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Forty-one verses of the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā arranged by the station of the circuit each one speaks from, rather than by chapter order.
Forty-one verses of the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā, grouped by the station of the circuit each one speaks from rather than by chapter order. Sanskrit, transliteration and English for each. The full module is at the chapter.
कथं ज्ञानमवाप्नोति कथं मुक्तिर्भविष्यति । वैराग्यं च कथं प्राप्तमेतद् ब्रूहि मम प्रभो
kathaṃ jñānamavāpnoti kathaṃ muktirbhaviṣyati | vairāgyaṃ ca kathaṃ prāptametad brūhi mama prabho
How is knowledge gained? How does liberation come? How is dispassion reached? Tell me this, my lord.
The site’s root question in royal dress — three doors named in one breath. Everything after is the answer dismantling the asker’s ground.
मुक्तिमिच्छसि चेत्तात विषयान् विषवत्त्यज । क्षमार्जवदयातोषसत्यं पीयूषवद् भज
muktimicchasi cettāta viṣayān viṣavattyaja | kṣamārjavadayātoṣasatyaṃ pīyūṣavad bhaja
If it is freedom you want, my son, spit out the objects of sense like poison — and take up forgiveness, sincerity, kindness, contentment and truth, like nectar.
The one ethical verse, standing at the gate. The text is not ethics-free; it puts the whole of ethics into a single line, and then walks past it.
न पृथ्वी न जलं नाग्निर्न वायुर्द्यौर्न वा भवान् । एषां साक्षिणमात्मानं चिद्रूपं विद्धि मुक्तये
na pṛthvī na jalaṃ nāgnirna vāyurdyaurna vā bhavān | eṣāṃ sākṣiṇamātmānaṃ cidrūpaṃ viddhi muktaye
You are not earth, not water, not fire, not air — not even space. To be free, know yourself as the witness of all these: awareness itself.
The five-element ladder — the whole Tattva page — refused in one verse. Not denied: witnessed.
यदि देहं पृथक् कृत्य चिति विश्राम्य तिष्ठसि । अधुनैव सुखी शान्तो बन्धमुक्तो भविष्यसि
yadi dehaṃ pṛthak kṛtya citi viśrāmya tiṣṭhasi | adhunaiva sukhī śānto bandhamukto bhaviṣyasi
Set the body apart, rest in awareness — and this very moment you are happy, at peace, unbound.
Adhunaiva — “even now.” Liberation with no schedule attached.
धर्माधर्मौ सुखं दुःखं मानसानि न ते विभो । न कर्तासि न भोक्तासि मुक्त एवासि सर्वदा
dharmādharmau sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ mānasāni na te vibho | na kartāsi na bhoktāsi mukta evāsi sarvadā
Right and wrong, pleasure and pain belong to the mind — not to you. You are not the doer, not the reaper. You have always been free.
Doer and reaper resign together. What remains of a chart, a duty, a debt, when their owner was never appointed?
एको द्रष्टासि सर्वस्य मुक्तप्रायोऽसि सर्वदा । अयमेव हि ते बन्धो द्रष्टारं पश्यसीतरम्
eko draṣṭāsi sarvasya muktaprāyo’si sarvadā | ayameva hi te bandho draṣṭāraṃ paśyasītaram
You are the one witness of all that appears, and in truth always free. Your only bondage: you take the witness to be someone else.
The whole diagnosis in two lines — a case of mistaken identity, not a condition.
मुक्ताभिमानी मुक्तो हि बद्धो बद्धाभिमान्यपि । किंवदन्तीह सत्येयं या मतिः सा गतिर्भवेत्
muktābhimānī mukto hi baddho baddhābhimānyapi | kiṃvadantīha satyeyaṃ yā matiḥ sā gatirbhavet
Held free, one is free; held bound, bound. As one thinks, so one becomes — the old saying is true here.
Bondage as belief. The trap and the door are the same thought, differently held.
आत्मा साक्षी विभुः पूर्ण एको मुक्तश्चिदक्रियः । असङ्गो निःस्पृहः शान्तो भ्रमात्संसारवानिव
ātmā sākṣī vibhuḥ pūrṇa eko muktaścidakriyaḥ | asaṅgo niḥspṛhaḥ śānto bhramātsaṃsāravāniva
The self: witness, all-pervading, complete, one, free, aware, actionless, alone, desireless, still. Through confusion it seems tangled in a world.
Ten adjectives, one subject — the summit stated as plain inventory.
निःसङ्गो निष्क्रियोऽसि त्वं स्वप्रकाशो निरञ्जनः । अयमेव हि ते बन्धः समाधिमनुतिष्ठसि
niḥsaṅgo niṣkriyo’si tvaṃ svaprakāśo nirañjanaḥ | ayameva hi te bandhaḥ samādhimanutiṣṭhasi
You are unbound, actionless, self-luminous, already spotless. That you still practise stilling yourself — this is your bondage.
The counter-verse to every method, this site’s Yoga page included. Practice belongs to the one who still believes the practicer.
यथैवादर्शमध्यस्थे रूपेऽन्तः परितस्तु सः । तथैवाऽस्मिन् शरीरेऽन्तः परितः परमेश्वरः
yathaivādarśamadhyasthe rūpe’ntaḥ paritastu saḥ | tathaivā’smin śarīre’ntaḥ paritaḥ parameśvaraḥ
As a mirror is within and without the image it holds, the supreme self is within and without this body.
The mirror figure: the body appears in you; you do not appear in it.
यथा न तोयतो भिन्नास्तरङ्गाः फेनबुद्।ह्बुदाः । आत्मनो न तथा भिन्नं विश्वमात्मविनिर्गतम्
yathā na toyato bhinnāstaraṅgāḥ phenabud|hbudāḥ | ātmano na tathā bhinnaṃ viśvamātmavinirgatam
Waves, foam and bubbles are nothing but water. So this universe, streaming out of the self, is nothing but the self.
यथैवेक्षुरसे क्लृप्ता तेन व्याप्तैव शर्करा । तथा विश्वं मयि क्लृप्तं मया व्याप्तं निरन्तरम्
yathaivekṣurase klṛptā tena vyāptaiva śarkarā | tathā viśvaṃ mayi klṛptaṃ mayā vyāptaṃ nirantaram
Examine cloth and you find thread; examine the world and you find the self.
Janaka’s own images, minted in the first hour of seeing.
अहो भुवनकल्लोलैर्विचित्रैर्द्राक् समुत्थितम् । मय्यनन्तमहाम्भोधौ चित्तवाते समुद्यते
aho bhuvanakallolairvicitrairdrāk samutthitam | mayyanantamahāmbhodhau cittavāte samudyate
In me, the shoreless ocean, the wind of the mind rises — and a thousand worlds ripple into being.
Hiraṇyagarbha in the first person. The egg page, spoken from inside.
मय्यनन्तमहाम्भोधावाश्चर्यं जीववीचयः । उद्यन्ति घ्नन्ति खेलन्ति प्रविशन्ति स्वभावतः
mayyanantamahāmbhodhāvāścaryaṃ jīvavīcayaḥ | udyanti ghnanti khelanti praviśanti svabhāvataḥ
In me, the shoreless ocean, the waves of beings rise, strike one another, play, and subside. What a wonder.
आत्मैवेदं जगत्सर्वं ज्ञातं येन महात्मना । यदृच्छया वर्तमानं तं निषेद्धुं क्षमेत कः
ātmaivedaṃ jagatsarvaṃ jñātaṃ yena mahātmanā | yadṛcchayā vartamānaṃ taṃ niṣeddhuṃ kṣameta kaḥ
He who has known this whole world as himself — who could stop him from living just as it comes?
Engaged non-dualism in one line. The king who says it keeps the kingdom.
न ते सङ्गोऽस्ति केनापि किं शुद्धस्त्यक्तुमिच्छसि । सङ्घातविलयं कुर्वन्नेवमेव लयं व्रज
na te saṅgo’sti kenāpi kiṃ śuddhastyaktumicchasi | saṅghātavilayaṃ kurvannevameva layaṃ vraja
You touch nothing; you are pure. What is there for you to renounce? Let the whole complex go — and dissolve into your rest.
Even renunciation is caught renouncing.
तदा बन्धो यदा चित्तं किञ्चिद् वाञ्छति शोचति । किञ्चिन् मुञ्चति गृह्णाति किञ्चिद्धृष्यति कुप्यति
tadā bandho yadā cittaṃ kiñcid vāñchati śocati | kiñcin muñcati gṛhṇāti kiñciddhṛṣyati kupyati
Bondage is the mind wanting, grieving, grasping, rejecting — pleased at this, displeased at that.
तदा मुक्तिर्यदा चित्तं न वाञ्छति न शोचति । न मुञ्चति न गृह्णाति न हृष्यति न कुप्यति
tadā muktiryadā cittaṃ na vāñchati na śocati | na muñcati na gṛhṇāti na hṛṣyati na kupyati
Freedom is the mind not wanting, not grieving, not grasping, not rejecting — pleased by nothing, displeased by nothing.
Chapter 8 is four verses long: the shortest complete definition of the whole matter in the literature.
यदा नाहं तदा मोक्षो यदाहं बन्धनं तदा । मत्वेति हेलया किञ्चिन्मा गृहाण विमुञ्च मा
yadā nāhaṃ tadā mokṣo yadāhaṃ bandhanaṃ tadā | matveti helayā kiñcinmā gṛhāṇa vimuñca mā
Where there is “me”, bondage. Where “me” is not, freedom. Knowing this, take nothing, refuse nothing.
कृताकृते च द्वन्द्वानि कदा शान्तानि कस्य वा । एवं ज्ञात्वेह निर्वेदाद् भव त्यागपरोऽव्रती
kṛtākṛte ca dvandvāni kadā śāntāni kasya vā | evaṃ jñātveha nirvedād bhava tyāgaparo’vratī
Done and undone — for whom do these pairs cease, and when? Watching this, be given wholly, through dispassion, to letting go.
विहाय वैरिणं काममर्थं चानर्थसङ्कुलम् । धर्ममप्येतयोर्हेतुं सर्वत्रानादरं कुरु
vihāya vairiṇaṃ kāmamarthaṃ cānarthasaṅkulam | dharmamapyetayorhetuṃ sarvatrānādaraṃ kuru
Desire, the enemy — and gain, its twin — and the good works that feed them both: look on all of it with indifference.
तृष्णामात्रात्मको बन्धस्तन्नाशो मोक्ष उच्यते । भवासंसक्तिमात्रेण प्राप्तितुष्टिर्मुहुर्मुहुः
tṛṣṇāmātrātmako bandhastannāśo mokṣa ucyate | bhavāsaṃsaktimātreṇa prāptituṣṭirmuhurmuhuḥ
Bondage is nothing but desire; its ending is called liberation. Only non-clinging reaches the unending joy.
The exit-trap named without decoration: not desire for things — desire itself, liberation included.
राज्यं सुताः कलत्राणि शरीराणि सुखानि च । संसक्तस्यापि नष्टानि तव जन्मनि जन्मनि
rājyaṃ sutāḥ kalatrāṇi śarīrāṇi sukhāni ca | saṃsaktasyāpi naṣṭāni tava janmani janmani
Kingdoms, sons, wives, bodies, pleasures — lost, life after life, though you clung to them.
भावाभावविकारश्च स्वभावादिति निश्चयी । निर्विकारो गतक्लेशः सुखेनैवोपशाम्यति
bhāvābhāvavikāraśca svabhāvāditi niścayī | nirvikāro gatakleśaḥ sukhenaivopaśāmyati
Being, becoming, change — this is the nature of things. Knowing it, undisturbed and painless, one rests easily.
कायकृत्यासहः पूर्वं ततो वाग्विस्तरासहः । अथ चिन्तासहस्तस्माद् एवमेवाहमास्थितः
kāyakṛtyāsahaḥ pūrvaṃ tato vāgvistarāsahaḥ | atha cintāsahastasmād evamevāhamāsthitaḥ
First intolerant of action, then of speech, then of thought itself — so, verily, I remain.
Janaka reporting the dissolution in real time: three subtractions, one remainder.
सुखादिरूपा नियमं भावेष्वालोक्य भूरिशः । शुभाशुभे विहायास्मादहमासे यथासुखम्
sukhādirūpā niyamaṃ bhāveṣvālokya bhūriśaḥ | śubhāśubhe vihāyāsmādahamāse yathāsukham
What comes, let it come; what goes, let it go. Happiness that leans on neither.
विश्वं स्फुरति यत्रेदं तरङ्गा इव सागरे । तत्त्वमेव न सन्देहश्चिन्मूर्ते विज्वरो भव
viśvaṃ sphurati yatredaṃ taraṅgā iva sāgare | tattvameva na sandehaścinmūrte vijvaro bhava
You are the awareness in which worlds rise like waves at sea. You are that. Be free of the fever.
भोगं कर्म समाधिं वा कुरु विज्ञ तथापि ते । चित्तं निरस्तसर्वाशमत्यर्थं रोचयिष्यति
bhogaṃ karma samādhiṃ vā kuru vijña tathāpi te | cittaṃ nirastasarvāśamatyarthaṃ rocayiṣyati
Enjoy, work, meditate — still the mind will long for what is beyond every object, where all wanting ends.
यस्याभिमानो मोक्षेऽपि देहेऽपि ममता तथा । न च ज्ञानी न वा योगी केवलं दुःखभागसौ
yasyābhimāno mokṣe’pi dehe’pi mamatā tathā | na ca jñānī na vā yogī kevalaṃ duḥkhabhāgasau
One proud even of liberation, proud of his own body, counting them “mine” — he is no knower, no yogi. He only suffers.
The guardrail verse. Enlightenment claimed as a possession is listed with the other possessions.
हरो यद्युपदेष्टा ते हरिः कमलजोऽपि वा । तथापि न तव स्वाथ्यं सर्वविस्मरणादृते
haro yadyupadeṣṭā te hariḥ kamalajo’pi vā | tathāpi na tava svāthyaṃ sarvavismaraṇādṛte
Though Śiva himself should teach you — until it is all forgotten, there is no standing within.
कृत्यं किमपि नैवास्ति न कापि हृदि रञ्जना । यथा जीवनमेवेह जीवन्मुक्तस्य योगिनः
kṛtyaṃ kimapi naivāsti na kāpi hṛdi rañjanā | yathā jīvanameveha jīvanmuktasya yoginaḥ
For the free one there is no duty left and no desire left — nothing, anywhere, taken to heart.
येन दृष्टं परं ब्रह्म सोऽहं ब्रह्मेति चिन्तयेत् । किं चिन्तयति निश्चिन्तो द्वितीयं यो न पश्यति
yena dṛṣṭaṃ paraṃ brahma so’haṃ brahmeti cintayet | kiṃ cintayati niścinto dvitīyaṃ yo na paśyati
Seeing there is only one, without a second — on whom should he meditate?
क्व संसारः क्व चाभासः क्व साध्यं क्व च साधनम् । आकाशस्येव धीरस्य निर्विकल्पस्य सर्वदा
kva saṃsāraḥ kva cābhāsaḥ kva sādhyaṃ kva ca sādhanam | ākāśasyeva dhīrasya nirvikalpasya sarvadā
No world for him, no “I”, no goal, no way toward a goal — and he lacks nothing.
बहुनात्र किमुक्तेन ज्ञाततत्त्वो महाशयः । भोगमोक्षनिराकाङ्क्षी सदा सर्वत्र नीरसः
bahunātra kimuktena jñātatattvo mahāśayaḥ | bhogamokṣanirākāṅkṣī sadā sarvatra nīrasaḥ
Great-souled: wanting neither pleasure nor liberation itself; through all times, in every place, free of clinging.
स्फुरतोऽनन्तरूपेण प्रकृतिं च न पश्यतः । क्व बन्धः क्व च वा मोक्षः क्व हर्षः क्व विषादिता
sphurato’nantarūpeṇa prakṛtiṃ ca na paśyataḥ | kva bandhaḥ kva ca vā mokṣaḥ kva harṣaḥ kva viṣāditā
Lit with the radiance of the infinite: for him no bondage, no liberation, no pleasure, no pain.
न स्वर्गो नैव नरको जीवन्मुक्तिर्न चैव हि । बहुनात्र किमुक्तेन योगदृष्ट्या न किञ्चन
na svargo naiva narako jīvanmuktirna caiva hi | bahunātra kimuktena yogadṛṣṭyā na kiñcana
For him no heaven, no hell, not even freedom-in-life. In the seer’s seeing, nothing at all remains.
न सुखी न च वा दुःखी न विरक्तो न सङ्गवान् । न मुमुक्षुर्न वा मुक्ता न किञ्चिन्न च किञ्चन
na sukhī na ca vā duḥkhī na virakto na saṅgavān | na mumukṣurna vā muktā na kiñcinna ca kiñcana
Not happy, not unhappy; not detached, not attached; not liberated, not seeking it. Neither something nor nothing.
क्व लोकं क्व मुमुक्षुर्वा क्व योगी ज्ञानवान् क्व वा । क्व बद्धः क्व च वा मुक्तः स्वस्वरूपेऽहमद्वये
kva lokaṃ kva mumukṣurvā kva yogī jñānavān kva vā | kva baddhaḥ kva ca vā muktaḥ svasvarūpe’hamadvaye
Where is a world, where a seeker of freedom? Where a contemplative, where a knower? Where anyone bound, where anyone free? — I am one, without stain.
The station this site calls “no seeker, no door”, in the text’s own grammar: kva — “where is…?” — asked until nothing answers.
क्व प्रवृत्तिर्निर्वृत्तिर्वा क्व मुक्तिः क्व च बन्धनम् । कूटस्थनिर्विभागस्य स्वस्थस्य मम सर्वदा
kva pravṛttirnirvṛttirvā kva muktiḥ kva ca bandhanam | kūṭasthanirvibhāgasya svasthasya mama sarvadā
Where is action or inaction, where liberation, where bondage — for me, standing single, forever?
क्वोपदेशः क्व वा शास्त्रं क्व शिष्यः क्व च वा गुरुः । क्व चास्ति पुरुषार्थो वा निरुपाधेः शिवस्य मे
kvopadeśaḥ kva vā śāstraṃ kva śiṣyaḥ kva ca vā guruḥ | kva cāsti puruṣārtho vā nirupādheḥ śivasya me
Where is instruction, where scripture? Where a student, where a teacher? Where any goal of life — for me, stainless, at rest?
The text dissolves its own genre: the dialogue erases teacher, student, and itself.
क्व चास्ति क्व च वा नास्ति क्वास्ति चैकं क्व च द्वयम् । बहुनात्र किमुक्तेन किञ्चिन्नोत्तिष्ठते मम
kva cāsti kva ca vā nāsti kvāsti caikaṃ kva ca dvayam | bahunātra kimuktena kiñcinnottiṣṭhate mama
Being? Non-being? One? Two? What more is there to say — nothing at all arises out of me. I am.
The last verse spends its last words on why there are no more words. Compare the Nāsadīya’s yadi vā na veda: there the question survives the summit; here the asker does not.
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