Essays on the Gita

Note on the TextESSAYS ON THE GITA was first published in the monthlyreview Arya in two series. The first series, covering the firstsix chapters of the Gita, ran from August 1916 to July 1918.The second series, covering the last twelve chapters, ran fromAugust 1918 to July 1920.The first series, slightly revised and with some new chaptertitles, was brought out as a book in 1922 by V. RamaswamySastrulu and Sons, Madras. New editions of the first serieswere published by Arya Publishing House, Calcutta, in 1926,1937, 1944 and 1949. The same publisher issued an extensivelyrevised edition of the second series in 1928, and neweditions of this series in 1942, 1945 and 1949.The 1922 edition of the first series may be consideredan incomplete first edition of <strong>Essays</strong> on the Gita. The firstand second series pairs of 1926 and 1928, 1937 and 1942,1944 and 1945, and 1949 (both series) may be considered thesecond, third, fourth and fifth editions of the book.Since 1949 the two series of <strong>Essays</strong> on the Gita have appearedin one volume. An American edition was published byThe Sri Aurobindo Library, New York, in 1950. The sixth andseventh Indian editions were published by the Sri AurobindoInternational Centre of Education in 1959 and 1966. In 1970<strong>Essays</strong> on the Gita formed volume 13 of the Sri AurobindoBirth Centenary Library. This, the eighth Indian edition, wasreprinted many times.The text of the present, ninth, edition has been carefullychecked against Sri Aurobindo’s extant manuscripts and alleditions published before 1950.