Updesh Terms of Use

Effective date: 2026-10-30
Last updated: 2026-11-10

These Terms are an agreement between you and Hitesh Pankaj Nambiar ("we", "us"), the provider described in section 1. They cover your use of the Updesh apps for iOS and Android and the website at updesh.app (the "Services"). "Updesh" is the name of the app and service.

By using the Services, you agree to these Terms. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal data. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.

Nothing in these Terms limits rights you have under consumer-protection laws that cannot be excluded by contract, including those of your country of residence.

1. Who we are (provider information)

Updesh is provided by:

• Name: Hitesh Pankaj Nambiar, a sole trader (enskild näringsidkare) registered in Sweden
• VAT number: SE880402889501
• Postal address: Marklandsgatan 49 lgh 1602, 414 77 Göteborg, Sweden
• Email: [email protected]

This information is provided under section 8 of the Swedish Act on Electronic Commerce (lag (2002:562) om elektronisk handel och andra informationssamhällets tjänster).

2. What Updesh is

Updesh is a study companion for the Bhagavad Gita. It offers:

• the Sanskrit verses and transliteration;
• verse meanings in English, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Spanish, Punjabi, German and Portuguese;
• a word glossary;
• chapter overviews in all 13 languages, and verse explanations for every verse in English and Hindi;
• audio, including Sanskrit recitation, meaning narration, and devotional songs and instrumental music in the Sadhana tab;
• a private journal.

Features and languages can differ between the iOS app, the Android app and the website, and between app versions. The website offers reading only, without audio.

This edition contains 701 verse entries, including Arjuna’s opening question in Chapter 13. Some editions count 700 verses and number that chapter differently.

3. Free features

The following are free:

• Sanskrit verses and transliteration;
• verse meanings in all 13 languages;
• the word glossary;
• Sanskrit recitation audio, streamed (Sanskrit files already saved on your device by an earlier version of the app keep playing offline);
• the recorded meaning narration for every verse, in all 13 languages;
• reading meanings aloud with your device’s own voice;
• the devotional songs and instrumental music in the Sadhana tab, including offline listening once downloaded, and the in-app background music;
• the journal: writing, saving and searching your own reflections from the Journal screen.

The following are free samples of Premium:

• the explanation of verse 1.1, in text and audio;
• the complete Chapter 1 overview, in text and audio;
• for every other verse and chapter, a preview of the explanation text and a short sample recording.

4. Premium

4.1 What Premium is

Premium is an optional, one-time, non-consumable purchase. It is not a subscription and does not renew. It is sold through the App Store on iPhone and iPad and through Google Play on Android. It unlocks:

• verse explanations for all 701 verses in English and Hindi, in text and audio;
• chapter overviews for all 18 chapters in the 13 languages, in text and audio;
• listening to a whole chapter in one session;
• listening with the screen off or the app in the background;
• the speed, repeat and sleep-timer controls;
• starting a reflection directly from the verse reader or a chapter explanation;
• downloading recordings for offline listening, including the Sanskrit recitation.

The store’s purchase screen shows the price, including applicable taxes, and what is included before you pay. The store sets the price for your country.

You must be 13 or older to buy Premium. If you are under 18, buy it only with the involvement of a parent or guardian, who also accepts these Terms for you. Your store account’s own age and family rules also apply.

Verse explanations are currently available in English and Hindi. We may add other languages later; they are not part of this purchase.

4.2 Payment, refunds and cancellations

Apple or Google sells and charges for Premium under their own terms. Refund requests go to them:

• Apple: reportaproblem.apple.com;
• Google Play: the Google Play refund process.

We cannot issue refunds directly through the stores. If a refund is granted, Premium is removed from your store account. Premium may stop working once the app next checks your purchase.

Right of withdrawal (EU and EEA consumers). Consumers in the EU and EEA normally have a 14-day right to withdraw from an online purchase (Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU; in Sweden, the Distance Contracts Act, lag (2005:59) om distansavtal och avtal utanför affärslokaler). For digital content that is not supplied on a physical medium, such as Premium, you lose that right once supply has started, provided that:

1. you expressly agreed to supply starting immediately;
2. you acknowledged that you would lose your right of withdrawal; and
3. you received confirmation of the purchase.

The App Store and Google Play collect that consent and acknowledgement in their checkout and send the confirmation. If you did not give that consent and acknowledgement, you can withdraw within 14 days by contacting the store or us at [email protected]. UK consumers have equivalent rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.

Faults. Nothing here limits your rights if Premium is faulty or not as described. For example, under EU Directive 2019/770 on digital content, the Swedish Consumer Sales Act (konsumentköplag (2022:260), chapter 9 on digital content), the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, or India’s Consumer Protection Act 2019. Contact us first. We will try to fix the problem, and if we cannot, we will help you obtain a refund through the store.

4.3 What "lifetime" means

"Lifetime" and "one-time" mean that you pay once and keep access to Premium for as long as we continue to offer the Updesh app and its Premium feature on the platform where you bought it. You do not pay again for later updates to Premium content.

In more detail:

• Per platform and store account. A purchase belongs to the Apple Account or Google account that made it. It does not carry over between Apple and Google. Our servers do not link the two, and there is no Updesh account. Family Sharing is not offered for Premium.
• Restoring. Use "Restore purchases" in the app with the same store account, for example on a new device or after reinstalling. Restoring needs an internet connection.
• Offline listening. Premium recordings you have downloaded can be played without a connection while the app remains installed. Downloads are removed if you delete the app or clear its data, and you can download them again while the service is offered.
• Changes and corrections. We may correct, re-record or replace recordings and text, for example to fix errors. Downloaded files may need to be downloaded again to receive a correction.
• If we stop offering Premium or the Services. We will give at least 60 days’ notice in the app or on the website, where we reasonably can. We will try to let existing buyers keep using recordings already downloaded to their devices, but downloading may stop when our servers close. Where the law gives you a right to a refund or other remedy, it still applies.
• No ownership. Premium gives you a personal licence to access the content (section 6). It does not transfer ownership of recordings or text.

4.4 Free trial

You can get a free trial of Premium. It needs no card or payment details, nothing is charged, and it does not turn into a paid purchase on its own. The app tells you how long the trial lasts; the length can differ between app versions. On iPhone and iPad, you start the trial yourself. On Android, depending on the app version, you start it yourself, or the app starts it when you finish the introduction and tells you.

During the trial you can use the Premium features listed in section 4.1. Recordings are streamed during the trial and are not kept on your device. On iPhone and iPad, the trial is a free item in the App Store, and Apple asks you to confirm it. When the trial ends, the Premium features lock again unless you buy Premium.

There is one trial for each Apple Account on iPhone and iPad, and one for each installation on Android. We may limit trials, end a trial early, or refuse to start one if we find abuse. We may also offer another trial or a promotion from time to time. Any such offer is at our discretion and does not change these Terms.

5. AI-generated content and audio

5.1 How the content is made

• Sanskrit text. The Sanskrit text of the Bhagavad Gita is ancient and in the public domain. We cross-checked it against public-domain printed editions.
• Meanings, explanations and glossary. These were drafted for Updesh with the help of AI tools, then reviewed, including with AI tools. They have not been certified by a human scholar.
• Songs and music. The devotional songs, instrumental music and background music in the app were composed and generated by the Updesh team with an AI music tool, under a paid licence. Any singing voices are synthetic.
• Narration and recitation. The meaning narration and the Sanskrit recitation are synthetic, AI-generated voices, produced for Updesh under a paid commercial licence from the voice-generation provider. They are not recordings of a human reciter or narrator.

5.2 Our interpretation, and its limits

The verse meanings, verse explanations, chapter overviews, glossary and narration in Updesh are our own reading of the Bhagavad Gita, written in plain language for general understanding and personal reflection. They are one interpretation, not the only one and not an authoritative one. The Gita has been read in many ways for centuries: traditions, acharyas and scholars differ on the meaning of many verses, and some of our choices will not match theirs. We encourage you to read the traditional commentaries and to learn from teachers in your own tradition alongside Updesh.

Our text may contain errors or omissions, and AI-generated narration may mispronounce words or place the wrong emphasis. Please tell us about errors at [email protected].

5.3 Not advice

Updesh is for study and personal reflection. It is not religious instruction from any tradition or authority. It is also not medical, psychological, legal, financial or other professional advice. Please consult a qualified teacher or professional for guidance on your own circumstances.

6. Intellectual property and your licence

6.1 What we own and what we do not

We do not claim ownership of the Bhagavad Gita’s Sanskrit text. You may use the public-domain text freely.

We claim the rights we hold, to the extent protected by law, in:

• our selection, arrangement, editing and presentation of content;
• the Updesh software and design;
• the Updesh name and logo;
• the original chapter artwork.

Your use of all content in the Services is governed by the licence in section 6.2 and the restrictions in section 7.

Fonts are used under the SIL Open Font License. Third-party material remains under its own licence. Nothing in these Terms restricts rights you have under such a licence or under the law, for example fair dealing or fair use.

6.2 Your licence

While you comply with these Terms, we give you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Services and their content for your own personal, non-commercial study and reflection. This includes playing downloaded Premium recordings offline in the app.

Sharing individual verses through the app’s share feature is permitted.

6.3 Your content

Your journal entries, notes and bookmarks belong to you. They are stored on your device or in your browser, as described in the Privacy Policy. We do not receive them and claim no rights in them.

7. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• copy, extract, bulk-download, republish, resell, sublicense or redistribute Updesh recordings or Updesh text, or use them in another product, service or AI training dataset, without our written permission, except as allowed by an applicable licence or by law;
• get around purchase checks or access controls, or access Premium content without a valid purchase;
• reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the apps, except to the extent the law allows despite this restriction;
• overload, disrupt or attempt unauthorised access to our servers or infrastructure;
• use the Services unlawfully, or present Updesh content as the teaching of a person or institution that has not endorsed it.

We may suspend access to our servers for misuse that harms the Services or other users.

8. Availability and changes to the Services

We work to keep the Services available but cannot guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. Internet access, and a compatible device and operating system, are your responsibility.

We may add, change or remove free features. We will not remove or materially reduce Premium features you have paid for, except:

• for corrections and replacements under section 4.3;
• for legal or rights reasons;
• or as described in section 4.3 if we stop offering Premium or the Services.

9. Third-party services

Apple and Google distribute the apps and handle payments under their own terms. Your device’s speech engine and share destinations are run by others.

For the iOS app, Apple’s Licensed Application End User License Agreement also applies, unless these Terms provide otherwise. Apple is not responsible for the app or for support, and is a third-party beneficiary of these Terms for the iOS app.

10. Disclaimers

To the extent the law allows, the Services and content are provided "as is" and "as available", and we disclaim implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose and accuracy, and we do not warrant that our interpretation of the text is correct, complete or accepted by any tradition. This does not affect statutory rights you cannot waive, including:

• the right to digital content that is as described and of satisfactory quality, where consumer law gives that right (for example in the EU, EEA and UK);
• your rights under India’s Consumer Protection Act 2019.

11. Liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited, such as liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or under mandatory consumer law.

Subject to that, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of data stored only on your device. Our total liability to you for all claims relating to the Services is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid for Premium and (b) EUR 50 or the equivalent in your local currency.

If you are a consumer in the EU, EEA or UK, we are liable for foreseeable loss caused by our breach of these Terms or our failure to use reasonable care and skill, and this cap does not limit remedies that mandatory consumer law gives you.

12. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms, for example when features or the law change. We will post the new version with a new "Last updated" date. For changes that materially affect you, we will give reasonable notice in the app or on the website before they apply.

Changes do not apply retroactively, and they will not take away Premium access you have already paid for, except as section 4.3 allows. If you do not agree with a change, you may stop using the Services. Where the law gives you a remedy for a change to paid features, it still applies.

13. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by Swedish law, excluding its conflict-of-law rules and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

Consumer protection. If you are a consumer, this choice of law does not take away the protection of the mandatory consumer laws of your country of residence (for example under Article 6(2) of the EU Rome I Regulation). You may bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence, or wherever else mandatory law allows. Otherwise, disputes are decided by Swedish courts, in the district court (tingsrätt) for the place where we are domiciled.

Resolving disputes. Please contact us first at [email protected] so we can try to resolve the issue.

• EU and EEA consumers: you may refer an unresolved dispute to the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes, Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (ARN), Box 174, 101 23 Stockholm, Sweden, www.arn.se. We will participate in proceedings before ARN. Consumers in other EU countries can get free help from the European Consumer Centre in their country (in Sweden: Konsumentverket / ECC Sweden).
• UK consumers: you can use your local courts, and you may contact Citizens Advice.
• Consumers in India: you may approach the Consumer Commissions under the Consumer Protection Act 2019, or the National Consumer Helpline.

14. Contact and grievances

• Email: [email protected]
• Postal address: as in section 1
• Grievance Officer for users in India: Hitesh Pankaj Nambiar, Grievance Officer, [email protected]. We acknowledge complaints within 48 hours and resolve them within one month of receipt.

15. General

• If any part of these Terms is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
• If we do not enforce a term, we have not waived it.
• You may not transfer your rights under these Terms. We may transfer them to a successor operator of Updesh, who must honour existing Premium purchases.
• These Terms, the Privacy Policy and the store’s terms for your purchase are the entire agreement about the Services.