(1)
pārthāya pratibodhitāḿ bhagavatā nārāyaṇena svayaḿ
vyāsena grathitāḿ purāṇa-muninā madhye mahābhārate
advaitāmṛta-varṣiṇīḿ bhagavatīm aṣṭādaśādhyāyinīḿ
amba tvām anusandadhāmi bhagavad-gīte bhava-dveṣiṇīm
O Bhagavad-gita, thou hast been instructed to Arjuna, the son of Prtha by the Lord Himself and afterwards thee were included within the Mahabharata by the ancient sageVyasa. Thy eighteen divine chapters are a shower of the immortal nectar of the wisdom of the Absolute. O mother, destroyer of man's rebirth into the darkness of this mortal world, upon thee I meditate.
(2)
namo'stu te vyāsa viśāla-buddhe
phullāravindāyātapatra-netre
yena tvayā bhārata-taila-pūrṇaḥ
prajvalito jñānamayaḥ pradīpaḥ
Obeisances to thee, O Vyasa, thou art of mighty intellect, and thine eyes are large as the petals of the full-blown lotus. It was by thee that the oil-filled lamp of knowledge of the Mahabharata was lit.
(3)
prapanna-parijātāya
totra-vetraika-pāṇaye
jñāna-mudrāya kṛṣṇāya
gītāmṛta-duhe namaḥ
I offer obeisances unto Lord Krsna, the refuge of ocean-born Laksmi and all who take refuge at His lotus feet. His one hand holds a staff for driving cows, and the other hand is raised, the thumb touching the tip of the forefinger, indicating divine knowledge. He is the milker of the immortal nectar of the Bhagavad-gita.
(4)
sarvopaniṣado gāvo
dogdhā gopāla-nandanaḥ
pārtho vatsaḥ sudhīr bhoktā
dugdhaḿ gītāmṛtaḿ mahat
The Upanisads are as a herd of cows, Lord Krsna, son of a cowherd, is their mother, Arjuna is the calf, the supreme nectar of the Gita is the milk, and the wise man of purified intellect is the drinker.
(5)
vasudeva-sutaḿ devaḿ
kaḿsa-cāṇūra-mardanam
devakī-paramānandaḿ
kṛṣṇaḿ vande jagad-gurum
I offer my obeisances to Lord Krsna, the beloved son of Vasudeva, destroyer of the demons Kamsa and Canura, the supreme bliss of Mother Devaki and the spiritual master of the universe.
(6)
bhīṣma-droṇa-taṭā jayadratha-jalā gāndhārī-nīlotpalā
śalya-grāhavatī kṛpeṇa vahinī karṇena velākula
aśvattāma-vikarṇa-ghora-makarā duryodhanāvartinī
sottīrṇā khalu pāṇḍavārṇava-nadī kaivartakaḥ keśvaḥ
Of the terrifying river of the battlefield of Kuruksetra over which the Pandavas victoriously crossed, Bhisma and Drona were it's high banks, Jayadratha was the river's water, the King of Gandhara, the blue water-lily: there were sharks such as salya, Krpa was the current, Karna, the mighty waves, Asvattham and Vikarna, the dreadful alligators, and Duryodhana, the very whirlpool, but Lord Krsna was the ferryman!
(7)
pārāśarya-vacaḥ sarojam amalaḿ gītārtha-gandhotkaṭaḿ
nānākhyānaka-keśaraḿ hari-kathā-sambodhanābodhitam
loke sajjana-ṣaṭpadair aharahaḥ pepīyamānaḿ mudā
bhūyād bhārata-paṅkajaḿ kalimala-pradhvaḿsanaḿ śreyase
May the spotless lotus of the words of Vyasa that grows on the eternal waters of the words of Lord Hari, with its filaments of various tales of heroes and which is rightly endowed with the sweet fragrance of the explanations of the Bhagavad-gita, it's nectar beign quaffed with pleasure daily in this world by saintly persons who are compared to so many nectar-seeking bumble-bees and which destroys all the sins of the age of Kali - May this lotus of the Mahabharata bestow on us the highest good.
(8)
mūkaḿ karoti vācālaḿ
paṅguḿ laṅghāyate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaḿ vande
paramānanda-mādhavam
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna, the transcendentally blissful husband of the goddess of fortune, whose mercy turns the dumb into eloquent speakers and enables to lame to cross mountains.
(9)
yaḿ brahmā varuṇendra-rudra-marutaḥ stunvanti divyaiḥ stavair
vedaiḥ sāṅga-pada-kramopaniṣadair gāyanti yaḿ sāma-gāḥ
dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaḿ yogino
yasyāntaḿ na viduḥ surāsura-gaṇā devāya tasmai namaḥ
Let all obeisances be unto the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna, whom Brahma, Varuna, Indra, Rudra, the Maruts and all divine beings praise with the divine hymns of the Vedas and their supplementary parts such as the Upanisads, whom the followers of the Sama Veda glorify with song, whom great mystics see with their minds absorbed in perfect meditation and of whom all the hosts of demigods and demons know not the limitations. To him the Supreme Lord, let there be all obeisances.
- Adi Sankaracarya