I am what I am , and what I am is always due to him. Whatever in me or in my word s is good and true and eternal came to me from his mouth, his heart, his soul. Sri Ramakrishna is the spring of this phase of the earth’s religious life., of its impulses and activities. If I can show the world one glimpse of my Master I shall not live in vain.

In the Ramakrishna Incarnation there is knowledge, infinite love, infinite work, infinite compassion for all beings.  You have not yet been able to understand him.  Even after hearing about him, most people do not understand him.   What the whole Hindu race has thought in ages, he lived in one life.  His life is the living commentary to the Vedas of all nations.  People will come to know him by degrees.

~ Swami Vivekananda

The occasion for this composition was an encounter between Shankaracharya and a sweeper. When Shankaracharya was walking, along with his disciples, towards the temple of Lord Viswanath in Varanasi, it so happened that a sweeper was walking towards him on the same street. Shankaracharya asked the sweeper to move away from his path. The sweeper then asked him some questions that form the substatnce of two verses which are a prelude to the main composition.

On hearing the sweeper's questions, Shankaracharya realized that the person before him was no ordinary sweeper. Shankaracharya's response to these questions, given in five verses, are called Manisha Panchakam; the word 'manisha' meaning 'firm conviction' appears in the last line in all five ("pancha" means five) verses.

Manisha Panchakam - Discussion | Swami Sarvapriyananda

The occasion for this composition was an encounter between Shankaracharya and a sweeper. When Shankaracharya was walking, along with his disciples, towards the temple of Lord Viswanath in Varanasi, it so happened that a sweeper was walking towards him on the same street. Shankaracharya asked the sweeper to move away from his path. The sweeper then asked him some questions that form the substatnce of two verses which are a prelude to the main composition.

On hearing the sweeper's questions, Shankaracharya realized that the person before him was no ordinary sweeper. Shankaracharya's response to these questions, given in five verses, are called Manisha Panchakam; the word 'manisha' meaning 'firm conviction' appears in the last line in all five ("pancha" means five) verses.

02 Q & A Swami Sarvapriyananda Manisha Panchakam Second Q & A Session

The occasion for this composition was an encounter between Shankaracharya and a sweeper. When Shankaracharya was walking, along with his disciples, towards the temple of Lord Viswanath in Varanasi, it so happened that a sweeper was walking towards him on the same street. Shankaracharya asked the sweeper to move away from his path. The sweeper then asked him some questions that form the substatnce of two verses which are a prelude to the main composition.

On hearing the sweeper's questions, Shankaracharya realized that the person before him was no ordinary sweeper. Shankaracharya's response to these questions, given in five verses, are called Manisha Panchakam; the word 'manisha' meaning 'firm conviction' appears in the last line in all five ("pancha" means five) verses.

01 Q&A Swami Sarvapriyananda Manisha Panchakam First Q & A Session

The occasion for this composition was an encounter between Shankaracharya and a sweeper. When Shankaracharya was walking, along with his disciples, towards the temple of Lord Viswanath in Varanasi, it so happened that a sweeper was walking towards him on the same street. Shankaracharya asked the sweeper to move away from his path. The sweeper then asked him some questions that form the substatnce of two verses which are a prelude to the main composition.  

On hearing the sweeper's questions, Shankaracharya realized that the person before him was no ordinary sweeper. Shankaracharya's response to these questions, given in five verses, are called Manisha Panchakam; the word 'manisha' meaning 'firm conviction' appears in the last line in all five ("pancha" means five) verses.

04 Swami Sarvapriyananda Manisha Panchakam Session 4 Verse 4-5

 The occasion for this composition was an encounter between Shankaracharya and a sweeper. When Shankaracharya was walking, along with his disciples, towards the temple of Lord Viswanath in Varanasi, it so happened that a sweeper was walking towards him on the same street. Shankaracharya asked the sweeper to move away from his path. The sweeper then asked him some questions that form the substatnce of two verses which are a prelude to the main composition.  

On hearing the sweeper's questions, Shankaracharya realized that the person before him was no ordinary sweeper. Shankaracharya's response to these questions, given in five verses, are called Manisha Panchakam; the word 'manisha' meaning 'firm conviction' appears in the last line in all five ("pancha" means five) verses.

03 Swami Sarvapriyananda Manisha Panchakam Session 3 Verse 2-3

The occasion for this composition was an encounter between Shankaracharya and a sweeper. When Shankaracharya was walking, along with his disciples, towards the temple of Lord Viswanath in Varanasi, it so happened that a sweeper was walking towards him on the same street. Shankaracharya asked the sweeper to move away from his path. The sweeper then asked him some questions that form the substatnce of two verses which are a prelude to the main composition.  

On hearing the sweeper's questions, Shankaracharya realized that the person before him was no ordinary sweeper. Shankaracharya's response to these questions, given in five verses, are called Manisha Panchakam; the word 'manisha' meaning 'firm conviction' appears in the last line in all five ("pancha" means five) verses.

02 Swami Sarvapriyananda Manisha Panchakam Session 2 Verse 1

 The occasion for this composition was an encounter between Shankaracharya and a sweeper. When Shankaracharya was walking, along with his disciples, towards the temple of Lord Viswanath in Varanasi, it so happened that a sweeper was walking towards him on the same street. Shankaracharya asked the sweeper to move away from his path. The sweeper then asked him some questions that form the substatnce of two verses which are a prelude to the main composition.  

On hearing the sweeper's questions, Shankaracharya realized that the person before him was no ordinary sweeper. Shankaracharya's response to these questions, given in five verses, are called Manisha Panchakam; the word 'manisha' meaning 'firm conviction' appears in the last line in all five ("pancha" means five) verses.

01 Swami Sarvapriyananda Manisha Panchakam Session 1 Introduction

However, as can be seen from the following quote, Bhagavan Ramana said that there is no time involved at all in Self-Knowledge.

“…. When I entered the hall the story of how the Ashtavakra Gita came to be taught was being recounted in English for the benefit of the above Raja and other visitors. After the story was read out, Bhagavan said, ‘Because Brahma Jnana is not something external, which is somewhere faraway where you can go and get it, you cannot say that it will take so long or so short a time to attain it. It is always with you. . . . All that is necessary is to surrender yourself completely to the Guru, to surrender your notion of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ ….”

Devaraja Mudaliar in Day by Day with Bhagavan, dated 31.3.1945 (Afternoon)
Of course, that is what King Janaka did. He surrendered his notion of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ to Sage Ashtavakra. Has not Bhagavan said that surrender and Self-enquiry are the only two ways to Self-Realisation?

Bhagavan has also made other references to this great book.

Sri Ramakrishna persuaded Narendra to read ‘Ashtavakra Gita’ which had a stupendous impact on the young devotee who later flowered into Swami Vivekananda, the doughty Advaitic evangelist.

The present upload of this Gita is in Sanskrit, English and Tamil in sound and script. The Sanskrit script is in Bhagavan’s own handwriting cut out from an Archival Publication of the Ashram.

Note on Texts of Ashtavakra Gita

Sanskrit – Text: In the Handwriting of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
Tamil – Translation: By Sri Viswanatha Swami
English – Translation based on: 1. Swamy Nithya Swarupananda, John Richards, Hari Prasad Shastri

Own The Day - Swami Mahayogananda

The lecture can be found in the Jnana Yoga Book.

The complete lecture can be found in the Practical Vedanta Book

This Lecture is available in the 2nd Vol. of Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda

These lectures can be found in the 1st vol. of Complete Works

Hymns and Prayers Book Link

 Hymns & Prayers Book Link 

Janaka said ---

1. Where are the elements, where is the body, where are the organs, and where is the mind; where is the void; where, too, is despair for me who am taintless by nature?

2. Where are the scriptures, where is knowledge of the Self, where is the mind not attached to sense-objects, where is contentment, and where is desirelessness for me who am ever devoid of the sense of duality?

3. Where is knowledge and where is ignorance; where is “I”, where is “this”, and where is “mine”; where is bondage and where is liberation? Where is an attribute to the nature of my self?

4. Where are prarabdha karmas, where is liberation-in-life, and where is even liberation-at-death for me, the ever undifferentiated?

5. Where is the doer or enjoyer, where is cessation of thought or the rising of thought, where is direct knowledge or reflected knowledge, for me who am ever Impersonal?

6. Where is the world and where is the aspirant for liberation; where is the contemplative man and where is the man of Knowledge, where is the soul in bondage and where is the liberated soul for me who am non-dual by nature?

7. Where are creation and destruction; where is the end and where the means; where are seeker and success for me abiding in my non-dual nature?

8. Where is the knower, the means to knowledge, the object of knowledge or knowledge itself; where is anything, and where is nothing for me who am ever pure?

9. Where is distraction, where is concentration; where is knowledge, where is delusion; where is joy and where is sorrow for me who am ever actionless?

10. Where is relativity, where is transcendence; where is happiness or misery for me who am ever beyond any discursive thought?

11. Where is illusion, where is the world; where is attachment or detachment; where is jivaor Brahman for me, who am ever pure?

12. Where is activity, where is inactivity; where is liberation or bondage for me who am ever immutable and indivisible, and established in the Self?

13. Where are instruction and scriptural injunction, where is the disciple and where is the preceptor; where, indeed, is the object of life for me who am absolute good and free from limitation?

14. Where is existence, where is non-existence; where is unity, where is duality? What need is there to say more? Nothing emanates from me.

Janaka said ---

1. I have extracted from the inmost recess of my heart the thorn of different opinions, using the pincers of the knowledge of Truth.

2. Where is dharma, where is kama, where is artha? Where, too, is discrimination, where is duality, and where, even, is non-duality for me who abide in my own glory?

3. Where is past, where is future, where, even, is the present? Where is space, and where even, is eternity for me who abide in my own glory?

4. Where is the Self and where is the non-Self, where, likewise, are good and evil, where is anxiety or non-anxiety for me who abide in my own glory?

5. Where is dreaming, where is deep sleep, where is wakefulness, and where is the fourth state; where, even, is fear for me who abide in my own glory?

6. Where is distance or proximity; where is exterior, where is interior; where is grossness, and where is subtlety for me who abide in my own glory?

7. Where is life or death, where are the worlds, and where are worldly relations; where is lapse, and where is concentration for me who abide in my own glory?

8. To talk about the three ends of life is needless, to talk about yoga is purposeless, and even to talk about wisdom is irrelevant for me who repose in the

Self.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. He has gained the fruit of Knowledge as well as of the practice of yoga, who, contented and with purified senses, ever enjoys being alone.

2. Oh, the knower of Truth is never miserable in this world, for the whole universe is filled by himself alone.

3. No sense-objects ever please him who delights in the Self, even as the leaves of the neem tree do not please an elephant who delights in the sallaki leaves.

4. Rare in this world is he on whom impressions are not left of things which he has experienced or who does not desire things which he has not yet experienced.

5. Those desirous of worldly enjoyment and those desirous of liberation, both are found in this world. But rare indeed is the great-souled one who is not desirous of either enjoyment or liberation.

6. Rare is the broad-minded person who has neither attraction for, nor aversion to, dharma (duty), artha(worldly prosperity), kama (desire), and moksa (liberation) as well as life and death.

7. The man of Knowledge does not feel any desire for the dissolution of the universe, or aversion to its existence. The blessed one, therefore, lives happily on whatever subsistence comes as a matter of course.

8. Being fulfilled by the knowledge of the Self and with his mind absorbed, and contented, the wise one lives happily, seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and eating.

9. There is no attachment or non-attachment in one for whom the ocean of the world has dried up. His look is vacant, action purposeless and the senses inoperative.

10. The wise one neither keeps awake nor sleeps, he neither opens nor closes his eyes. Oh, the liberated soul anywhere enjoys the supreme condition.

11. The liberated one is always found abiding in Self and is pure in heart; he lives freed from all desires, under all conditions.

12. Seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, taking, speaking and walking, the great-souled one, free from all efforts and non-efforts, is verily emancipated.

13. The liberated one neither slanders nor praises, he neither rejoices nor is he angry, he neither gives nor takes. He is free from attachment to all objects.

14. The great-souled one is not perturbed and remains self-poised at the sight of a woman full of love as well as of approaching death. He is indeed liberated.

15. The steady one who sees the same everywhere, sees no difference between happiness and misery, man and woman, and prosperity and adversity.

16. In the wise one whose worldly life is exhausted and who has transcended the limitations of human nature, there is neither compassion nor any desire to harm, neither humility nor insolence, neither wonder nor mental disturbance.

17. The liberated one neither abhors the objects of the senses nor craves for them. Ever with a detached mind he experiences them as they come.

18. The wise one of vacant mind knows not the conflict of contemplation and non-contemplation, good and evil. He abides as it were in the state of Absoluteness.

19. Devoid of the feeling of “I” and “mine”, knowing for certain that nothing is, and with all his inner desires set at rest, the man of Knowledge does not act though he may be acting.

20. An indescribable state is attained by the wise one whose mind has melted away, its functions having ceased to operate, and who is free from delusion, dreaming or dullness.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. My child, you may often speak upon various scriptures or hear them. But cannot be established in the Self unless you forget all.

2. O wise one, you may enjoy, or work, or practice mental concentration. But your mind will still yearn for your own nature which is beyond all objects and in which all desires are extinguished.

3. All are unhappy because they exert themselves. But none knows this. The blessed one attains emancipation through this instruction alone.

4. Happiness belongs to that master idler to whom even the closing and opening of the eyelids is an affliction, and to none else.

5. When the mind is free from such pairs of opposites as “this is to be done” and “this is not to be done”, it becomes indifferent to religious merit, worldly prosperity, sensual enjoyment, and liberation.

6. One who abhors the sense-objects becomes non-attached, and one who covets them becomes attached to them. But he who does not accept or reject, is neither unattached nor attached.

7. As long as desire continues, which is the root of the state of indiscrimination, there will verily be the sense of attachment and aversion, which is the branch and shoot of the tree of samsara.

8. Activity begets attachment, and abstention from it aversion. The man of wisdom is free from the pairs of opposites, like a child, and indeed he lives on like a child.

9. One who is attached to the world wants to renounce it in order to avoid sorrow. But one without attachment is free from sorrow and does not feel miserable even in the world.

10. He who has an egoistic feeling even towards liberation and considers even the body as his own, is neither a jnanin nor a yogin. He only suffers misery.

11. Let even Hara, Hari and the lotus-born Brahma be your instructor, but unless you forget all, you cannot be established in the Self.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. A man of pure intellect realizes the Self even by instruction casually imparted. A man of impure intellect is bewildered in trying to realize the Self even after enquiring throughout life.

2. Non-attachment for sense-objects is liberation; love for sense-objects is bondage. Such verily is Knowledge. Now do as you please.

3. This knowledge of the Truth makes an eloquent, wise and active person mute, inert and inactive. Therefore it is shunned by those who want to enjoy the world.

4. You are not the body, nor is the body yours; you are not the doer nor the enjoyer. You are Consciousness itself, the Eternal Witness, and free. Get about happily.

5. Attachment and abhorrence are attributes of the mind. The mind is never yours. You are Intelligence itself, free from conflict, and changeless. Get about happily.

6. Realizing the Self in all and all in the Self, free from egoism and free from the sense of ‘mine,’ be you happy.

7. You are indeed That in which the universe manifests itself like waves on the ocean. O you Intelligence, be you free from the fever of the mind.

8. Have faith, my son, have faith. Never confuse yourself in this. You are Knowledge itself, you are the Lord, you are the Self, and you are beyond Nature.

9. The body, composed of the ingredients of nature, comes, stays and goes. The Self neither comes nor goes. Why, then, do you mourn it?

10. Let the body last to the end of kalpa (cycle) or let it go even today. Where is there any increase or decrease in you who are Pure Intelligence?

11. In you who are the infinite Ocean, let the waves of the universe rise or fall according to their own nature. That means no gain or loss to you.

12. My child, you are Pure Intelligence itself. This universe is nothing different from you. Therefore how and where can anyone have the idea of acceptance or rejection?

13. From where will there be birth, action and even egoism for you who are One, immutable, calm, stainless, and Pure Consciousness?

14. You alone appear as whatever you perceive. Do bracelets, armlets and anklets appear different from gold?

15. Completely give up such distinctions as ‘I am He’ and ‘I am not this.’ Consider all as the Self and be desireless and happy.

16. It is through your ignorance alone that the universe exists. In reality you are One. There is no individual self or Supreme Self other than you.

17. One who knows for certain that this universe is but an illusion and a nothing, becomes desireless and Pure Intelligence, and finds peace as if nothing exists.

18. In the ocean of the world One only was, is and will be. You have neither bondage nor liberation. Live contented and happily.

19. O Pure Intelligence, do not disturb your mind with affirmations and negations. Be calm and abide happily in your own self which is Bliss itself.

20. Completely give up even contemplation and hold nothing in your mind. You are verily the Self, free. What will you do by thinking?

Janaka said ---

1. He verily has his recollections of worldly life exhausted, who is emptyminded by nature, who thinks of sense-objects involuntarily, and who is, as it were, awake though asleep.

2. When desire has melted away, where then are my riches, where my friends, where are the robbers in the form of sense-objects, where the scriptures, and where knowledge?

3. As I have realized the Supreme Self who is the Witness and the Lord, and have become indifferent to both bondage and liberation, I feel no anxiety for emancipation.

4. The different conditions of one who within is devoid of doubts but outwardly moves about at his own pleasure like a deluded person, can only be understood by those like him.

Janaka said ---

1. The tranquillity which is born of the consciousness that there is nothing but the Self is rare even for one who wears but a loin-cloth. Therefore giving up renunciation and acceptance, I live happily.

2. There is trouble of the body here, trouble of the tongue there, and trouble of the mind elsewhere. Having renounced these, I life’s supreme goal I live happily.

3. Fully realizing that nothing whatsoever is really done by the Self, I do whatever presents itself to be done and live happily.

4. The yoginswho are attached to the body insist upon action or inaction. Owing to the absence of association and dissociation, I live happily.

5. No good or evil accrues to me by staying, going or sleeping. So, whether I stay, go or sleep, I live happily.

6. I do not lose by sleeping or gain by striving. So giving up thoughts of loss and elation, I live happily.

7. Observing again and again the inconstancy of pleasure and pain under different circumstances, I have renounced good and evil, and I live happily.

Janaka said ---

1. I become intolerant first of physical action, then of extensive speech and then of thought. Thus therefore do I firmly abide.

2. Having no attachment for sound and other sense objects, and the Self not being an object of perception, my mind is freed from distraction and is one-pointed. Thus therefore do I firmly abide.

3. An effort has to be made for concentration when there is distraction of mind owing to superimposition, etc. Seeing this to be the rule, thus do I firmly abide.

4. Having nothing to accept and nothing to reject, and having neither joy nor sorrow, thus, sir, do I now firmly abide today.

5. A stage of life or no stage of life, meditation, control of mental functions –- finding that these cause distractions to me, thus do I firmly abide.

6. Abstention from action is as much the outcome of ignorance as the performance action. Knowing this truth fully well, thus do I firmly abide.

7. Thinking on the Unthinkable One, one only has recourse to a form of thought. Therefore giving up that thought, thus do I firmly abide.

8. Blessed is the one who has accomplished this. Blessed is he who is such by nature.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. He who has realized that change in the form of existence and destruction is in the nature of things, easily finds repose, being unperturbed and free from pain.

2. He who has known for certain that Iswara is the creator of all and that there is none else here, becomes peaceful with all his inner desires set at rest, and is not attached to anything whatsoever.

3. He who has known for certain that adversity and prosperity come in their own time through the effects of past actions is ever contented, has all his senses under control, and neither desires nor grieves.

4. He who knows for certain that happiness and misery, birth and death are due to the effects of past actions, does not find anything to accomplish, and thus becomes free from care and is not attached even though engaged in action.

5. He who has realized that is care and nothing else that breeds misery in this world, becomes free from it, and is happy, peaceful and everywhere rid of desires.

6. “I am not the body, nor is the body mine. I am Consciousness itself”—he who has realized this for certain, does not remember what he has done or not done as if he has attained the state of Absoluteness.

7. “I am indeed in everything, from Brahma down to a clump of grass,” –- he who knows this for certain, becomes free from conflict of thought, pure and peaceful, and free from care for what is attained and not attained.

8. He who knows for certain that this manifold and wonderful universe is nothing, becomes desireless and Pure Consciousness, and finds peace as if nothing exists.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. Cultivate indifference to everything, having given up kama (desire) which is the enemy, artha (worldly prosperity) which is attended with mischief, and dharma(performance of good works) which is the cause of these two.

2. Look upon friends, lands, wealth, houses, wives, presents and such other marks of good fortune, as a dream or a juggler’s show, lasting only a few days.

3. Know that wherever there is desire there is the world. Betaking yourself to firm non-attachment, go beyond desire and be happy.

4. Bondage consists only in desire, and the destruction of desire is said to be liberation. Only by non-attachment to the world does one attain the constant joy of the realization of the Self.

5. You are One, Pure Intelligence. The universe is non-intelligent and unreal. Ignorance also is no real entity. What can you yet desire to know?

6. Kingdoms, sons, wives, bodies and pleasures have been lost to you birth after birth, even though you were attached to them.

7. Enough of prosperity, desires, and pious deed. The mind did not find repose in these in the dreary forest of the world.

8. For how many births have you not done hard and painful work with body, with mind and with speech! Therefore cease at least today.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. Duties done and not done, as well as the pairs of opposites –- when do they cease and for whom? Knowing thus, be desireless and intent on renunciation through complete indifference to the world.

2. Rare indeed, my child, is that blessed person whose desire for life, enjoyment, and learning have been extinguished by observing the ways of men.

3. The wise man becomes calm by realizing that all verily is vitiated by the threefold misery and is transient, unsubstantial, and contemptible, and should be rejected.

4. What is that time or that age in which the pairs of opposites do not exist for men? One who, quitting those, is content with what comes of itself attains perfection.

5. What man is there, who having observed the diversity of opinions among the great seers, saints and yogins, and become completely indifferent to learning, does not attain quietude?

6. He who gains knowledge of the true nature of Pure Consciousness by complete indifference to the world, by equanimity, and by reasoning, and saves himself from the round of birth and rebirth, is he not really the spiritual guide?

7. Look upon the modifications of the elements as nothing in reality but the primary elements themselves and you will at once be free from bondage and abide in your true self.

8. Desires alone are the world. Do you, therefore, renounce them all. The renunciation of the desire is the renunciation of the world. Now you may live anywhere.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. It is bondage when the mind desires or grieves at anything, rejects or accepts anything, feels happy or angry at anything.

2. Liberation is attained when the mind does not desire or grieve or reject or feel happy or angry.

3. It is bondage when the mind is attached to any sense experience. It is liberation when the mind is detached from all sense experiences.

4. When there is no ‘I,’ there is liberation; when there is ‘I,’ there is bondage. Considering thus, easily refrain from accepting or rejecting anything.

Janaka said ---

1. In me, the boundless ocean, the ark of the universe moves hither and thither impelled by the wind of its own inherent nature. I am not impatient.

2. In me, the limitless ocean, let the wave of the world rise or vanish of itself. I neither increase nor decrease thereby.

3. In me, the boundless ocean, is the imagination of the universe. I am quite tranquil and formless. In this alone do I abide.

4. The Self is not in the object, nor is the object in the Self which is infinite and stainless. Thus It is free from attachment and desire, and tranquil. In this alone do I abide.

5. Oh, I am really Consciousness itself. The world is like a juggler’s show. So how and where can there be any thought of rejection and acceptance in me?

Ashtavakra said ---

1. Boundless as space am I, and the phenomenal world is like a jar; this is Knowledge. So it has neither to be renounced nor accepted nor destroyed.

2. I am like the ocean and the universe is like the wave; this is Knowledge. So it has neither to be renounced nor accepted nor destroyed.

3. I am like mother of pearl and the illusion of the universe is like silver; this is Knowledge. So it has neither to be renounced nor accepted nor destroyed.

4. I am indeed in all beings, and all beings are in me. This is Knowledge. So it has neither to be renounced nor accepted nor destroyed.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. You are free from contact with anything whatsoever. Therefore, pure as you are, what do you want to renounce? Destroy the body-complex and in this way enter into the state of dissolution.

2. The universe rises from you like bubbles rising from the sea. Thus know the Self to be One and in this way enter into the state of dissolution.

3. The universe, because it is unreal, being manifested like the snake in the rope, does not exist in you who are pure, even though it is present to the senses. Therefore in this way enter into the state of dissolution.

4. You are perfect and the same in misery and happiness, hope and despair, and life and death. Therefore in this way enter into the state of dissolution.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. Oh, the man of understanding, the knower of Self, who plays the game of life, has no similarity to the deluded beasts of burden of the world.

2. Oh, the yogindoes not feel elated abiding in that state which Indra and all other gods hanker after and thus become unhappy.

3. Surely the heart of one who has known the Self is not touched by virtue and vice, just as the sky is not touched by smoke, even though it appears to be.

4. Who can prevent that great-souled one, who has known this entire universe to be the Self alone, from acting spontaneously?

5. Of the four kinds of created beings, from Brahma down to the clump of grass, it is the wise one alone who is capable of renouncing desire and aversion.

6. Rare is the man who knows the Self as one without a second and as lord of the universe. He does what he considers worth doing and has no fear from any quarter.

Ashtavakra said ---

1. Having known yourself as really indestructible and One, how is it that you, knower of Self and serene, feel attached to the acquisition of wealth?

2. Alas, as greed arises from the illusion of silver caused by the ignorance of the mother of pearl, even so arises attachment to the objects of illusory perception from the ignorance of the Self.

3. Having known yourself to be That in which the universe appears like waves on the sea, why do you run about like a miserable being?

4. After hearing oneself to be Pure Consciousness and surpassingly beautiful, how can one yet be deeply attached to sensual objects and thus become impure?

5. It is strange that the sense of ownership should still continue in the wise one who has realized the Self in all, and all in the Self!

6. It is strange that one abiding in the supreme non-duality and intent on liberation should yet be subject to lust and weakened by the practice of amorous pastimes!

7. It is strange that knowing lust to be an enemy of Knowledge, a man who has grown extremely weak and reached his last days, should yet be eager for sensual enjoyment!

8. It is strange that one who is unattached to the objects of this world and the next, who discriminates the eternal from the transient, and who longs for emancipation, should yet fear dissolution of the body!

9. Feted and feasted or tormented, the serene person ever sees the Absolute Self and is thus neither gratified nor angry.

10. The high-souled person witnesses his own body acting as if it were another’s. As such, how can he be disturbed by praise or blame?

11. Realizing this universe as mere illusion and losing all curiosity, how can one of steady mind yet fear the approach of death?

12. With whom can we compare that great-souled one, who is content with Selfknowledge and does not hanker even after liberation?

13. Why should that steady-minded one who knows the object of perception to be in its very nature nothing, consider one thing acceptable and another unacceptable?

14. He who has given up worldly attachment from his mind, who is beyond the pairs of opposites, and who is free from desire — to him no experience coming as a matter of course causes either pleasure or pain.

Janaka said ---

1. Oh, I am spotless, tranquil, Pure Consciousness, and beyond Nature. All this time I have been mocked by illusion.

2. As I alone reveal this body, even so do I reveal this universe. Therefore mine is all this universe, or verily nothing is mine.

3. Oh, having renounced the universe together with the body, I now perceive the Supreme Self through the secret of wisdom.

4. As waves, foam and bubbles are not different from water, so the universe emanating from the Self is not different from It.

5. As cloth, when analyzed, is found to be nothing but thread, so this universe, when analyzed, is nothing but the Self.

6. Just as sugar generated in sugarcane juice is wholly pervaded by that juice, so the universe produced in Me is permeated by Me through and through.

7. The world appears from the ignorance of the Self and disappears with the knowledge of the Self, just as the snake appears from the non-cognition of the rope and disappears with its recognition.

8. Light is my very nature and I am no other than light. When the universe manifests itself, verily then it is I that shine.

9. O, the universe appears in me, conceived through ignorance, just as silver appears in the mother of pearl, a snake in the rope, and water in the sunbeam.

10. Just as a jug dissolves into clay, a wave into water, or a bracelet into gold, so the universe which has emanated from me will dissolve into me.

11. Wonderful am I! Adoration to myself who know no decay and survive even the destruction of the world, from Brahma down to a clump of grass.

12. Wonderful am I! Adoration to myself who, though with a body, am One, who neither go anywhere nor come from anywhere but abide pervading the universe.

13. Wonderful am I! Adoration to myself! There is none so capable as I, who am bearing the universe for all eternity without touching it with the body.

14. Wonderful am I! Adoration to myself who have nothing or have all that is thought and spoken of.

15. Knowledge, knower and the knowable –- these three do not exist in reality. I am that stainless Self in which this triad appears through ignorance.

16. Oh, the root of misery is duality. There is no other remedy for it except the realization that all objects of experience are unreal and that I am pure, One, Consciousness, and Bliss.

17. I am pure Consciousness. Through ignorance I have imposed limitations upon myself. Constantly reflecting in this way, I am abiding in the Absolute.

18. I have neither bondage nor freedom. Having lost its support, the illusion has ceased. Oh, the universe, though existing in me, does not in reality so exist.

19. I have known for certain that the body and the universe are nothing and that the Atman is Pure Consciousness alone. So on what is it now possible to base imagination?

20. Body, heaven and hell, bondage and freedom, as also fear, all these are mere imagination. What have I to do with all these—I whose nature is Pure Consciousness?

21. Oh, I do not find any duality. Even the multitude of human beings, therefore, has become like a wilderness. To what should I attach myself?

22. I am not this body, nor have I a body. I am not Jiva, I am Pure Consciousness. This indeed was my bondage that I had thirst for life.

23. Oh, in me, the limitless ocean, on the rising of the wind of the mind, diverse waves of worlds are produced forthwith.

24. With the calming of the wind of the mind in the infinite ocean of myself, the ark of the universe, unfortunately for Jiva, the trader, meets destruction.

25. How wonderful! In me, the shoreless ocean, the waves of individual selves, according to their nature, rise, strike each other, play for a time and disappear.

Janaka said ---

1. How can knowledge be acquired? How can liberation be attained? How is renunciation possible? --- Tell me this, O Lord.

Ashtavakra said --

2. If you aspire after liberation, my child, shun the objects of the senses as poison and seek forgiveness, sincerity, kindness, contentment and truth as nectar.

3. You are neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor space. In order to attain liberation, know the Self as the witness of all these and as Consciousness itself.

4. If you detach yourself from the body and rest in Consciousness, you will at once be happy, peaceful and free from bondage.

5. You do not belong to the Brahmana or any other caste or to any ashrama. You are not perceived by the senses. Unattached, formless and witness of all are you. Be happy.

6. Virtue and vice, pleasure and pain, are of the mind, not of you, O Allpervading One. You are neither doer nor enjoyer. Verily you are ever free.

7. You are the one seer of all and are really ever free. Verily this alone is your bondage that you see yourself not as the seer but as something other.

8. Do you who have been bitten by the great black serpent of the egoism “I am the doer,” drink the nectar of the faith “I am not the doer,” and be happy.

9. Burn down the forest of ignorance with the fire of conviction, “I am the One, and Pure Consciousness,” and be free from grief and be happy.

10. You are that Consciousness, Bliss – Supreme Bliss, in and upon which this universe appears superimposed, like a snake on a rope. Live happily.

11. He who considers himself free is free indeed and one who considers himself bound remains bound. “As one thinks, so one becomes,” is a popular saying in this world, and it is quite true.

12. The Self is witness, all-pervading, perfect, One, free, Consciousness, actionless, unattached, desireless and quiet. Through illusion It appears as if It is of the world (i.e. subject to the ever-repeating cycle of birth and death).

13. Having given up external and internal self-modifications and the illusion “I am the reflected (individual) self”, meditate on the Atman as immutable, Consciousness, and non-dual.

14. My child, you have long been caught in the noose of body-consciousness. Sever it with the sword of the knowledge “I am Consciousness” and be happy.

15. You are unattached, actionless, self-effulgent and without any blemish. This indeed is your bondage that you practise meditation.

16. You pervade this universe and this universe exists in you. You are really Pure Consciousness. Do not be small-minded.

17. You are unconditioned, immutable, formless, of cool disposition, of unfathomable intelligence and unperturbed. Desire Consciousness alone.

18. Know that which has form to be unreal and the formless to be permanent. Through this spiritual instruction you will escape the possibility of rebirth.

19. Just as a mirror exists within and without the image reflected in it, so the Supreme Self exists inside and outside this body.

20. As the same all pervading space is inside and outside a jar, so the eternal allpervasive Brahman exists in all things.

However, as can be seen from the following quote, Bhagavan Ramana said that there is no time involved at all in Self-Knowledge.

“…. When I entered the hall the story of how the Ashtavakra Gita came to be taught was being recounted in English for the benefit of the above Raja and other visitors. After the story was read out, Bhagavan said, ‘Because Brahma Jnana is not something external, which is somewhere faraway where you can go and get it, you cannot say that it will take so long or so short a time to attain it. It is always with you. . . . All that is necessary is to surrender yourself completely to the Guru, to surrender your notion of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ ….”

Devaraja Mudaliar in Day by Day with Bhagavan, dated 31.3.1945 (Afternoon)
Of course, that is what King Janaka did. He surrendered his notion of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ to Sage Ashtavakra. Has not Bhagavan said that surrender and Self-enquiry are the only two ways to Self-Realisation?

Bhagavan has also made other references to this great book.

Sri Ramakrishna persuaded Narendra to read ‘Ashtavakra Gita’ which had a stupendous impact on the young devotee who later flowered into Swami Vivekananda, the doughty Advaitic evangelist.

The present upload of this Gita is in Sanskrit, English and Tamil in sound and script. The Sanskrit script is in Bhagavan’s own handwriting cut out from an Archival Publication of the Ashram.

Note on Texts of Ashtavakra Gita

Sanskrit – Text: In the Handwriting of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
Tamil – Translation: By Sri Viswanatha Swami
English – Translation based on: 1. Swamy Nithya Swarupananda, John Richards, Hari Prasad Shastri