Simon Brodbeck,Juan Mascaro, Bhagavad-gita (Penguin Classics) Review

Overall Rating

it was ok in 1962 esp aimed at a christian audience

Errors, inaccuracies, omissions, additions not in the original text.
Bible-speak over used [thou, thine, etc]and out of context.
No sanskrit text.
Important epithets left out.

The first word in Bhagavad-gita, is mistranslated. Dharma in that context, is not "Truth"..
The last words of Arjuna are not; "Thy Will Be Done" [lifted fm Mat/Luke, Lords Prayer]
The last words of Krishna are wrong and dont include; "thine Inner Light". .

at the start, before the discourse begins, we are told - wrongly - that our army is weaker than the opposing army, and that their army is more numerous than ours, [ie, the opposite]an example of a meaning changing error.

In the interests of simplification, poetic presentation, the text is dumbed-down for western readers.. important meanings [mind, intellect, being, self etc] are mistranslated or interpreted as 'soul', 'purity', 'harmony', 'self-harmony',harmony of soul' and so on.

There are better more accurate still beautiful, still poetic translations available today.

written by genuine sanskrit scholars with understanding of the real meanings.

this 1962 version cant compare for eg, with the 2007 translation of lars martin fosse
which has the sanskrit text, includes the epithets, with separate good explainations,
and so on.

This and other translations are readily available at a good price through amazon etc
Bhagavad git is worth reading for the subtle psychology alone, yet has much,
much more, especially for yoga students and meditators..

If you havnt read it yet, lucky you! Get a good translation and enjoy...