Introducing Bhagavad Gita As It Is: Ancient Wisdom in Hindi, English & Nepali
We are proud to announce the launch of Bhagavad Gita As It Is, a free app that brings one of the world's most profound spiritual texts to your iPhone in three languages: Hindi, English, and Nepali. Whether you are encountering the Gita for the first time or returning to a text you have known for years, this app is designed to make the scripture as accessible and authentic as possible.
The Bhagavad Gita and Why It Matters Today
The Bhagavad Gita is one of the oldest and most widely read philosophical texts in human history. Composed as part of the epic Mahabharata, scholars date its origins to somewhere between the fifth and second centuries BCE, though its themes are timeless. At its heart, the Gita is a conversation between the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna, who reveals himself to be the Supreme Being. On the eve of a great battle, Arjuna is paralysed by doubt and grief. He cannot bring himself to fight against his own kinsmen. What follows is a profound dialogue about duty, identity, the nature of the self, and the path to liberation.
More than two thousand years after that dialogue was first recorded, people still turn to the Gita in moments of crisis and confusion. Executives read it for clarity under pressure. Grieving families find comfort in its teachings on the soul's permanence. Students wrestling with questions of purpose discover a framework for living with integrity. Psychologists have noted its resemblance to modern cognitive behavioural approaches to anxiety. The Gita does not belong to any single era. It belongs to every human being who has ever asked: what am I supposed to do, and why?
Making this text available on the device that most people carry with them everywhere felt, to us, like a straightforward obligation. Great ideas should not be locked behind language barriers or expensive editions. They should travel freely.
What "As It Is" Means
The phrase "As It Is" in the app's title carries real weight. There is a long tradition of presenting the Bhagavad Gita through the interpretive lens of a particular teacher, school, or philosophical system. These commentaries have immense value, but they are not always what a first-time reader needs. Someone encountering the Gita fresh deserves to meet the text itself before encountering a particular reading of it.
Our aim with Bhagavad Gita As It Is is to present the scripture faithfully, verse by verse, without distorting the original meaning through heavy modern reinterpretation. The translations we have selected prioritise clarity and fidelity. We want readers to encounter the actual words of the text — the Sanskrit shlokas — alongside translations they can trust. The Gita has survived for millennia precisely because its ideas are strong enough to stand without embellishment. We believe that presenting it honestly, without softening or sensationalising its more challenging passages, is the greatest service we can offer to anyone who picks it up.
This does not mean the app is dry or academic. It is designed to be read, not studied at arm's length. But its foundation is respect for the original text and the tradition from which it comes.
Three Languages, One Text
Language is not a neutral vehicle for a text like the Bhagavad Gita. For many readers, the language of the Gita is inseparable from their relationship with it. Hindi speakers may have grown up hearing these verses in Hindi. Nepali readers may feel the text most deeply in Nepali. English speakers may be encountering the Gita for the first time and need a clear, modern translation to find their footing.
This is why trilingual support is not a feature we added as an afterthought — it is central to the app's purpose. The South Asian diaspora is vast and spans dozens of countries. Within that diaspora, Nepali-speaking communities in particular have historically had limited access to high-quality digital religious content in their own language. The Bhagavad Gita As It Is app addresses that directly. Nepali speakers can now read the complete text in a language that feels like home, on the device they use every day.
Hindi support matters for similar reasons. Hindi is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and it is the language in which millions of people first encounter this scripture through family and community. English rounds out the offering, making the Gita accessible to a global audience that includes both heritage readers who have been away from the text and newcomers discovering it for the first time. Together, the three languages make the Bhagavad Gita As It Is app one of the most inclusive presentations of this text currently available on mobile.
What's Inside the App
The app is structured to follow the Bhagavad Gita's own organisation: eighteen chapters, each covering a distinct aspect of spiritual philosophy. From the opening chapter — in which Arjuna lays down his bow — to the final chapter's synthesis of all the paths discussed, the app guides readers through the complete text in its original sequence.
Within each chapter, verses are presented individually. Each shloka appears in its original Sanskrit script, followed by transliteration for those who want to follow the pronunciation without yet reading Devanagari, and then the full translation in whichever language the reader has selected. This verse-by-verse layout encourages the kind of slow, contemplative reading the Gita rewards. It is not a text meant to be consumed in one sitting. It is meant to be returned to, verse by verse, day after day.
Navigation is simple and clean. Readers can move forward chapter by chapter or jump directly to any chapter from the contents view. The design prioritises the text itself, keeping distractions minimal so that the words can do their work.
Free to Download
Bhagavad Gita As It Is is completely free to download. Ancient wisdom should not have a price tag. We built this app because we believe everyone deserves access to one of humanity's greatest philosophical texts, regardless of where they live or what they can afford. Download it today and begin your journey through the Gita at whatever pace feels right for you.