Gita Jayanti

The tradition & historical record

Gita Mahotsav (Sanskrit: गीतामहोत्सव, romanized: Gītāmahotsava), Gita Jayanti, also known as Mokshada Ekadashi or Matsya Dvadashi is a Hindu observance that marks the day the Bhagavad Gita dialogue occurred between Arjuna and Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It is celebrated on Shukla Ekadashi, the 11th day of the waxing moon of the lunar month Margashirsha (December–January) of the Hindu calendar. ¹

The Bhagavad Gita is a prominent Hindu scripture which forms a part of the epic Mahabharata. The text itself is structurally divided into 18 chapters, containing 700 shlokas or couplets. ¹

The Bhagavad Gita is presented as a dialogue between Arjuna, a prince, and Krishna, the embodiment of God. The contents of the scripture are derived from the Upanishads and discuss different paths of jnana (knowledge), karma (action) and bhakti (devotion) and how they lead to moksha (ultimate liberation) of the soul. The dialogue takes place just before the start of the Kurukshetra War. After several attempts at reconciliation failed, war was inevitable. The day of the war finally came, and the armies faced off on the field of war. Just as the battle was about to start, Arjuna asked Krishna to drive the chariot to the middle of the battlefield, to look more closely at the opposing forces. Seeing that the opposing side consisted of his relatives, teachers and friends, Arjuna was left in a state of moral dilemma about fighting them and sought help from Krishna. The conversation that ensued, Krishna's advice, messages and teachings to Arjuna, is what is known now as the Bhagavad Gita. ¹

The Bhagavad Gita Aarti or Gita Aarti is a prayer not found in the Bhagavad Gita. The aarti can be spoken, or sung with musical instruments to give more effect to worship. Aartis are usually performed at the end of the puja ritual. It is said that if there was any flaw in the puja, it may be fulfilled by the aarti. The first verse of the hymn is as follows: ¹

jaya bhagavad gītejaya bhagavad gītehari hiya kamala vihārinisundara supuṇītejaya bhagavad gīte ¹

During the International Gita Mahotsav, more than 300 national and international stalls are set up around the Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra city. Pilgrims also undertake the 48 Kos Parikrama of Kurukshetra. ¹

In 2016, the Government of Haryana organized the International Gita Mahotsav from 6 to 10 December. Pranab Mukherjee, President of India, was to inaugurate the Mahotsav; later it was done by Kaptan Singh Solanki, Governor of Haryana, and Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Gita Mahotsav”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Gita Jayanti is day of the legendary manifestation of the Bhagavad Gita, celebrated annually, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²