Ashtavakra Gita

Introduction

The Ashtavakra Gita is one of the most profound and direct teachings of Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism). This sacred dialogue between the sage Ashtavakra and King Janaka presents the highest truth without any gradual path or preliminary practices.

Unlike many spiritual texts that prescribe methods and disciplines, the Ashtavakra Gita points directly to the already-present freedom of the Self. It declares that you are not bound, you do not need to become enlightened—you need only to recognize what you already are.

"You are not the body, not the mind, not the doer. You are the witness, the pure consciousness, eternally free."

Chapter 1: Self-Knowledge (Atma-Bodha)

Janaka: O Master, how is knowledge to be attained? How is liberation to be achieved? And how is dispassion to be developed? Tell me this.

Ashtavakra: If you are seeking liberation, my dear, avoid the objects of the senses like poison and cultivate forgiveness, sincerity, kindness, contentment, and truth as you would nectar.

Ashtavakra: You are not earth, water, fire, air, or space. You are the witness of these five elements as pure consciousness. Understanding this is liberation.

Ashtavakra: If you detach yourself from identification with the body and rest in consciousness, you will at once become happy, peaceful, and free from bondage.

Ashtavakra: You are not a Brahmin or any other caste, not in any stage of life. You are not perceived by the eyes or any other sense organ. Unattached and formless, you are the witness of the whole universe. Know this and be happy.

Ashtavakra: Righteousness and unrighteousness, pleasure and pain—these exist in the mind, not in you, O Supreme Self. You are neither the doer nor the enjoyer. You have always been free.

Ashtavakra: You are the one witness of all things, and truly always free. Your only bondage is seeing the witness as something other than this.

Ashtavakra: Having been bitten by the great black serpent of the ego which says "I am the doer," drink the nectar of the faith that "I am not the doer" and be happy.

Ashtavakra: Burn down the forest of ignorance with the fire of the conviction that "I am the one pure awareness," and be happy and free from distress.

Ashtavakra: That in which this entire universe appears, like waves in the ocean—that is what you are, beyond all doubts. Be happy.

Chapter 2: Joy of Self-Realization (Atma-Ananda)

Janaka: O Master! By your grace, I have attained the supreme truth. I am free from all doubts. I have understood.

Janaka: I am infinite like space, and the natural world is like a pot. There is nothing to renounce, nothing to accept, nothing to destroy.

Janaka: The whole universe, though it appears to be in me, is in reality not in me, just as the imagined snake is not in the rope.

Janaka: I am the pure consciousness. Through ignorance, I have imposed limitation upon myself. Constantly reflecting in this way, I abide in the absolute.

Janaka: O, I am spotless! I am at peace! I am beyond the realm of nature! All this time I was being fooled by illusion.

Janaka: As I alone give light to this body, so do I give light to the world. All this is pervaded by me, or nothing is pervaded by me.

Janaka: The universe with all its wonders I now see to be the Self, so what can the imagination construct now? What can we accept or reject?

Janaka: In the vast ocean of the Self, the universe is like foam or a bubble. Knowing this to be so, what is there to renounce? What is to be accepted? And where?

Chapter 3: Test of Self-Knowledge (Atma-Pariksha)

Ashtavakra: The ignorant person thinks, "I am the body." The learned person thinks, "I am not the body, I am pure consciousness." But the truly wise person thinks nothing—there is only Being.

Ashtavakra: The person of knowledge, having seen the truth, is without thoughts. For such a one, the universe has the reality of a dream, a fantasy, or a fairy city in the sky.

Ashtavakra: Just as a person in error sees a snake in a rope, the ignorant see distinctions where there are none.

Ashtavakra: Just as a jar made of clay is essentially clay, so the entire world produced from the Self is essentially the Self alone.

Ashtavakra: The wise person, seeing only the Self in everything, no longer differentiates. Infinite like space, the universe exists in the Self like air in a jar.

Chapter 4: Glory of Self-Knowledge (Jnana-Mahima)

Ashtavakra: The yogi who is satisfied with the nectar of knowledge and whose impurities have been destroyed by knowledge dwells in peace, free from doubts, and untouched by the pairs of opposites.

Ashtavakra: Free from attachment, aversion, and fear, one becomes pure. Having realized "I am That," one becomes free from all cravings.

Ashtavakra: In the vast ocean of the Self, full of the nectar of pure consciousness, let the universe rise or vanish. There is neither gain nor loss to me.

Ashtavakra: In me, the limitless ocean, the ark of the universe drifts here and there on the winds of its own nature. I am not impatient.

Ashtavakra: In me, the infinite ocean, let the waves of the universe arise and disappear according to their nature. I neither increase nor decrease.

Chapter 5: Dissolution (Laya)

Janaka: I am now established in my true nature beyond all doubt. I see that I am neither bound nor free—for I am the infinite Self, the witness of all.

Janaka: The illusion has vanished like darkness before the sun. I am now at peace, established in my own glory. I bow to my own Self.

Janaka: I am that infinite ocean in which the waves of all souls naturally rise, play for a while, and then merge back again.

Janaka: I am without parts, without division. I am the indivisible whole. How can there be any distinction between what is mine and what belongs to another?

Janaka: Just as the infinite space pervades everywhere within and without a jar, so the eternal, omnipresent, all-pervading, immovable Supreme Being pervades everything.

Chapter 6: Renunciation (Tyaga)

Ashtavakra: This world, which seems so diverse and manifold—it is nothing but your Self. How can you think you are one thing and the universe is another?

Ashtavakra: As a wave, foam, or bubble is not different from water, so the universe emanating from the Self is not different from It.

Ashtavakra: Just as cloth when examined is seen to be nothing but thread, so the universe when examined is seen to be nothing but the Self.

Ashtavakra: Just as the same space exists both inside and outside a pot, so the eternal, all-pervading Self exists in everything.

Ashtavakra: The knot of the heart is broken, all doubts are destroyed, and all actions cease when That which is both near and far is seen.

Chapter 7: Self-Abidance (Atma-Nishtha)

Ashtavakra: One who knows the Self as the formless witness remains the same in happiness and sorrow, gain and loss, life and death.

Ashtavakra: Having realized this truth, one becomes pure, tranquil, and desireless. One sees clearly that there is nothing to be done.

Ashtavakra: What is bondage to the Self that is infinite, immutable, still, stainless, and absolute?

Ashtavakra: It is one's false identification with what one is not—with the body, the mind, and the senses—that creates the illusion of bondage.

Chapter 8: Liberation (Moksha)

Ashtavakra: The Self is neither born nor does it die. It is not bound, nor is it a seeker of liberation. It is ever free, ever pure, ever illumined.

Ashtavakra: The Self is beyond all qualities, beyond all actions. It is eternally free and indivisible.

Ashtavakra: There is no such thing as the world, the soul, God, bondage, or liberation. All these are mere words, concepts superimposed on the one Reality.

Ashtavakra: You are that peaceful, pure, supreme Reality. Rest in that knowledge and be free.

Janaka: I now see clearly that the world is just imagination appearing in my awareness. It has no more reality than the cities seen in dreams.

Janaka: Just as a rope is mistaken for a snake in dim light, so this world is mistaken for reality through ignorance. But in truth, there is only the Self.

Chapter 9: Detachment (Vairagya)

Ashtavakra: For one who rests in the Self, there is neither meditation nor lack of it, neither knowledge nor ignorance, neither pleasure nor pain.

Ashtavakra: Such a one is free from all pairs of opposites and dwells in perpetual peace.

Ashtavakra: For one who is without desire, there is neither bondage nor liberation. Desire alone is the root of all misery.

Ashtavakra: Just as a tree without roots cannot stand, the universe cannot exist without the Self. Know this and be free.

Janaka: I have no desire for sensory objects, nor do I have aversion to them. They arise and pass in my awareness like clouds drifting across the sky.

Janaka: I am at peace. I am complete in myself. Nothing whatsoever can disturb my equanimity.

Chapter 10: Dispassion (Vairagya-Nishtha)

Ashtavakra: The person of self-knowledge, though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting, neither rejoices nor grieves, for such a one knows the true nature.

Ashtavakra: Whether praised or blamed, whether in prosperity or adversity, such a one remains the same—established in the Self.

Ashtavakra: The knower of the Self plays like a child, behaves like an inert object when needed, or speaks like a madman—yet is always established in supreme wisdom.

Ashtavakra: Without concern for what is to be done or avoided, such a one lives naturally and freely, like water flowing downhill.

Janaka: I am neither the body nor the mind. I am pure consciousness, untouched by actions, thoughts, or experiences of any kind.

Janaka: Just as space is unaffected by the smoke passing through it, I am unaffected by all that happens in this apparent world.

Chapter 11: Wonder (Vismaya)

Ashtavakra: The ignorant person thinks liberation is far away and difficult to attain. But for the wise, it is here and now—it is one's own nature.

Ashtavakra: To think "I am bound" is bondage. To know "I am free" is liberation. It is as simple as that.

Janaka: How wonderful! In this very moment, all seeking has ended. I am That which I was seeking all along!

Janaka: The seeker, the seeking, and the sought—all are nothing but the one Self playing its eternal game.

Janaka: How simple is the truth! I was searching everywhere for what I already am. I was like the musk deer searching for the source of the fragrance it carries within itself.

Chapter 12: The Composed One (Sama-Darshana)

Ashtavakra: One who knows "I am consciousness itself" conquers the entire world, even while appearing to engage in worldly activities.

Ashtavakra: Such a one neither avoids action nor seeks it, but remains like the sky—untouched, pure, and free.

Ashtavakra: The Self is self-luminous. It needs no other light to reveal it. Just as fire does not need another fire to burn, consciousness does not need anything to be conscious.

Ashtavakra: You are that light which illumines everything, including the mind itself.

Janaka: Yes! I am the light of consciousness in which the entire universe shines. Without me, nothing could be known, nothing could exist.

Janaka: I am the witness of all—yet I am completely untouched by anything witnessed.

Chapter 13: Tranquility (Shanti)

Ashtavakra: The fool struggles endlessly to control the mind, but the wise one knows that the mind arises and subsides in the Self like waves in the ocean.

Ashtavakra: Do not try to stop thoughts. Simply know yourself as the awareness in which they appear and disappear.

Ashtavakra: Meditation, scripture, worship—these are all for those who do not know themselves. For one who knows "I am consciousness," what practice is there to do?

Janaka: I understand completely! Effort itself was creating the sense of a separate doer. Now, resting as pure awareness, there is nothing to do, nothing to achieve.

Janaka: I am already That which I sought through endless spiritual practices.

Chapter 14: Supreme Tranquility (Parama-Shanti)

Ashtavakra: Just as a person dreams they are thirsty, then wakes and realizes there was never any real thirst—so is all spiritual practice for one who knows the Self.

Ashtavakra: You are the Self—eternally free, eternally pure, eternally awake. This entire universe is your own play, your own divine expression.

Ashtavakra: You are the actor and the audience, the dreamer and the dream, the witness and the witnessed.

Janaka: The spiritual path was just a dream within the dream! There was never anyone to walk it, never any destination to reach.

Janaka: I am That which was never born, never bound, never in need of liberation.

Chapter 15: The Supreme Self (Paramatma)

Ashtavakra: The wise one has no desire for existence or non-existence. Such a one neither seeks life nor fears death.

Ashtavakra: Like the ocean remains calm in its depths whether waves rise or not, the Self remains forever unchanged by the presence or absence of the phenomenal world.

Ashtavakra: The illumined one sees the universe as it truly is—as nothing other than the Self. Just as clay pots are nothing but clay, all forms are nothing but consciousness.

Ashtavakra: There is no duality anywhere. All is the One appearing as many.

Janaka: I see it with perfect clarity now! Subject and object, knower and known, seer and seen—all are one consciousness appearing as though divided.

Janaka: The snake was never real—only the rope exists. The world was never real—only Brahman, the Absolute, exists.

Chapter 16: The Desireless One (Nishkama)

Ashtavakra: You have understood the supreme truth! Now live freely. Whether active or inactive, speaking or silent, alone or in company—remain ever established in this liberating knowledge.

Ashtavakra: You are the infinite Self. Never forget this fundamental reality.

Janaka: How can I forget what I truly am? I am not the limited person I imagined myself to be. I am the limitless Being itself.

Janaka: This body will perish like all things in time, but I am eternal. This world will dissolve at the end of cosmic cycles, but I am imperishable.

Chapter 17: The Seeker of Liberation (Mumukshu)

Ashtavakra: One who truly knows the Self has no past to regret, no future to anticipate—only the eternal present moment. Such a one lives timelessly, even while appearing to live in time.

Ashtavakra: The enlightened one sees no difference between action and inaction. All is equally the spontaneous play of consciousness.

Janaka: I am established in perfect, unshakeable peace. The mind may move or be still—I am completely unaffected. Thoughts may come or go—I remain as I am.

Janaka: I am like infinite space—allowing everything to be, resisting nothing, attached to nothing whatsoever.

Chapter 18: The Settled Mind (Sthira-Buddhi)

Ashtavakra: This is true freedom! Not the freedom to do whatever you want, but freedom from the fundamental illusion of being a separate doer.

Ashtavakra: You are not the body that acts, nor the mind that thinks. You are the eternal witness of all—forever free, forever at peace.

Janaka: What tremendous peace pervades my being! What incomparable joy! Not the fleeting joy that depends on circumstances, but the joy that is my very nature.

Janaka: I need nothing external to complete me. I lack nothing. I am utterly complete and whole in myself.

Chapter 19: Serene Composure (Prasanna-Chitta)

Ashtavakra: Having seen through the grand illusion, what remains? Only the infinite Self—pure, luminous, free, and forever at peace.

Ashtavakra: I am neither happy nor unhappy, neither full nor empty. These are mere thoughts appearing momentarily in my infinite vastness.

Ashtavakra: You are pure consciousness without attributes or limitations. This entire universe is but a fleeting appearance in you, like foam on the vast ocean.

Ashtavakra: Hold fast to this liberating knowledge and abide in natural happiness. There is nothing more to know, nothing more to attain.

Janaka: I see with absolute clarity that pleasure and pain are equal—both are mere appearances in consciousness. I am beyond both.

Janaka: Success and failure, praise and blame, life and death—these are merely shifting concepts. I am That which witnesses all changes while remaining eternally unchanged.

Chapter 20: Final Peace (Parama-Shanti)

Ashtavakra: Perfect! You are now firmly established in this supreme understanding. This is the ultimate teaching, the final and absolute truth.

Ashtavakra: There is nothing beyond this realization. You are the Absolute—infinite, eternal, complete, and forever free.

Janaka: Beloved Master, your words have utterly destroyed all traces of my ignorance. I am fully awakened from the ancient dream of separation.

Janaka: I am That. I am eternally free. There is nothing more to say, nothing more to seek, nothing more to become.

Janaka: I bow to my own Self! I bow to That which has no beginning, no middle, and no end. I bow to That which is beyond all thought, all speech, all conception.

Janaka: I am free! I am whole! I am that infinite Being which was never born and can never die!

Epilogue: The Essence of the Teaching

The Ashtavakra Gita stands unique among spiritual texts for its directness and uncompromising declaration of the highest truth. Unlike gradual paths that prescribe years of practice, Ashtavakra points immediately to what is always already the case.

The key insights of this sacred dialogue include:

Immediate Recognition: Liberation is not a future attainment but present recognition. You do not become enlightened—you recognize that you always were and always will be the enlightened Self.

Nothing to Do: All spiritual practices arise from the false assumption that you are incomplete and need to become something other than what you are. When you see your true nature, all seeking spontaneously ceases.

Already Free: Bondage is purely imaginary, like the rope mistaken for a snake. You were never actually bound—you only believed you were. Freedom is not gained; the illusion of bondage is simply seen through.

The Witness: You are not the body, not the mind, not the thoughts, not the emotions. You are the unchanging awareness in which all experiences appear and disappear, like waves in the ocean.

Complete Non-Duality: Not even the distinction between self and world ultimately remains. All is the One Self—the infinite consciousness that alone exists, appearing as the many.

King Janaka's instant liberation demonstrates that awakening is not gradual but sudden—not because something new is gained, but because what always was is finally recognized. The teaching declares: You are That which you seek. You are the infinite consciousness, and this universe is your own divine manifestation.

No practice can give you this truth, for you already are it. Only direct recognition reveals what has always been the case: You are already free, already whole, already That.

"The seeker, the seeking, and the sought—all are nothing but the one Self."

ॐ तत् सत्
(Om Tat Sat - That Absolute Existence)