The Bhagavadgītā (BhG) is perhaps one of the most renowned and often quoted texts in Hindu religious traditions. Commentaries, interpretations and translations abound. Yet some aspects and questions still need to be addressed. How are we to understand the text having been handed down as part of the Mahābhārata (MBh) epic? What are the threads which connect the different ideas and levels of arguments that build up the text, and how were they twisted and woven in order to put forward philosophical and theological frameworks of meaning? What are the characteristic features of the theology of the BhG that explain its influence and paradigmatic role in subsequent Hindu traditions? Can we adduce evidence to connect the BhG to specific cultural-historical contexts? The present study attempts to address these and other issues through a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the text and by relating some of its doctrines to the epic, literary context in which it is embedded. Although exegetical commentaries by academics such as Zaehner (1969) are available, no such analysis has been undertaken. In this respect, the aim of the study is to fill a gap in BhG scholarship too. This also concerns the inclusion of the relevant secondary literature and a discussion of the problems involved in translating and interpreting the text. While this might seem not worth mentioning in an academic publication, the consideration of previous research is not the strongest aspect of BhG studies.