Description

This deluxe limited edition of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is promises to be the kind of collector’s item that is treasured as a family heirloom for generations.

Truly a feast for the eyes, the new book comes from the Mediterranean division of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, which previously brought us luxury coffee table books like Krishna Art, Darshan, Art of Transcendence, and Prabhupada. Just as there are exquisite editions of the Bible or the Koran, there should be such an edition of the Bhagavad-gita, the fundamental Vaishnava scripture.

Indeed, this Deity-like incarnation of Sri Krishna’s words to Arjuna is like nothing the BBT has ever produced before.

A large format book, it measures 44cm x 31cm (17.3 x 12.2 in), weighs 17kgs (37.5 lbs.), and runs to 920 pages. The full text, with Sanskrit devanagari, transliteration, translation and Srila Prabhupada’s purports, is printed on 150 gram Garda-Pat ivory paper produced in Verona, Italy at Fedrigoni, an ancient paper mill established in 1888.

With high-quality artistic binding hand-made in Italy, the deluxe Bhagavad-gita includes twenty-six large size photographic reproductions of beautiful paintings by renowned ISKCON artists on single and double pages.

The book, designed by Haladhara Das, is presented in a clamshell box with velvet lining. The box is artfully printed with a painting of Lord Krishna guiding Arjuna’s chariot between the armies at the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Meanwhile on the cover of the book itself is a beautiful relief cast inlaid centerpiece of Lord Krishna and Arjuna. Italian artist Vaijayanti Dasi (Valentina Rainoldi) spent three weeks meticulously hand-sculpting the original piece with love and devotion. It was then taken to La Microfonderia Geccherle, a family-run foundry in Milan where two generations of artisans have produced metal castings since 1958. She also artfully enhanced the pages of the Bhagavad-gita with an elegant hand-painted border depicting the four auspicious symbols of Vishnu: the conch, lotus, club and disc.

Completing its pedigree, the book was printed by Mauro Loce, who works for some of the most famous publishing houses in the world, and who was very excited to work on the Bhagavad-gita.

As it is a limited edition, there will be a total of only 1,008 copies printed, ensuring the rare nature of the publication.The BBT expects the deluxe Bhagavad-gita to be an investment that will not only increase in value over time, but will also be an heirloom for owners to pass down to future generations.