Note: Regular app backend data service is not working and so using simpler backend data service
On 30 Nov. 2025, I found that the free graphql backend data service -https://gql.bhagavadgita.io/graphql- used by the regular app, is not working. The regular app is dependent on this service to get Bhagavad Gita data to be shown to the user. This graphql backend data service is provided by somebody else, and so not in my control. I do not think an alternative free graphql backend service for Bhagavad Gita data is available, as of now.
For the time being, I am using an alternate, simpler and free JSON backend service https://vedicscriptures.github.io which provides Bhagavad Gita data in quite a different manner from the original graphql service. So I had to simplify the app to use translation and commentary for Gita verses of only one author — Swami Sivananda — and therefore disabled the Settings menu item, which previously allowed selection of translators and commentators.
The basic app functionality of showing Gita chapters and verses with Swami Sivananda translation and commentary is working. But I have not been able to test the app thoroughly and so there may be some issues.
I have put up an issue in the GitHub repo - https://github.com/gita/bhagavad-gita-graphql - which seems to be associated with the original graphql service. But I do not know if or when it will be fixed.
To see screenshots of the app when the original graphql backend data service was working, please visit my blog post Gita web app (Next.js, open source) v1.4.1....
This blog post has more details about the original graphql service being down issue. Once the graphql backend data service is working again, any Next.js developer can refer to its section Resetting app to regular functionality to easily deploy the regular functionality app (Open Source, MIT license) on any host. Of course, if at that time I am in a position to update this app deployment myself, I will do so.
Author: Ravi S. Iyer, Date: 3rd December 2025
The contents below are from the previous version of the app, before the original graphql backend data service went down.
About Web App & Data
This Gita web app (Next.js, open source, freeware) shows Gita verse text, transliteration and word meaning, along with translations and commentaries in English, Hindi and Sanskrit. It does not have Gita verse audio facility. It is a frontend app depending on a backend developed and deployed by others for its data.
The backend data service for this Gita web app is a public GraphQL endpoint: https://gql.bhagavadgita.io/graphql (GraphQL Explorer: https://gql.bhagavadgita.io/graphiql), with possibly this GitHub repository. I do not know how stable this data source is but for the past few months that I have been using it, it has been available all the time and been stable. This data source seems to be using a subset of data of IIT Kanpur's Gita Super Site, which publicly shares translations and commentaries of famous spiritual figures from India like Swami Sivananda, Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Adidevananda and Swami Gambirananda. The Sanskrit commentaries of renowned ancient masters like Sri Shankaracharya, Sri Ramanujacharya and Sri Madhavacharya are also part of this data.
This Gita web app is able to utilize the above-mentioned awesome GraphQL data resource to show translations and commentaries of above mentioned spiritual masters and more. As it is a responsive web app, the app is accessible from Internet browsers (like Chrome/Edge/Safari) on PC desktop/laptop, Android mobile and Apple (iphone) mobile (and tablets though I have not tested it on tablets). Please note that it is NOT a native mobile (Android/iPhone) app.
Web app version: 1.4.1, Date: 5th September 2024
Web app author: Ravi S. Iyer
Application icon by Freepik