The Bhagavad Gita (which means ‘Song of God’ in ancient Sanskrit) is one of the episodes contained in the classic poem of the Hindus called the Mahabharata which was composed in the 1st or 2nd century. It is recorded between Chapters 23 and 40 in Book 6 of the Mahabharata and is in the form of a conversation between Krishna (a reincarnation of the god Vishnu) and Prince Arjuna.
Arjuna is the hero of a family that is warring against a different branch of the same family and his dialogue with Krishna centers on the misgivings he has about the justice of the killings he must do. Krishna, in this incarnation, is his charioteer and bodyguard (as well as acting as a court historian). Krishna’s response to Arjuna expresses the central themes of text and stresses the dualism between physical form and the soul and the necessity of sacrifice and devotion.