The Bhagvat-Geeta or Dialogues of Kreeshna and Arjoon, in Eighteen Lectures; with Notes.

Printed for C. Nourse, London, 1785

Scarce first edition and an important example of book production in late 18th-century London.

Description: First edition. Bound in contemporary tree calf, decorative gilt roll to covers, board edges and turn-ins, spine richly gilt in compartments, contrasting red morocco lettering-piece. Marbled endpapers. Folio: 32 × 25 cm; pp. 156. Turquoise silk bookmark bound in. Preserved in a custom-made black folding box with gilt lettering to spine, expertly crafted by Brockman Bookbinders, Oxford, England.

Ref.: Davis, 2015. Nadkarni, 2018.

Provenance: Bookplate to the front pastedown of William Markham Esq. (1760–1815), Becca Lodge, Yorkshire. Markham served as private secretary to Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of Bengal. He was appointed Resident in Benares (now Varanasi). Upon returning from India, he settled at Becca Hall in Aberford, West Yorkshire.

Condition: Covers show slight wear to corners, edges and spine ends, corners bumped, joints strengthened, gilt decoration at spine tail with slight traces of abrasion, text block clean, in excellent preserved condition. A remarkably well-preserved copy.

Notes: Charles Wilkins’s 1785 translation of the Bhagavad Gita was the first direct translation of a Sanskrit text into English, marking the beginning of Western access to Indian philosophy.

The Bhagavad Gita is an epic poem comprising 700 verses and forming part of the Mahabharata. It depicts a dialogue between Prince Arjuna and his charioteer, the deity Krishna. Arjuna is confronted with the moral dilemma of having to fight his own relatives. In response, he receives instruction on dharma (duty), bhakti (devotion) and the nature of the soul.

The translation was part of a growing scholarly interest in Sanskrit and Indian religion among the British colonial elite. This interest was driven by orientalist curiosity, administrative and intellectual engagement with Indian societies under Company rule, and a desire to make major Indic texts accessible in European languages.

Charles Wilkins (1749–1836) was an East India Company official. While stationed in Benares (today Varanasi), the centre of Hindu learning, he mastered Sanskrit and developed type designs for Bengali and Persian scripts.

Wilkins’ translation was the catalyst for the ‘Oriental Renaissance’ in Europe. It significantly impacted the German Romantics, with thinkers such as Herder and Schlegel embracing the text as evidence of ancient ‘Aryan’ wisdom superior to modern rationalism. The text reached America in the 19th century, becoming foundational for the Transcendentalist movement. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau cited Wilkins‘ translation as a primary source for their philosophical outlooks.

The Bhagavad Gita was published in London by C. Nourse, the official bookseller to the East India Company. As a scholarly production, the print run was limited. It was intended for the Company’s Court of Directors and the intellectual elite of London and Paris. Copies that have survived are rare and highly valued as bibliographical artefacts.