The 21st century Bhagavad Gita: A new translation for a new millennium

In this bold, new translation of the Gita, poet Mani Rao cuts past conventions and uses space and language innovatively to deliver an experience of immediacy for the reader. At the same time, she adheres strictly to the meaning of the original and is sensitive to the nuances of the Sanskrit original with all its word-play and texture. Mani Rao’s Bhagavad Gita sets a new standard for the translation of canonical spiritual texts. Here is a short excerpt from her book, where Arjuna is telling Krishna that he cannot fight his own family members: Bhagavad Gita About the author: Mani Rao is the author of eight poetry books including Ghostmasters (2010) and Echolocation (2003). Her poems and essays have appeared in journals including Indian Literature, Kavya Bharati, Almost Island, Wasafiri, Meanjin, Washington Square, eXchanges, Fulcrum, Asia Literary Review, West Coast Line, Iowa Review, Colorado Review, Interim, and in anthologies including Penguin’s 60 Indian Poets, Zoland Poetry, W.W. Norton’s Language for a New Century and The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poets. [caption id=“attachment_25969” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Krishna with Gopis. Wikimedia commons. “]  [/caption] Born in 1965, Rao was raised in India. She worked in television and advertising in India, Hong Kong and New Zealand for twenty years, including at Star TV for nearly a decade, before turning to literary and scholarly interests full-time. She was a visiting fellow at the Iowa International Writing Program in 2005 and 2009, and the 2006 University of Iowa International Program’s writer-in-residence. She has a BA in English from Stella Maris College, Chennai, a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in poetry from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is a PhD student of religious studies at Duke University. The author’s website is www.manirao.com.