Uddhava was Krishna's cousin who resembled him in complexion and other features. He was the foremost devotee of the Lord. In fact, Krishna chose him as his emissary to convey his message of solace and courage to his parents and the Gopikas at Vraja, since they were feeling restless and despondent after he left for Mathura with Akrura.
The ‘Uddhava Gita' incorporates the teachings of Lord Krishna to Uddhava given on the eve of His departure to His heavenly abode and it forms part of the Bhagavata Purana. Quite befittingly christened Krishna's Other Song by Steven Rosen, it is a very popular philosophical text known to the orthodox Hindu tradition. It is, however, lesser known than the Bhagavad Gita, which contains the Lord's teachings to Arjuna on the Kurukshetra battlefield.
In the book under review Rosen, a votary of ‘Krishna Consciousness', gives a very lucid and simple translation of the 1,030-verse Sanskrit text, without “labouring to translate each word verbatim.” However, he does not provide the original text.
The ‘Uddhava Gita' picks up where the ‘Bhagavad Gita' leaves off. There are a few points common between the two; for instance, both lay stress on everyone doing one's duty without thinking of the results, and on the omnipresence of God.
Noteworthy is Krishna's observation that, although all beings are dear to him, He likes ‘man' most because human body provides the gateway to an understanding of His essential nature. In the ‘Uddhava Gita', the Lord categorically declares that Bhakti Yoga is superior to the Karma and Jnana Yogas.
This volume has 23 themes logically arranged. An ‘Avadhuta' tells King Yadu how he came to receive instruction from as many as 24 teachers. And the teachers he lists make an amazing mix — the five elements; the sun and the moon; the sea; a pigeon, a python; an elephant; a deer; a serpent; a spider; a wasp; a hawk; a fish; a prostitute, a child; a young girl, and, ultimately, his own self. The episodes are interesting, driving home the point that for one who is spiritually oriented, everything and every creature in the world has some lesson or the other to offer.
Now, for some observations on the translation and explanation of certain important words. The author says: “Gita simply means ‘song' and within the context of India's sacred literature, it refers to particularly mellifluous and blessed songs of divine truth, uttered by the great devotees or by the Lord Himself.”
But it needs to be pointed out that the word Gitaa used here (as in the case of Bhagavad Gitaa ) is a feminine gender word ending in long- a . It should not therefore be translated as ‘song', which then would become Gitam , a neuter gender word in Sanskrit. It is true that we hear of several Gitas like the ‘Gopika Gita', ‘Bhramara Gita' and ‘Venu Gita.' Why are these called Gitas , and not Gitams ?
The reason is that they are all equal in status to the secret teachings called Upanishads (a feminine gender word in Sanskrit). In all the colophons of the Gita , one may notice the expression, Iti Sreemad-bhagavadgeetaasu upanishatsu …
Again, the word ‘Maya' has been translated as “the illusory power” of the Lord. If taken in this sense, the Bhagavata would become a text of ‘Mayavada', which will be against the traditions of ‘Bhakti Vedanta' teachers. The proper translation would be “the mysterious and positive power of the Lord.” This is how it was explained by preceptors like Ramanuja and Vallabha.
All these, however, do not detract from the usefulness of this volume to those who have no exposure to the Sanskrit original. The translator deserves commendation for his splendid effort.
