Metareflections on Krishna Chandra Bhattacharyya’s Bhagvadgītā Vicāra : A Critical Review Through D. K. Mohanta’s Translation

Abstract

This review article critically studies Krishna Chandra Bhattacharyya’s (KCB) Bhagavadgītā Vicāra using D. K. Mohanta’s English translation from Bengali, published by the Indian Council of Philosophical Research. The article can be considered a metareflection, as it researches into the KCB’s reflections and interpretation of the Bhagavadgītā thematically rather than chronologically. Utilizing Mohanta’s translation, the article scrutinizes the gradations of Bhattacharyya’s interpretation. It explores the philosophical, cultural and textual aspects, highlighting how this analysis can open up new avenues for further research. Principally, we aim to address the issue of ontic value-preference and dilemma in the Bhagavadgītā and Bhattacharyya’s assertion that jñāna [knowledge] is superior to karma [action] and bhakti [devotion]. Likewise, following the humility of the translator who accepted that the original manuscript was received incomplete for unknown reasons, we shall create the hermeneutic scope to interpret its full version or at least to make sense of the same.