Question

Who was the First European to translate the Bhagavad Gita into English?
A)Alexander Cunningham
B)William Jones
C)James Prinsep
D)Charles Wilkins

Answer 1

Hint: The Bhagavad Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture commonly dated to the second century. It was written by Vyasa in Sanskrit language.

Complete answer:
Option A: Alexander Cunningham,was an archaeologist and British army officer who excavated many sites in India. He was born in London in 1814. This option is incorrect.
Option B: William Jones, was a scholar of ancient India and a jurist. He was fascinated by various languages and knew 28 languages and was self-taught in several of them. This option is not correct.
Option C: James Prinsep, is remembered for deciphering the Kharosthi and Brahmi scripts of Ancient India. He was an English scholar and orientalist.
Option D:Sir Charles Wilkins, was an English orientalist and typographer. He was born in 1749 and was trained as a printer. He went to India as a writer and printer in the East India Company’s service in 1770. he found the Asiatic society as well, as his comfort with various languages allowed him to learn Bengali and Persian. He is recognized as the first translator of Bhagavad Gita into English. He earned himself the name “ the Caxton of India”, as he published the first typeset book in the language.
He had a keen interest in learning about languages and religions therefore he end up studying in Varanasi and began working on his translation of Mahabharata. His translation of the Gita was itself soon translated into German and French.

So, option D is correct.

Note: The Bhagavad Gita promotes and shows a path of devotion towards Lord Krishna and is nearly translated in sixty languages including regional languages like Tamil by Iyengar in poetic form, in Marathi language in form of shlokas and has a pan-Hindu influence.