The Bhagavad Gita is a world classic often considered to be not just the 'Hindu Bible' but sometimes the 'Indian Bible' as well. Over the last two centuries, it has attracted much scholarly attention from Indologists. Ithamar Theodor's bold and revisionist monograph aspires to further develop their scholarship by treating the Gita as a discrete philosophy and by offering a systematic survey of its main topics and doctrines, in so doing emphasising their philosophical potential. A major innovation here is the articulation of the Gita's structure extracted from Vedantic and Yogic pattens of thought, presented in a modern fashion. This centres on the Gita's Vedantic concept of hierarchical reality and its Yogic concept of a ladder. Beyond its overarching philosophical and holistic approach to the Bhagavad Gita, the book addresses major themes such as dharma, rebirth, Yoga and Sankhya, bhakti, the Upanishadic nature of the text, and concepts of divinity.

‘This is an excellent monograph that provides a systematic exploration of the major themes and teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. All too often, the Gita is treated as a kind of ‘grab bag' of ancient Indian philosophies, lacking a coherent, overarching vision. The analysis provided by Ithamar Theodor, however, belies this approach. With chapters organized around major themes of traditional Indian thought, such as dharma and the process of rebirth, Theodor demonstrates that there is, indeed, an internally cohesive and logical system to be found in the Gita's teachings. Theodor's manuscript is persuasive in its arguments and promises to be a transformative work in the academic study of the Bhagavad Gita. It will no doubt spur debate as well, given how entrenched the dominant view of this text as not a systematic work of philosophy is in the academy.'

Jeffrey D. Long - Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religious Studies, Elizabethtown College

‘The Bhagavad Gita shares in the pluralism of the Hindu tradition, and therefore one can see how its teachings can be aligned with the basic doctrines of different schools of thought. This, however, has the unfortunate consequence of preventing the identification of the doctrines of the Bhagavad Gita on their own terms, which will fully respect its pluralism but would not make it a handmaiden of pre-existing schools of thought. When such attempts have been made in the past, they have been made by people who were interested in the confessional study of religion. The present book constitutes a serious attempt by an academic scholar of the Bhagavad Gita to outline its teachings through some key terms, but without anchoring them in pre-existing schools of thought or giving them a confessional turn. I recommend this significant monograph warmly.'

Arvind Sharma - Birks Professor of Comparative Religion, McGill University