Bhagavad Gita: The Bhagavad Gita begins with a moral dilemma: should Arjuna the great warrior, fight a fratricidal war and kill members of his extended family and friend circle, or should he step away from the fray and thereby undermine his duty as a warrior? His partner in conversation, the divine incarnate Krishna, urges Arjuna to fight and in the process lays out the core ideals of the disciplined paths of action (karma yoga), devotion (Bhakti yoga) and knowledge (jñāna yoga). At the same time, the text presents and synthesize various strains of orthodox philosophical thinking that can be found in the Upanishads and the early Saá¹khya school, and also respond to challenges arising from a regnant early Buddhism. [recommended by Roopen Majithia, Mount Alison University]