Kanha

The Bhagavad Gita for beginners: where to start

By Siddharth Sharma, creator of Kanha. Updated .

This Bhagavad Gita for beginners guide is for someone opening it for the first time. The text is short, about 700 verses in 18 chapters, but it can be hard to walk into.

The short answer: learn the situation first, start reading where Krishna's teaching begins (chapter 2, verse 11), pick a translation you can read comfortably, and read a small amount every day. You do not need to know Sanskrit or to have read anything else first.

What the Gita is, in one minute

  • A conversation between Arjuna, a warrior prince, and Krishna, his friend and charioteer, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra just before a war begins.
  • Part of the Mahabharata, a very long Indian epic. It is told to the blind king Dhritarashtra by his adviser Sanjaya.
  • 18 chapters and about 700 verses.
  • Its subject is a question anyone can recognise: what do I do when every choice hurts, and how do I act with a steady mind?

If you want the full picture of what is in it, read what the Bhagavad Gita is about.

Step 1: learn the situation before the teaching

Most first-time confusion comes from starting on page one of a text that assumes you already know a family feud. Two branches of one royal family, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, have been pushed to war over a kingdom after years of wrongs. Arjuna, a Pandava, rides out between the two armies, sees teachers, elders and cousins on both sides, and cannot bring himself to fight.

The Gita is Krishna's answer to that moment. Once you know it, chapter 1, with its armies and long lists of names, becomes easy to skim, and chapter 2 starts to make sense. Kanha tells this background as a short illustrated story before the verses begin.

Step 2: start where the teaching starts

Chapter 1 sets the scene. Krishna speaks his first short words at verses 2.2 and 2.3, but the teaching itself begins at 2.11, where he tells Arjuna that the wise do not grieve, whether for the living or the dead.

From there chapter 2 lays out the ideas the rest of the book builds on: the self that does not die (2.20), acting without clinging to the result (2.47), and the steady mind (2.54 to 2.72). If you read only one chapter carefully at first, make it this one.

Step 3: choose a translation you can actually read

A translation only helps if you enjoy reading it. Older translations, with "thou" and "thee", stay close to the wording but can feel distant. Modern ones read more easily and paraphrase more. Commentaries go a step further and explain each verse from the point of view of a particular tradition.

Several older translations are in the public domain, including Swami Swarupananda's (1909) and Edwin Arnold's poetic The Song Celestial (1885). Modern translators and commentators each bring a tradition of their own, for example Advaita Vedanta or one of the devotional schools, so two good books can explain the same verse differently. That is normal, not a mistake.

For a first reading, a plain translation with a short explanation of each verse is enough. Add a full commentary on a second pass, when you know what you are asking of it.

Step 4: read a little each day

The Gita is dense. A few verses at a time, with a moment to think about each, works better than a whole chapter in one sitting. Three to five verses, about five to ten minutes, is a good start. Our daily reading plan shows how long the whole book takes at each pace.

A first month, week by week

At about three verses a day, this is a realistic first month:

  1. Week 1: the background story, then 2.11 to 2.30 (grief, and the self that does not die).
  2. Week 2: 2.31 to 2.53 (duty, and the famous line on action and results, 2.47).
  3. Week 3: 2.54 to 2.72 (the steady mind, and the end of chapter 2).
  4. Week 4: the first verses of chapter 3, which asks why to act at all.

If you fall behind, carry on from where you stopped. Nothing is lost.

Common stumbling blocks

  • Sanskrit words. Dharma, karma, yoga and atman come up constantly. There is a short glossary in what the Gita is about.
  • Verses that seem to point different ways. The Gita speaks about action, knowledge and devotion in turn. Let it settle. It reads differently the second time.
  • Feeling behind. There is no schedule to be behind on. Read what you can, when you can.
  • Not knowing where things fit. The chapter summaries give the main idea of each of the 18 chapters.

Where Kanha fits

Kanha is a free Android app built for exactly this first read. It begins with the background story, then goes one verse at a time from chapter 2 to chapter 18. Every card shows the translation on the front and a plain-English meaning on the back, and you choose a daily pace and see how long the whole book will take. There are no ads and no paywall. Curious what daily reading can and cannot do? Read the benefits of reading it daily.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be Hindu or religious to read the Gita?

No. It is a Hindu scripture and many people read it as one, but it is also read by people of other faiths and of none for its ideas about duty, action and the mind. Reading it with respect and an open mind is enough.

Do I need to know Sanskrit?

No. Good English translations exist, and you can add the Sanskrit later if you want to.

How long does it take to read the Bhagavad Gita?

The verses themselves take a few hours to read straight through, but most people who read it well take weeks to months, a few verses at a time.

Should I read all 18 chapters in order?

For a first reading, yes, because the argument builds from one chapter to the next. Later it is common to return to favourite chapters such as 2, 12 and 18.