What is the difference between Bhagwad Gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam

Two of the most important Hindu texts, but often mistaken owing to their name, are the Bhagwad Gita and the Shrimad Bhagavatam. People assume that both of them are ‘Bhagwad Gita’, and adding the ‘Shrimad’ only means adding a level of respect and honour to the text. So, Shrimad Bhagavatam and Shrimad Bhagwad Gita, according to many, becomes the same.

But, they are mistaken. While connected in a way or two, the Bhagwad Gita and the Shrimad Bhagavatam differ in their content, their purpose, and how they approach the topics of divinity.
(Image: Gita Press Gorakhpur and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust)

The Bhagwad Gita is a 700-verse scripture that is a part of the ancient epic Mahabharat. The Bhagwad Gita is in the 6th part of the Mahabharata, which is also known as the Bhishma Parva. The Bhagwad Gita is about the battlefield of Kurukshetra, where Arjun finds himself between a dilemma of fighting against his family, and as he is torn between his duty as a warrior and his love for his family, he turns to his charioteer, Lord Krishna, for guidance. The Gita then becomes a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjun, talking about dharma, karma yoga, devotion, and more.

The Shrimad Bhagavatam on the other hand is an entirely different text, more popularly known as the Bhagavata Purana. It has about 18,000 verses, as compared to the 700 of Gita, and is divided into 12 parts. The Shrimad Bhagavatam is a devotional text, and talks about the life, teachings, and avatars of Lord Vishnu, with a special focus on His Krishna avatar.

One of the biggest differences between the two, the Bhagwad Gita and the Shrimad Bhagavatam is that the Gita is a philosophical discourse. It is almost like a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjun as Shri Krishna explains to him the importance of upholding Dharma, and staying true to himself, the Bhagavatam has stories of Lord Krishna’s leela, his creations, and the lives of great devotees. People often describe the Bhagvatam as a spiritual encyclopedia, where you can find everything under the universe, the purpose of life, the path to liberation, and more.

Another difference between the two is that the Bhagavad Gita is a guide that helps people solve through the issues of life. It gives solutions for living a balanced and righteous life, and gives lessons about the importance of action without attachment, not caring or being attached to the fruits of labour, of how greed and anger is the hell of life, and more. And the Shrimad Bhagavatam on the other hand talks about divine love and surrender. The Bhagavatam also has a part where Narada and Sage Vyasa are in conversation, and Narada asks Vyasa why he did not say anything about Lord Krishna in the Mahabharata parts.

There isn’t one, but rather many important parts from the Bhagwad Gita. There are entire sections and shlokas that contain within them the knowledge that men and women need today. For example, in certain chapters Lord Krishna talks about the nature of the soul, in others he talks about Karma, in some others he explains how greed and anger and sin consume the soul from within, and so on and so forth. There are shlokas about love, about victory, about surrendering to the divine, about playing your part in life, and more.

The Shrimad Bhagavatam is famous for its storytelling and the way it glorifies and talks about Lord Krishna and his devotees. It contains within everything under the Universe, from creation to destruction, and talks about Lord Vishnu, his avatars, his wonders, and his stories. In the Bhagavatam, one can read about Lord Vishnu as the sustainer of the Universe, about Prahlad and how Lord Vishnu saved his life, about the leelas of Lord Krishna in his youth, his life and adventures in Vrindavan, and the likes.