The world appears to you when the mind is working. During the dreamless sleep, the world disappears to you because the mind is dissolved. Therefore, the world which comes and goes many times a day is only a creation of the mind. The world is unreal. The world is like a revolving firebrand. - Hamsa Gita |
Introduction
There are several Hindu Scriptural texts by the name Gita though this name has come to be synonymous with the Bhagavad Gita because of its popularity. There is another Gita which goes by the name Uddhava Gita which is also in the format of a dialogue between Krishna and his dear friend, Uddhava. The timing of this dialogue is when the Lord’s incarnation as Krishna is nearing its end. The destruction of Yadava clan by mutual fratricidal fighting has already started on account of a curse by the holy men on them. During such turbulent times Krishna advised the Yadavas to move to Prabhasa for prayers. At this point Uddhava, the great devotee and attendant of Krishna, apprehending the impending danger, approached him for spiritual instructions.
These teachings of Krishna to Udddhava, spread over 23 chapters-from the 7th to 29th - of the 11th Skandha (Canto) of Srimad Bhagavatam came to be known as the Uddhava Gita. In the Gita literature it ranks only next to the Bhagavad Gita. These teachings are also called Hamsa Gita. The 11th Canto ends with the final destruction of the Yadavas by mutual fighting and the exit of Krishna after being shot at by a hunter. As the Upanishads are the Jnana Kanda of the Vedas, so too the Uddhava Gita is the Jnana Kanda of Srimad Bhagavatam, the quintessence of the devotional path.
Differences between the Uddhava Gita And Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita is known as ‘Song of the God’ whereas, Uddhava Gita is known as farewell message of Krishna, a parting discourse, and is meant for those who have advanced knowledge of Vedanta.
Uddhava Gita is the message or speech given by Lord Krishna to his friend and devotee Uddhava before his departure from the earth to console him from his sadness and explaining why the "Yadu" race or Yadava community should fall; the Bhagavad Gita is a clarion call for action and for performing one’s own duties.
In Bhagavad Gita SriKrishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, whereas in Uddhava Gita Krishna explains about, spirituality, religion, code of conduct for various classes of society and stages of life, supremacy of devotion, different paths to enlightenment, mind as a root cause of all miseries and many other similar topics.
In both the cases the listener is one only, In Uddhava Gita, it is Sri Krishna's friend Uddhava; in Bhagavad Gita, it is Arjuna.
The Bhagvad Gita was revealed by Krishna to Arjuna during the 18-day long battle of Kurukshetra, while the Uddhava Gita was revealed by Krishna to his Yadava friend, Uddhava during the days prior to his departure from this planet.
Though both Bhagvad Gita and Uddhava Gita were narrated by the great sage, Vyasa, Bhagvad Gita was described in his epic Mahabharata while the Uddhava Gita was described by him in his Pauranic work Srimad Bhagvatam.