F I N E B O O K S & M A N U S C R I P T S
THE FIRST EDITION OF THE BHAGAVAD GĪTĀ
2. The Bhagvat-Geeta Or Dialogues Of Kreeshna And Arjoon; In Eighteen Lectures; With Notes. Translated From The Original, In The Sanskreet, Or Ancient Language Of The Brahmans. WILKINS, Charles; HASTINGS, Warren Printed For C. Nourse, 1785. First edition. 4to (317 x 235mm). Bound in very fine con - temporary tree calf, gilt border to covers, seven gilt compartments to spine, six encas- ing a gilt flower, and one with the red morocco title label. All edges yellow. An excep - tionally well-preserved copy. Very slight signs of wear to the spine ends and corners, with a little rubbing to the base of the spine. Upper joint strengthened. Internally clean and very fresh. [41023] £12,500 The first edition of the Bhagavad Gītā , the most revered text in Hinduism, with a fine association and provenance. This English translation is the editio princeps of the Gītā , preceding any printed edition in an Indic language by some twenty years. Its translator Charles Wilkins was a pioneering Sanskrit scholar, entering the service of the East India Company as a writer in 1770. In his service he proved adept in the vernacular Hindu and Bengali languages, as well as in Persian. By 1783, Wilkins’s work for the East India Company was interfering with his study of Sanskrit, and even took a toll on his health. This led to an interven- tion by the Governor-General of Bengal, Warren Hastings, who would become his supporter. In Hastings, Wilkins had found a generous and enthusiastic patron. It was arranged that Wilkins could move to Benares, freed from administrative duties, to focus on translating the portion of the Mahabharata known as the Bhagavad Gītā from Sanskrit into English. In this he was aided closely by the Brahmin pundit Kasinatha Bhattacharya. Wilkins presented his translation to Warren Hastings in October 1784, who immediately wrote to his wife “My friend Wilkins has lately made a Present of a most wonderful work of Antiquity, and I am going to present it to the Public.” By December, he had written to Nathaniel Smith, the Director of the East India Company, to seek the Company’s patronage in publishing the transla- tion. Were it not for Hastings’s insistence, this translation may never have been printed. Its publication in London in 1785 was the foundational event in the history of Sanskrit studies in the West. It was the first work translated directly from Sanskrit into English, and was carried out by the first Englishman to master the classical Indian language. It also marked the first appear - ance in the Western world of the most sacred text in Hinduism, and within a few years Wilkins’s translation had been rendered into Russian, French and German. Moreover, its publication led to “a series of important translations of ancient Indic works that would make an enormous impact on European letters, inspiring a veritable ‘Oriental renaissance’” (Richard H. Davis). This copy is notable both for its fine condition and provenance. The original owner of this copy, William Markham (1760-1815), served as Warren Hastings’s Private Secretary in Bengal from 1777-81, becoming Resident at Benares until his return to England in 1783. Though still a teenager when he entered Hastings’s service, Markham was a loyal and effective secretary. The aid and testimony he provided to and on behalf of Hastings at his later impeachment has been considered instrumental to his acquittal, and following the trial Hastings wrote to Markham to express his warmest gratitude for his service. PROVENANCE: WilliamMarkham (1760-1815, as Private Secretary to Warren Hastings) with his Becca Lodge bookplate to the front pastedown; thence by descent.
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