User:Goethean/Dating of the Bhagavad Gita

Summary

• Sharma — lists 3000-2000 BCE as the likely period of composition; refers to the work of C. V. Vaida and Tarakeshwar Bhattacharya.
• Kapoor — places the date "not later than 600 BCE"; uses literary evidence from Mahabharata to place Gita between Upanishads and Brahma sutras, but earlier than Buddhism.
• Upadhyaya — between 5th and 4th century BCE; uses three different lingustic methods to arrive at his conclusion.
• R. Raj Singh — 5th and 2nd century BCE; refers to other works.
• Fowler — quotes a range of dates from 5th century BCE to first century BCE; uses literary evidence and estimates of Mahabharata; chooses 2nd century BCE as being the most "probable".
• Upinder Singh — 200 BCE based on interpolation from Mahabharata.
• Andrea, Overfield — 300 BCE to 300 CE by placing it between Mahabharata and Upanishads.
• Klostermaier — reviews various scholars but does not always quote dates and is therefore difficult to review; two dates 200 CE and "pre Buddhist times" stand out
• Deutsch and Dalvi — 200BCE to 200 CE based on influences from Buddhism, Jainism, yoga and Samkhya.
• Brockington — first century CE based on language and style. Explicitly doubts Gita dates to as far back as even 200 BCE.

Table

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Previously Reverted content

Theories on the date of composition of the Bhagavad Gita vary considerably. Jeaneane Fowler writes that while scholars accept dates of fifth century BCE with a later demarcation of second century BCE, she thinks [based on what?] second century BCE to be the more probable date of composition. However, A.P. Sharma estimates [based on what?] the latest date of Mahabharata to be 1432 BCE and holds the view that the Gita was composed between 3000-2000 BCE. Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, on the basis of estimates of dates of Mahabharata, Brahma sutra and other independent sources, concludes that Bhagavad Gita was composed between 5th and 4th centuries BCE. The actual dates of composition of Bhagavad Gita remain unresolved.

Just Fowler

Jeaneane Fowler writes that a cult of Vasudeva, Krishna's father arose possibly around 4th century BCE. While Krishna himself was possibly a real person who became a divine god later. Worship of Vasudeva is recorded as early as 5th to 6th centuries BCE. At some point the cult of Vasudeva and Krishna's Yadavas merged and both figures were amalgamated. The composition of Mahabharata may have started in 4th century BCE. Hence, Kirshna's nature as a clan leader comes to the fore but never as a major figure and certainly not as an incarnation. So for Krishna to have risen to the status of God on earth must have taken another few centuries. The fact that Krishna is seen as an incarnation, a God on earth, rather than a local cult figure in the Bhagavad Gita makes a date of late third century BCE to early second century BCE more probable.

Fowler Summary

Jeaneane Fowler writes that a cult of Vasudeva arose around the fourth century BCE. Considering the time that it would take for this cult to develop into the Gita's portrayal of Krishna as a divine incarnation, she estimates that the Gita may have been written in the late third century BCE to early second century BCE.