The divine scripture of holy commandments, the Shikshapatri, was written by the supreme Lord Swaminarayan Himself, for the benefit of all souls. It personifies the values that Lord Swaminarayan so mercifully advocates and describes the rudiments that one should adopt in order to lead an honest and moral life. Adhering to the commandments that are clearly narrated in the Shikshapatri, is the key to attaining ultimate salvation, i.e. attaining the divine abode of Lord Swaminarayan, Akshardham.

Lord Swaminarayan wrote the original text of the Shikshapatri in the classical language - Sanskrit. The Gujarati translation was subsequently prepared by Sadguru Shree Nityanand Swami. In order that the sacred commandments contained in the Shikshapatri can be understood by a wider audience, His Divine Holiness Acharya Swamishree Purushottampriyadasji Maharaj has encouraged its translation into English. By the divine blessings and inspiration of Acharya Swamishree, a new edition of the Shikshapatri, containing the commands of Lord Swaminarayan in all three languages, was published on 28th May 2003.

Lord Swaminarayan states that He has written the Shikshapatri in a concise form and therefore explanations for the reasons behind each of the Slok should be sought from the other texts of the religion [Slok 203]. In accordance with this instruction, this edition of the Shikshapatri contains accompanying text with certain Slok, in order to elucidate its true meaning, in accordance with the true teachings of Lord Swaminarayan, so eloquently propounded by His Sankalpa Murti (those who exist on this Earth through the will of the Lord), Jeevanpran Shree Abji Bapashree and Gurudev Adya Acharya Pravar Jeevanpran Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa.