walker

1,023

264

Travis Fryman

1,022

265

Bret Boone

1,021

266

George Kelly †

1,020

267

Fred Pfeffer

1,019

268

David Justice

1,017

269

Tim Salmon

1,016

270

Rod Carew †

1,015

Fred Clarke †

1,015

Ralph Kiner †

1,015

273

Wade Boggs †

1,014

274

George Van Haltren

1,013

275

Dusty Baker

1,013

276

Hal Trosky

1,012

277

Jim O'Rourke

1,010

278

Cecil Fielder

1,008

Ron Gant

1,008

280

Amos Otis

1,007

281

Cy Williams

1,005

282

Wally Pipp

1,004

283

Alan Trammell †

1,003

284

George Bell

1,002

285

Darryl Strawberry

1,000


document_title: Will Gardner

question_text: when does will gardner die in the good wife

text: Will Gardner

text:
Will Gardner

The Good Wife character

First appearance
"Pilot"
September 22, 2009

Last appearance
"End"
May 8, 2016

Created by
Robert King and Michelle King

Portrayed by
Josh Charles

Information

Gender
Male

Occupation
Attorney at law

Significant other(s)
Alicia Florrick (on and off again)

Relatives
Sarah Gardner (sister)
Audrey Gardner (sister)[1]

text: Will Gardner is a character of CBS television series The Good Wife and was portrayed by Josh Charles for the first five seasons of the show's run.[2] For his performance, Charles received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations as well as a Golden Globe nomination.[3]

text: Background[edit]

text: An old friend of Alicia's, in the pilot he helped her get a job with the firm and is constantly trying to avoid appearing as if he favors her. This is complicated by the fact that the two have feelings for each other. Will and Alicia have an affair beginning at the end of season two.[4] In season three they break up when Alicia's daughter goes missing, and Alicia decides she needs to focus more on her children. He is seen as very much of a ladies' man throughout the series and had various love affairs and girlfriends. Will generally had a good working relationship with Diane Lockhart, his co-managing partner at the firm, and the two demonstrate a shrewd ability to guide their business, even through difficult times. Will plays in a regular pick-up basketball game with other attorneys and judges, and has friendships with the players that are eventually scrutinized. During season three, Will is suspended from practicing law for six months as punishment stemming from an old bribery scandal but returns to the firm in season four. In season five after much planning, Alicia and Cary leave Lockhart & Gardner to start their own firm; Will takes this betrayal personally. In episode 15 of the fifth season, he is shot and killed in the courtroom by his client Jeffrey Grant[2] (played by Hunter Parrish).

text: Following his death, he appeared in dream sequences in episodes "Minds Eye"[5] and the series finale, "End".[6]


document_title: The Partridge Family

question_text: who were all the members of the partridge family

text: The Partridge Family

text: Premise[edit]

text: In the pilot episode, a group of musical siblings in the fictitious city of San Pueblo, California (said to be "40 miles from Napa County" in episode 24, A Partridge By Any Other Name) convinces their widowed mother, bank teller Shirley Partridge, to help them out by singing as they record a pop song in their garage. Through the efforts of precocious 10-year-old Danny they find a manager, Reuben Kincaid, who helps make the song a Top 40 hit. After more persuading, Shirley agrees that the family can go on tour. They acquire an old school bus, a 1957 Chevrolet[1] Series 6800 Superior, for touring, paint it with Mondrian-inspired patterns, and head to Las Vegas, Nevada for their first live gig at Caesars Palace.

text: Subsequent episodes usually feature the band performing in various venues or in their garage. The shows often contrast suburban life with the adventures of a show-business family on the road. After the first season, more of the show's action takes place in their hometown than on tour.

text: History[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Created for television by Bernard Slade, the series' executive producer was Bob Claver. The show was inspired by and loosely based on The Cowsills,[2]:51–52 a family pop music group that was famous in the late 1960s. In the show's early development, the Cowsill children were considered by the producers, but because the Cowsills were not trained actors and were too old for the roles as scripted, Slade and Claver abandoned that idea.[3] Shirley Jones had already been signed as mother Shirley Partridge and star of the show.

text: The pilot was filmed in December 1969. This unaired pilot differs from the pilot broadcast in 1970. In the unaired pilot, Shirley's name is "Connie" and she has a boyfriend played by Jones' real-life husband at the time, Jack Cassidy, father of David Cassidy. Laurie mentions her late father once getting drunk at a Christmas party, and the family has a different address and live in Ohio.[4] The unaired pilot is unavailable on home video.

text: The show proved popular, but the fame took its toll on several, if not most, of the starring cast, particularly David Cassidy. In the midst of his rise to fame, Cassidy soon felt stifled by the show and trapped by the mass hysteria surrounding his every move.[2]:92–95 In May 1972, he appeared nude on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in a cropped Annie Leibovitz photo. He used the article to get away from his squeaky clean image.[2]:167 Among other things, the article mentions Cassidy was riding around New York in the back of a car "stoned and drunk."[5]

text: Shortly after the series ended, scriptwriter Roberta Tatum launched a lawsuit against Screen Gems concerning the creation of the show. Tatum claimed that she had submitted a similar premise to Screen Gems prior to 1970 called Baker's Half-Dozen. The matter was resolved out of court, with Tatum receiving a reported $150,000 from Screen Gems.[6]

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text:
Shirley Jones as Shirley Partridge: vocals, keyboard, tambourine, percussion
David Cassidy as Keith Partridge: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, electric lead guitar, banjo
Susan Dey as Laurie Partridge: vocals, harmony, piano, Hammond organ, percussion
Danny Bonaduce as Danny Partridge: vocals, bass guitar
Jeremy Gelbwaks as Chris Partridge (season 1): vocals, drums
Brian Forster as Chris Partridge (seasons 2–4): vocals, drums
Suzanne Crough as Tracy Partridge: tambourine, percussion
Dave Madden as Reuben Kincaid: band manager
Ricky Segall as Ricky Stevens (season 4): singer
Simone, the family's pet dog (season 1 only)

text: Notable guest stars[edit]

text: During its four-season run, many actors made guest appearances on the show. Some of them were well known at the time, such as Morey Amsterdam, John Astin, Carl Ballantine, John Banner, Edgar Buchanan, George Chakiris, Dick Clark (who later hosted The Other Half from 2001 to 2003 with Danny Bonaduce), Jackie Coogan, Howard Cosell, Jodie Foster, Bernard Fox, Ned Glass, James Gregory, Margaret Hamilton, Pat Harrington Jr., Arte Johnson, Harvey Lembeck, Art Metrano, Mary Ann Mobley, Harry Morgan, Slim Pickens, Richard Pryor, Barbara Rhoades, William Schallert, Nita Talbot, Larry Wilcox, Dick Wilson, and William Windom. Others would later become famous in other roles, such as Meredith Baxter, Richard Bull, Bert Convy, Farrah Fawcett, Norman Fell, Anthony Geary, Louis Gossett Jr., Harold Gould, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Hamill, Season Hubley, Ann Jillian, Gordon Jump, Cheryl Ladd, Michael Lembeck, William Lucking, Stuart Margolin, Richard Mulligan, Michael Ontkean, Noam Pitlik, Annette O'Toole, Charlotte Rae, Rob Reiner, Jack Riley, Jaclyn Smith, Vic Tayback, Nancy Walker, and Frank Welker.

text: Country singer Johnny Cash made an uncredited cameo appearance in the pilot episode. Ray Bolger played Shirley's father in three episodes, and Rosemary DeCamp played Shirley's mother in four episodes. Then-Governor Ronald Reagan's daughter, Maureen Reagan, was also featured in one episode. Future Charlie's Angels stars Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Ladd all made guest appearances on separate episodes.

text: Bobby Sherman appeared in the last episode of the first season (Episode 25) as struggling songwriter Bobby Conway. This episode led into a short-lived spinoff series on ABC, Getting Together, starring Sherman and Wes Stern as Bobby Conway's business partner Lionel Poindexter.

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Production[edit]

text: At the end of the first season, Jeremy Gelbwaks' family moved out of the Los Angeles area, and the part of Chris was recast with actor Brian Forster. According to David Cassidy, Gelbwaks "had a personality conflict with every person in the cast and the producers" and especially did not get along with Cassidy or Bonaduce.[2]:87 A dog named Simone was featured in the first season, but it was phased out during the second season. At the beginning of the fourth season, a four-year-old neighbor, Ricky Stevens (Ricky Segall), was featured and would sing a children's song during each episode, but the character was dropped mid-season.

text: Music[edit]

text: The first session for the pilot was produced by Monkees' producer Shorty Rogers, but later, led by music producer Wes Farrell, a group of hired studio musicians (informally referred to as the Wrecking Crew) actually created the Partridge Family's sound. The harmonious background vocalists were The Love Generation, aka brothers John and Tom Bahler, Jackie Ward, who had had a #14 hit on Dot Records in 1963 with "Wonderful Summer" (as "Robin Ward"),[7] and Ron Hicklin (initially the Ron Hicklin Singers). David Cassidy was originally to lip sync with the rest of the cast, but he convinced Farrell just weeks into production that he could sing and was allowed to join the studio ensemble as the lead singer.[2]:56–60 He and his step-mother, Shirley, were the only two actors within the Partridge Family actors that were allowed to sing for recording.

text: The Partridge Family theme song, produced by Rogers, was shown over opening credits. More than one song was used as the theme song. Season 1 episodes feature the song "When We're Singin'", which was replaced in subsequent seasons with "C'mon Get Happy".

text:
"Five of us, and Mom working all day,
we knew we could help her if our music would pay,
Danny got Reuben to sell our song, and it really
came together when Mom sang along..." (from "When We're Singin'")

text: Later, under Farrell's direction, when the new version appeared, it featured new lyrics sung to the "When We're Singin'" tune. With the new chorus finalized, "C'mon Get Happy" showcased the new verse:

text:
"We had a dream, we'd go travelin' together,
We'd spread a little lovin' then we'd keep movin' on.
Somethin' always happens whenever we're together
We get a happy feelin' when we're singing a song..." (from "C'Mon Get Happy")

text: Broadcast history[edit]

text: For its final season, ABC moved the show from its 8:30 pm Friday night slot (where it rated first in its timeslot) to Saturday at 8:00 pm (opposite CBS' top-rated All in the Family, with which it could not compete successfully). After the show's popularity began to decline in the US, it began to increase in the UK. This new popularity in the UK gave them five UK Top 20 Hits, some of which were less popular in the States.

text: After 96 episodes and eight Partridge Family albums, ABC canceled the show.

text: Ratings[edit]

text: (Households with TV: 62,100,000)

text:
1970–1971: No. 26 The Partridge Family ABC Estimated Audience 11,899,800
1971–1972: No. 16 The Partridge Family ABC Estimated Audience 14,034,600
1972–1973: No. 19 The Partridge Family ABC Estimated Audience 13,348,800
1973–1974: No. 78

text: Syndication[edit]

text: Nickelodeon featured a run of The Partridge Family from 1993 to 1994 as part of its Nick at Nite lineup. The network used interviews and commercials featuring cast members, and created a new version of the bus for promotion. The show also aired at various times on Fox Family, Ion Television, and Hallmark Channel. As of January 2011[update], it airs on Antenna TV. FeTV also started airing The Partridge Family in December 2017.

text: The cast was reunited in 1977 on the special Thanksgiving Reunion with The Partridge Family and My Three Sons. Reunited again in the 1990s on The Arsenio Hall Show and The Danny Bonaduce Show and were featured on E! True Hollywood Story, Biography and VH1's Behind the Music.

text: When the digital subchannel Antenna TV premiered in January 2011, The Partridge Family became one of its offerings through the network's distribution agreement with Sony Pictures Television (parent company and successor of series producer Screen Gems).[8][9][10][11]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text:
Year
Association
Category
Result

1971
Grammy Awards
Best New Artist[12]
Nominated

Golden Globe Awards
Best TV Show – Musical/Comedy
Nominated

1972
Best TV Show – Musical/Comedy
Nominated

2003
TV Land Awards
Quintessential Non-Traditional Family
Nominated

Hippest Fashion Plate – Male to David Cassidy
Won

2004
Favorite Teen Dream – Female to Susan Dey
Won

Irreplaceable Replacement for Brian Forster replacing Jeremy Gelbwaks
Nominated

2006
Favorite Singing Siblings
Nominated

The Most Irreplaceable Replacement for Brian Forster replacing Jeremy Gelbwaks
Nominated

2007
Most Beautiful Braces – Susan Dey
Nominated

text: Media[edit]

text: Discography[edit]

text: The Partridge Family was produced for ABC by Screen Gems. The company promoted the show by releasing a series of albums featuring the family band, though David Cassidy and Shirley Jones, who sang background, were the only cast members who were actually featured on the recordings.[2]:56–60

text: As the show and other associated merchandising soared, David Cassidy became a teen idol.[2]:68–73 The producers signed Cassidy as a solo act as well. Cassidy began touring with his own group of musicians, performing Partridge songs as well as hits from his own albums, to thousands of screaming teenagers in major stadiums across the USA, UK, Europe, Japan and Australia.

text: The Partridge Family's biggest hit came in 1970 with the song "I Think I Love You", written by Tony Romeo (who had previously written several of the Cowsills' hits), peaked at Number 1 on the Billboard charts in December of that year. It sold over five million copies, outselling the Beatles' "Let It Be", was awarded a gold disc, and made the group the third fictional artist to have a No. 1 hit (after The Chipmunks and The Archies).[13] The song's companion LP, The Partridge Family Album, reached Number 4 in the Billboard 200. It was also awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in December 1970, having sold over 500,000 copies.[13] A string of hit Partridge singles followed: "Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted", "I'll Meet You Halfway", "I Woke Up In Love This Morning", "It's One of Those Nights (Yes Love)", "Am I Losing You", "Looking Through the Eyes of Love", "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", and "A Friend and a Lover".[14] These singles were showcased on million-selling albums including Up To Date, Sound Magazine, Shopping Bag, Notebook, Crossword Puzzle, and Bulletin Board.[15] Their holiday album A Partridge Family Christmas Card was the No. 1 selling Christmas record of 1971.[16] Record sales success was replicated internationally, with both The Partridge Family (group) and David Cassidy (solo) achieving huge hits in Canada, Great Britain, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In all, The Partridge Family released 89 songs on 9 albums between 1970 and 1973.

text: Danny Bonaduce album[edit]

text: Though Danny Bonaduce was not part of the session band, he also got a recording contract, and released a self-titled album in 1972, Danny Bonaduce. Though Bonaduce was credited as lead singer on all songs, he insists that he had a weak voice and that Bruce Roberts provided most of the vocals on the album. The first track, "I'll Be Your Magician", in which the 13-year-old Bonaduce seduces a woman into having sexual intercourse with him, has developed a cult following for its campy entertainment value. The original, watered-down, version was recorded with Cassidy for the Sound Magazine album, but was discarded and never released. In fall 2010, Cassidy dared Bonaduce to learn how to play the bass guitar lines on the songs the Partridge Family performed. Bonaduce learned the bass guitar line for "Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted", stating that although he had no ability to read music, the song was relatively easy to learn; Cassidy and Bonaduce subsequently performed together on rare occasions.[17]

text: Animated spin-off[edit]

text: The Partridges had a brief resurgence in animated form which saw the family propelled into the future. The animated Partridges first appeared when the kids did a series of guest spots on Goober and the Ghost Chasers. That idea evolved into a CBS Saturday morning Hanna-Barbera-produced cartoon in 1974, Partridge Family 2200 A.D. (also called The Partridge Family in Outer Space when rerun later as part of Fred Flintstone and Friends). Shirley Jones and David Cassidy did not voice their animated and Susan Dey and Dave Madden had very limited involvement with this cartoon.

text: Board game[edit]

text: Released in 1971 by Milton Bradley, The Partridge Family Game offers a glimpse of what life on the road was like for one of TV’s favorite fictional pop bands. The back of the box explains, “As on TV, many happenings occur to the Partridge family, this game describes one of them. They have finished playing at a local arena and must hurry to their BUS to get traveling again. On the way, they may have some delays.” The object of the game is to be the first player to get back to the tour bus.[18]

text: Comic books[edit]

text: Charlton Comics produced a comic book featuring The Partridge Family between March 1971 and December 1973. It features stories about the characters, song lyrics and features about David Cassidy.[19] The drawings were provided by Don Sherwood. [20][21]

text: Reunion special[edit]

text: Three years after the show's cancellation, Shirley Jones and other cast members gathered with cast members of My Three Sons for the ABC special Thanksgiving Reunion with The Partridge Family and My Three Sons, that aired on November 25, 1977. The show featured the casts discussing the histories of their shows, although other than Jones and Fred MacMurray both portraying single parents of large families, the two series had no narrative link.

text: The New Partridge Family[edit]

text: In 2004, VH1 produced a pilot for a syndicated The New Partridge Family, starring Suzanne Sole as Shirley, Leland Grant as Keith, Emma Stone as Laurie and Spencer Tuskowski as Danny. The pilot was the only episode produced.

text: DVD releases[edit]

text: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released all 4 Seasons of The Partridge Family in DVD Region 1. Seasons 1 and 2 have been released in Regions 2 and 4.

text: On October 15, 2013, Sony released The Partridge Family – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[22] The 12-disc set features all 96 episodes of the series as well as bonus features.

text: The Screen Gems closing logo was removed from episodes for the first three seasons on DVD.

text: On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including The Partridge Family.[23] They subsequently re-released the first two seasons on June 24, 2014.[24]

text: On September 22, 2015, Mill Creek re-released Partridge Family- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 with the original Screen Gems logo reinstated at the end of the credits. No U.S. DVD releases contain the epilogue to episode #25 (which does appear on Region 2 & 4 releases), nor the unaired 1969 pilot, nor any episodes of the spin-off series Getting Together.[25]

text:
DVD name
Ep. #
Release date

The Complete 1st Season
25
May 3, 2005
June 24, 2014 (re-release)

The Complete 2nd Season
24
November 8, 2005
June 24, 2014 (re-release)

The Complete 3rd Season
25
October 14, 2008

The Complete 4th Season
22
February 3, 2009

The Complete Series
96
October 15, 2013
September 22, 2015 (re-release)