The Bhagavad Gita is a religious text written by an unknown author in the 1st or 2nd century BCE. The title translates as The Song of God, and the text contains 700 verses that explore the nature of the Hindu religion. The Gita comprises part of the Mahabharata, one of two ancient Indian epics, but it is often regarded and studied as an independent work. The narrative portrays a conversation between a prince named Arjuna and the god Krishna, who has taken on a human form. This guide uses the translation by Christopher Isherwood and Swami Prabhavananda.