Bhagavad Gita Changes — Complete List
Changes — By Madhudvisa dasa on September 20, 2009 at 5:18 amFor the first time a complete computerized comparison of Srila Prabhuapda’s original 1972 Macmillan Bhagavad-gita As It Is and the current ISKCON “Revised and enlarged” edition is available. It is amazing, and surprising to see all the changes so clearly pointed out.
This is a side-by-side comparison of Srila Prabhuapda’s original Macmillan Bhagavad-gita As It Is (on the left hand side) and ISKCON’s “Revised and Enlarged” edition [on the right hand side].
The Macmillan edition comes from the Bhaktivdanta Vedabase 2003 and does contain some scanning errors, occasionally there are words that have characters in them that are incorrect. ISKCON’s Revised and Enlarged edition comes from the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase 3.1.
Because of the way the diff program we used works in some cases we had to make the format of the Sanskrit verses the same in both books, otherwise the diff program would go crazy. Often in the original editon a Sanskrit verse would be quoted on four lines and in ISKCON’s “Revised and Enlarged” edition it is only quoted on two [longer] lines. So to get a clear comparison we have made the Sanskrit verses on the same number of lines in both books. Also sometimes we had to break a paragraph or join a paragraph in one of the books, again so the diff program would give the proper output.
We have only compared the translations and purports for Chapter 1-18. For clarity we have not compared the word-for-word synonyms, even though there are a lot of changes in the synonyms.
Apart from any scanning errors and the slight format adjustments we had to make you will very clearly see all the changes that have been made between the two versions of Srila Prabhuapda’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is in a way that was never possible before.
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13 Comments
Hare Krsna Prabhu ji,
Please accept my humble obesiances with all Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
This is such a great work. Thanks a lot for your contineous effort to show these changes to this world – I am sure it will open up some eyes if not all……
Hari Hari
YS – KanhaiyaDas
Hare Krishna!
Thank you for this site, Madhudvisa Prabhu.
I was wondering is it possible to download all those files with the changes for personal study? That would be very helpful and convenient.
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Yes, you can download these files to your computer. They are just .html files. You can either right-click on the link and select “save file as” or you can just open the file and then select “file/save as” from your web browser menu.
Considering that Srila Prabhupada so clearly ordered that his books should not be changed and considering that he considered change the western disease I suggest you look at every change that has been made and carefully read the original text to see if there is actually any error in the original text that needs to be corrected. If there really is a spelling error or a sanskrit error or a gramatical error in the original book maybe ISKCON can make some sort of case for correcting it. But if there is no error in the original book there is absolutely no justification whatsoever for changing it!
I think that you will find for at least 99% of the changes there is absolutely no error whatsoever in Srila Prabhupada’s original Bhagavad-gita As It Is…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Dear Madhudvisa dasa,
Outstanding work! Krishna will be please, I for some reason overlooked the fact that almost all modern Gita’s say “Second Edition / Revised and Enlarged”… If I had thought about that for a moment I would have looked more into it. It seems fairly devious that they change the texts, don’t list the editors, and still keep the “AS IT IS” portion of the title with Srila Prabhupada as the only credit. It also threw me off when I got the book “Bhakti: The Art of Eternal Love” and it says “HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada” right there at the bottom. No sign of any other authors, and he wasn’t even alive when the book was written. It seems to me they thought they might sell more this way. I would have much more respect if it said it was written/compiled by devotees such a such… I mean who wrote this? The introduction doesn’t even have an author… “The Editors”… that says a lot.
Well thank you very much for your great service to Krishna! I’m sure he is well pleased by your work. Hare Krishna!
-Joseph Paul
HARE KRISHNA ;PAMHO; KEEEP IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!I THINK RESPECTED JAD MAHARAJ HAS OFFENDED SHRILA PRABHUPADA BY FINDING FAULTS IN HIS TEACHINGS!!! HE HAS COMMITED AN MAD ELEPHANT OFFENCE!!! SPIRITUAL PROGRESS OF SUCH A PERSON IS CERTAINLY LOST!!! HE CERTAINLY HAS EGO ISSUES EVIDENT FRM HIS ANGER TOWARDS U.KRISHNA SAYS BY ANGER INTELLIGENCE IS LOOST!!!!!! IF SUCH PEOPLE R EDITING THEN GOD SAVE US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PAMHO, GSP N SGM, HARIBOL PRABHUS, CAN ANY BODY ENLIGHTEN ME AS TO WHICH VERSION OF THE GITA IS IN CIRCULATION, AS I WOULD PREFER THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THE GITA. HARE KRISHNA
Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu, Hare Krsna! Jaya Prabhupada!
Please accept my humble obeisances.
Thank you very much for the great service you are doing.
I have been discussing with some Italian devotees about the original version of Srila Prabhupada’s books, and they have no information.
I have given them your links but in Italy very few people can read and understand English. I was thinking I could offer some little service in that regard, but copying the texts from http://www.prabhupadabooks.com on line is not practical for me.
Have you considered the idea of producing a REAL Vedabase with all the documents – something that I could purchase and utilize for a translation of the original teachings into Italian?
Thanks,
PKD
Hare Krishna Prabhu
http://www.PrabhupadaBooks.com is Srila Prabhupada’s books online. And you can purchase the “Original Prabhupada Books Vedabase,” called “The Library of Vedic Culture” at:
http://krishnastore.com/srila-prabhupada-original-books-cdrom-folio-infobase-h-krishna-408.html
Your servant
Madhudvisa dasa
No other offence is as bad as that committed towards the Feet of holy Mahajans (great humans & close associates & Devotees of Lord Krishna & most importantly the the successors of Disciplic Successesion of the Messege of Lord Chaitanya (Godhead Lord Krishna Himself) to fetch back all the conditioned souls to Goloka who have been suffering with the disease of birth and death for infinite birth cycle & His message is the greatest saviour for al beings in this very degraded age of Kali and most apparently all Mahajans are considered as His Divine Grace) So ‘Offence’ at the feet of Such Visionaries is hardly pardonable even by Lord Krishna Himself let alone we conditioned souls are out of Question who should always hope for His mercy.
Please take this foolish act so seriously. Haribol !
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS AMAZING EFFORT IN MAKING THE COMPARISONS!!!
Hare krishna,
thank you for providing such changes to the public. Now peoples can realize about the ISKCON after srila prabhupad left the planet.
All Glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga
Please accept my dandavat
As theme of reflection, respectfully, I would like to quote:
tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api
namany anantasya yaso ‘nkitani yac
chrnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah
Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.11):
“On the other hand, that literature which is full with descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, form and pastimes of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a transcendental creation meant to bring about a revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though irregularly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.”
My blessings to you for this work.
Prabhupada are Krishnas messenger and I would like to really hear word by word what the messenger has to say without someone interrupt here and there, even if the interrupter think he is a great pandit or scholar. Krishnas taste are in Prabhupadas words, and these words are devoid of worldly ego and therefor attractive to everyone.