Kurukshetra, the morning before the war.
Arjuna looked across the field at his teachers and cousins, put down his bow and sat in the chariot. Krishna’s answer to him is the Bhagavad Gita. Tradition places that conversation on the eleventh day of the bright half of Margashirsha, and Gita Jayanti marks it each year.
The same day is Mokshada Ekadashi, the Ekadashi of release, kept with a fast by many families.
Finish the Gita on Jayanti.
Start on Thursday, 3 December with chapter 1. Read one chapter a day and chapter 18 falls on Sunday, 20 December. Each chapter here has the Sanskrit, Hindi and English, and every verse can be read aloud.
For what each chapter covers and a verse from each, see Read the Gita in 18 days. If you start later, the Gita Jayanti reading plan has 9-day, 3-day and one-day versions.
- Thu 3 DecChapter 1The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair
- Fri 4 DecChapter 2The Yoga of Knowledge
- Sat 5 DecChapter 3The Yoga of Action
- Sun 6 DecChapter 4Knowledge and Renunciation of Action
- Mon 7 DecChapter 5The Yoga of Renunciation
- Tue 8 DecChapter 6The Yoga of Meditation
- Wed 9 DecChapter 7Knowledge and Wisdom
- Thu 10 DecChapter 8The Imperishable Absolute
- Fri 11 DecChapter 9The Royal Knowledge
- Sat 12 DecChapter 10The Yoga of Divine Glories
- Sun 13 DecChapter 11The Universal Form
- Mon 14 DecChapter 12The Yoga of Devotion
- Tue 15 DecChapter 13Field and Knower of the Field
- Wed 16 DecChapter 14The Three Modes of Material Nature
- Thu 17 DecChapter 15The Yoga of the Supreme Person
- Fri 18 DecChapter 16The Divine and Demoniac Natures
- Sat 19 DecChapter 17The Three Kinds of Faith
- Sun 20 Dec · JayantiChapter 18Liberation through Renunciation
Or one verse a day, for what you’re facing.
Tell Wisdom what’s going on and it picks a verse a day for seven days, with what each means for you. Your first verse comes the day you start.
Week 1 is free. A few questions, about two minutes.
On iPhone, the verse sits on your Lock Screen and is read aloud. Get the app →
Five verses to read on 20 December.
- Bhagavad Gita 10.35 · Krishna names the month
बृहत्साम तथा साम्नां गायत्री छन्दसामहम् । मासानां मार्गशीर्षोऽहमृतूनां कुसुमाकरः ॥
“Among hymns I am the Brihat-Sama; among meters I am Gayatri. Among months I am Margashirsha; among seasons I am spring.”
Margashirsha, the month Gita Jayanti falls in.
Meaning, Hindi and audio → - Bhagavad Gita 4.7 · Why Krishna comes
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदाऽऽत्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
“Whenever there is a decline of dharma and a rise of adharma, I manifest myself.”
Meaning, Hindi and audio → - Bhagavad Gita 2.47 · The verse most people know
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
“You have a right to action alone, never to its fruits. Do not become the cause of the result, and do not cling to inaction.”
Meaning, Hindi and audio → - Bhagavad Gita 18.66 · Krishna’s promise to Arjuna
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज । अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥
“Abandon all duties and take refuge in Me alone. I will free you from all wrongdoing; do not grieve.”
Meaning, Hindi and audio → - Bhagavad Gita 18.78 · The last verse of the Gita
यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः । तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥
“Where Krishna, the master of yoga, is present, and where Arjuna, the bow-bearer, is present, there are prosperity, victory, glory, and firm justice. This is my conviction.”
Sanjaya closes the dialogue.
Meaning, Hindi and audio →
Four ways to mark it.
Read it aloud
The whole Gita in one sitting, as many temples and homes do, or one chapter. Chapters 12 and 15 are the shortest, at 20 verses each.
Keep the Ekadashi
The day is also Mokshada Ekadashi. Those who fast break it on the morning of 21 December, after sunrise, at the parana time your panchang gives.
Give a Gita
Gifting a copy, Gita daan, is an old way of marking the day. A family member who has never read it is a good place to start.
Go to Kurukshetra
Haryana holds the International Gita Mahotsav at Brahma Sarovar around Jayanti each year, with recitations, aarti and a fair. Check the dates before you travel.
Short on time on the day? Which chapter to read on Gita Jayanti
Gita Jayanti 2026, answered
When is Gita Jayanti in 2026?
Sunday, 20 December 2026. It is Shukla Ekadashi of Margashirsha. For New Delhi, the Ekadashi tithi runs from 10:09 pm IST on 19 December to 8:14 pm IST on 20 December.
Is Gita Jayanti the same day as Mokshada Ekadashi?
Yes. Both fall on the Shukla Ekadashi of Margashirsha. Tradition holds that Krishna spoke the Gita to Arjuna at Kurukshetra on this day, just before the war.
Is the date different outside India?
It can be. Ekadashi is set by local sunrise, so some panchangs in the Americas list the fast on 19 December. Check with your local temple or panchang.
How long does it take to read the whole Gita?
It has 700 verses in 18 chapters: about two hours to read in English at an unhurried pace, or about three hours to recite in Sanskrit. Split across the 18 days from 3 December, each day is 4 to 13 minutes in English, and chapter 18 lands on Jayanti.
Which chapter should I read on the day if I only have a few minutes?
Chapter 12, on devotion, and chapter 15, on the Supreme Person, are 20 verses each. Chapter 2 carries most of the teaching people quote. Or read 18.66 and 18.78, the close of the dialogue.
How many years since the Gita was spoken?
Panchangs print a traditional count each year. Scholars date the text as we have it to roughly 400 BCE to 200 CE, by most estimates.
