Hamsa Gita (Sanskrit) (also referred to as Uddhava Gita) consists of
Krishna's final discourse to Uddhava before Krishna draws his worldly
'descent' (Sanskrit: avatara) and 'pastimes' (Sanskrit: lila) to
completion. Though the Uddhava Gita is often published singularly as a
stand-alone work, it is also evident in the Eleventh Canto of the
Bhagavata Purana commencing from verse 40 section 6 through to the end
of section 29, comprising more than 1000 'verses' (Sanskrit: shloka) and
is considered part of the Purana literature proper.[1] This discourse
importantly contains the story of an Avadhuta and though it does not
state explicitly the name of this personage within the section or the
Bhagavata Purana as a whole, Vaishnava tradition and the greater
Sanatana Dharma auspice ascribe this agency to Dattatreya.
Manuscripts and textual notes
The names Uddhava Gita and Hamsa Gita are popularly interchangeable but
to allay confusion it should be noted that Hamsa Gita also specifically
denotes (xi. 13- 16) a subset of the Uddhava Gita and the Bhagavata
Purana proper.
Nomenclature, orthography and etymology
Hamsa Gita (Sanskrit) (also referred to as Uddhava Gita) where the
hamsa is a metaphor for the Paramahamsa as well as a natural teacher of
grace evident in Nature. The Hamsa (हंस, in Sanskrit and often written
hansa) is a swan or goose, often considered to be the Mute Swan (Cygnus
olor), but is really the Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus).[citation
needed] It is used in Indian culture as a symbol and a decorative
element. The term 'gītā' (literally "song" in Sanskrit; Devanagari: गीता).
English discourse
Tigunait (2002: pp.39-45) render the narrative of the 24 teachers of
Dattatreya in the Uddhava Gita into English.[3] Though the consensus of
scholars hold the Bhagavata Purana to be a composite work of the oral
tradition of many mouths, the Vaishnava tradition as well as the
Bhagavata Purana itself uphold that it was scribed by Vyasadeva.[4] That
said, the narrator of the Hamsa Gita is the sage Shuka, son of Vyasadeva.[5]
It is important to note that even if the work is composite, that it
"...does not show the lack of cohesion or compactness that must mark the
work handled by many writers..." says Upadhyaya in the Forward to Brown
& Saraswati (2000: p.8) and then Upadhyaya moreover opines that
whosoever the poet of the Hamsa Gita and the Bhagavata Purana may be
that "[h]ere is a poet who uses pattern and metaphor in a complex
craftsmanship to create a ritual of celebration."[6] Haigh (2007: p.127)
in his opening paragraph to his work on the Uddhava Gita frames its
import as a model of environmental education:
Sri Dattatreya, who Lord Krishna quotes in The Uddhava Gita, has been
evoked as a guru for environmental education. Sri Dattatreya gained
enlightenment by observing the world, which provided Him with 24
instructors. These taught Him the futility of mundane attachments, the
benefits of contemplation and forebearance [sic], and a path towards the
spiritual self-realization of the Supreme. Sri Dattatreya, an
incarnation of Lord Vishnu, features in several Puranas where His
teachings involve direct challenges to the pretensions and prejudices of
the learner. His core message is "never judge by surface appearances but
always seek a deeper Truth": the Earth is sacred, an aspect of God, and
a puzzle that challenges the spiritual self to awaken to its true
nature.
Paramahamsa (2008: unpaginated) arrays a suite of Gita literature
enshrined and subsumed within the auspice of the Srimad Bhagavata and
holds that they are all songs of Monism:
"The Gitas that find place in Srimad Bhagavata such as the Uddhava-Gita,
the Rudra-Gita, the Bhikshu-Gita, the Sruti-Gita, the Hamsa-Gita
propound Monism as the essence of their philosophy.
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