Literally, "Song of the Blessed One". Hindu devotional poem, dated between the third century A.D. and the fourth century B.C. Part of the epic Mahabharata, it consists of a dialogue between a dispirited warrior, Arjuna, and the god Vishnu, incarnated as Arjuna's charioteer Krishna. Prominent ideas: the transient nature of material things, as well as all happiness and distress; the indestructible nature of the soul; that one should perform the duties appropriate to one's station in life -- in Arjuna's case, fight a war against enemies he personally has no desire to kill; the all-pervading nature of God; and the proper path to transcendence.