संत साहित्य · Aṣṭāvakra · Verse by verse
Chapter 1 — Instruction on Self-Realization
Verse by verse
जनक उवाच॥
कथं ज्ञानमवाप्नोति कथं मुक्तिर्भविष्यति।
वैराग्यं च कथं प्राप्तं एतद् ब्रूहि मम प्रभो॥१- १॥
janaka uvāca||
katham jñānamavāpnoti katham muktirbhaviṣyati|
vairāgyam ca katham prāptam etad brūhi mama prabho||1- 1||
Janaka said: "How does one attain knowledge? How will liberation come about? And how is dispassion (vairāgya) attained? Tell me this, my lord."
Janaka opens by asking for the three things a seeker assumes must be acquired: knowledge, liberation (mokṣa), and dispassion (vairāgya) — as if they were prizes to be won from outside.
When you feel you need to "get" enlightened or "become" free, notice that very assumption — you're about to see it's backwards.
अष्टावक्र उवाच॥
मुक्तिं इच्छसि चेत्तात विषयान् विषवत्त्यज।
क्षमार्जवदयातोषसत्यं पीयूषवद् भज॥१- २॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca||
muktim icchasi cettāta viṣayān viṣavattyaja|
kṣamārjavadayātoṣasatyam pīyūṣavad bhaja||1- 2||
Aṣṭāvakra said: "My child, if you wish for liberation, cast away the sense-objects like poison; cultivate forgiveness, integrity, compassion, contentment, and truth like nectar."
Aṣṭāvakra begins on the practical, ethical level — treat craving for objects as poison and treat the virtues (patience, honesty, kindness, contentment, truth) as nectar — before the teaching turns to the deeper, non-dual point.
Today, when a craving for something pulls at you, silently name it "poison" for a moment and see if the pull loosens.
न पृथ्वी न जलं नाग्निर्न वायुर्द्यौर्न वा भवान्।
एषां साक्षिणमात्मानं चिद्रूपं विद्धि मुक्तये॥१- ३॥
na pṛthvī na jalam nāgnirna vāyurdyaurna vā bhavān|
eṣām sākṣiṇamātmānam cidrūpam viddhi muktaye||1- 3||
"You are not earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor even sky. For liberation, know yourself as the witness (sākṣī) of all these, of the nature of pure consciousness (cit)."
The five elements that make up the body and the world are objects you perceive; you are the awareness (cit) in which they appear, not one more thing among them.
Next time you catalogue your body — "I'm tired," "I'm cold" — ask who is noticing the tiredness, and start there instead.
यदि देहं पृथक् कृत्य चिति विश्राम्य तिष्ठसि।
अधुनैव सुखी शान्तो बन्धमुक्तो भविष्यसि॥१- ४॥
yadi deham pṛthak kṛtya citi viśrāmya tiṣṭhasi|
adhunaiva sukhī śānto bandhamukto bhaviṣyasi||1- 4||
"If you set the body apart and rest in awareness (cit), this very moment you will become happy, peaceful, and free from bondage."
Freedom is not a future attainment — the instant attention stops identifying with the body and rests as awareness itself, bondage is already over.
Right now, for one breath, stop being "your" tired body and just be the noticing — feel how nothing needs to change first.
न त्वं विप्रादिको वर्णो नाश्रमी नाक्षगोचरः।
असङ्गोऽसि निराकारो विश्वसाक्षी सुखी भव॥१- ५॥
na tvam viprādiko varṇo nāśramī nākṣagocaraḥ|
asaṅgo'si nirākāro viśvasākṣī sukhī bhava||1- 5||
"You are not a class (varṇa) such as brahmin, not bound to a stage of life (āśrama), not an object of the senses. You are unattached, formless, the witness of the whole universe — be happy."
Every social and bodily label — caste, stage of life, sensory description — is something seen; awareness itself carries none of these, it simply witnesses (viśvasākṣī) the world.
Try dropping one label you use for yourself today — "I'm the busy one," "I'm the caretaker" — and notice what's still there underneath it.
धर्माधर्मौ सुखं दुःखं मानसानि न ते विभो।
न कर्तासि न भोक्तासि मुक्त एवासि सर्वदा॥१- ६॥
dharmādharmau sukham duḥkham mānasāni na te vibho|
na kartāsi na bhoktāsi mukta evāsi sarvadā||1- 6||
"Merit and demerit (dharma/adharma), pleasure and pain — these belong to the mind, not to you, O all-pervading one. You are not the doer, not the experiencer; you are always free."
Moral ledger-keeping and emotional highs and lows happen in the mind; the awareness that watches them was never the one doing or suffering them, so it was never actually bound.
When guilt or pride about something you did arises, remember: the mind did the accounting — you were only ever the witness of it.
एको द्रष्टासि सर्वस्य मुक्तप्रायोऽसि सर्वदा।
अयमेव हि ते बन्धो द्रष्टारं पश्यसीतरम्॥१- ७॥
eko draṣṭāsi sarvasya muktaprāyo'si sarvadā|
ayameva hi te bandho draṣṭāram paśyasītaram||1- 7||
You are the one seer of all, and always essentially free. This alone is your bondage: that you see the seer as something other than yourself.
The whole problem is one case of mistaken identity: awareness (draṣṭā, the seer) taking itself to be one of the things it watches.
Next time you say "I'm anxious," notice who observed the anxiety — and try being the observer rather than the observed.
अहं कर्तेत्यहंमानमहाकृष्णाहिदंशितः।
नाहं कर्तेति विश्वासामृतं पीत्वा सुखी भव॥१- ८॥
aham kartetyahammānamahākṛṣṇāhidamśitaḥ|
nāham karteti viśvāsāmṛtam pītvā sukhī bhava||1- 8||
"Bitten by the great black serpent of the pride 'I am the doer,' drink the nectar of trust in 'I am not the doer,' and be happy."
The poisonous bite is the ego-claim of authorship over action (ahaṃkāra); the antidote is the conviction that the true self does not act — action happens, awareness only witnesses it.
After you finish a task today, silently drop the sentence "I did that" and just notice the doing happened, on its own.
एको विशुद्धबोधोऽहं इति निश्चयवह्निना।
प्रज्वाल्याज्ञानगहनं वीतशोकः सुखी भव॥१- ९॥
eko viśuddhabodho'ham iti niścayavahninā|
prajvālyājñānagahanam vītaśokaḥ sukhī bhava||1- 9||
"'I am the one pure awareness (viśuddha bodha)' — with the fire of this certainty, burn away the thicket of ignorance; freed from grief, be happy."
Ignorance is pictured as a tangled forest; the single conviction "I am pure awareness" is enough fire to consume the whole thicket at once, not clear it strand by strand.
When a knot of anxious thoughts tangles you, don't untangle each strand — remember plainly "I am the awareness watching this," and let the whole knot burn.
यत्र विश्वमिदं भाति कल्पितं रज्जुसर्पवत्।
आनन्दपरमानन्दः स बोधस्त्वं सुखं भव॥१- १०॥
yatra viśvamidam bhāti kalpitam rajjusarpavat|
ānandaparamānandaḥ sa bodhastvam sukham bhava||1- 10||
"That in which this whole universe appears — imagined, like a snake mistaken on a rope — is awareness itself, supreme bliss. You are that; be happy."
Using the classic rope-snake illusion, the world is shown to be an appearance superimposed on awareness the way a snake is superimposed on a rope in dim light; the ground beneath the appearance is bliss itself, and that ground is you.
When a fear feels utterly real, ask "what am I mistaking for a snake here?" — and look for the plain rope underneath.
मुक्ताभिमानी मुक्तो हि बद्धो बद्धाभिमान्यपि।
किंवदन्तीह सत्येयं या मतिः सा गतिर्भवेत्॥१- ११॥
muktābhimānī mukto hi baddho baddhābhimānyapi|
kimvadantīha satyeyam yā matiḥ sā gatirbhavet||1- 11||
"One who believes himself free is indeed free; one who believes himself bound is indeed bound. This saying is true: as the conviction, so the outcome."
Bondage and freedom are not external facts but a matter of self-conception (abhimāna) — whichever one you hold as true becomes your lived reality.
Catch yourself the next time you say "I can't" — ask whether that's a fact, or just a conviction you've been rehearsing.
आत्मा साक्षी विभुः पूर्ण एको मुक्तश्चिदक्रियः।
असंगो निःस्पृहः शान्तो भ्रमात्संसारवानिव॥१- १२॥
ātmā sākṣī vibhuḥ pūrṇa eko muktaścidakriyaḥ|
asamgo niḥspṛhaḥ śānto bhramātsamsāravāniva||1- 12||
"The self is the witness, all-pervading, complete, one, liberated, pure consciousness, inactive, unattached, free of longing, and at peace; it only appears, through delusion, to be caught up in the cycle of worldly existence (saṃsāra)."
A dense list of the self's true attributes is given, followed by the key move — saṃsāra, the sense of being an entangled participant in the world, is not a real condition of the self but an illusion laid over it.
When you feel trapped by circumstances, ask what part of you could possibly be "trapped" — the peace underneath was never touched.
कूटस्थं बोधमद्वैतमात्मानं परिभावय।
आभासोऽहं भ्रमं मुक्त्वा भावं बाह्यमथान्तरम्॥१- १३॥
kūṭastham bodhamadvaitamātmānam paribhāvaya|
ābhāso'ham bhramam muktvā bhāvam bāhyamathāntaram||1- 13||
"Meditate on the self as the unchanging, non-dual awareness (kūṭastha bodha). Give up the delusion 'I am this appearance,' whether that idea concerns the outer world or the inner mind."
Both the outer world and the inner mental life — thoughts, feelings — are "appearances" (ābhāsa); the practice is to stop identifying with either and rest in the changeless awareness underneath both.
Whether it's an outer event or an inner mood bothering you, silently note "that's an appearance," and feel the steadiness that doesn't move with it.
देहाभिमानपाशेन चिरं बद्धोऽसि पुत्रक।
बोधोऽहं ज्ञानखड्गेन तःनिकृत्य सुखी भव॥१- १४॥
dehābhimānapāśena ciram baddho'si putraka|
bodho'ham jñānakhaḍgena taḥnikṛtya sukhī bhava||1- 14||
"For a long time, my child, you have been bound by the rope of taking yourself to be the body. Cut it with the sword of the knowledge 'I am awareness,' and be happy."
Body-identification is pictured as a literal binding rope; the single insight "I am awareness, not this body" acts as a sword sharp enough to sever it in one stroke.
When your mood is hostage to how your body feels today, say inwardly "I am not this body," and see if the hostage-taking loosens.
निःसंगो निष्क्रियोऽसि त्वं स्वप्रकाशो निरंजनः।
अयमेव हि ते बन्धः समाधिमनुतिष्ठति॥१- १५॥
niḥsamgo niṣkriyo'si tvam svaprakāśo niramjanaḥ|
ayameva hi te bandhaḥ samādhimanutiṣṭhati||1- 15||
"You are unattached, actionless, self-luminous, stainless. This alone is your bondage — that you keep practicing meditative absorption (samādhi, as though it were a goal to reach)."
Even the spiritual discipline of samādhi becomes a subtle bondage if pursued as an achievement, since it implies you are not already the free awareness you're seeking.
If you're straining to "get" a peaceful state through practice, pause — notice the peace that doesn't need to be produced.
त्वया व्याप्तमिदं विश्वं त्वयि प्रोतं यथार्थतः।
शुद्धबुद्धस्वरूपस्त्वं मा गमः क्षुद्रचित्तताम्॥१- १६॥
tvayā vyāptamidam viśvam tvayi protam yathārthataḥ|
śuddhabuddhasvarūpastvam mā gamaḥ kṣudracittatām||1- 16||
"This universe is pervaded by you; it is truly strung upon you, like beads on a thread. Your nature is pure, awakened consciousness — do not descend into a petty, narrow mind."
The world's dependence on awareness is likened to beads strung on a single thread; recognizing your true scale as that pervading thread, don't shrink yourself down to the size of one small bead — the body-mind.
When a small worry makes your world feel tiny, remember you're the thread the whole day's beads are strung on, not just one bead.
निरपेक्षो निर्विकारो निर्भरः शीतलाशयः।
अगाधबुद्धिरक्षुब्धो भव चिन्मात्रवासनः॥१- १७॥
nirapekṣo nirvikāro nirbharaḥ śītalāśayaḥ|
agādhabuddhirakṣubdho bhava cinmātravāsanaḥ||1- 17||
"Be free of expectation, unchanging, self-sufficient, cool-minded, of unfathomable understanding, unperturbed, with your longing directed only toward pure consciousness (cinmātra)."
A description of the settled sage — every craving that used to scatter toward objects is now gathered into a single "longing" for nothing but awareness itself, which paradoxically ends longing altogether.
When you notice yourself wanting many small things today, try redirecting that same wanting toward simply being present.
साकारमनृतं विद्धि निराकारं तु निश्चलं।
एतत्तत्त्वोपदेशेन न पुनर्भवसंभवः॥१- १८॥
sākāramanṛtam viddhi nirākāram tu niścalam|
etattattvopadeśena na punarbhavasambhavaḥ||1- 18||
"Know whatever has form to be unreal, and the formless alone to be unchanging. Through this teaching of the truth, there is no more falling back into rebirth."
Anything with shape or attributes — bodies, objects, even mental states — is impermanent and therefore not ultimately real; only the formless awareness endures, and grasping this fully ends the cycle of becoming.
When you're gripped by how something looks or how it's "supposed" to be, remember form itself is passing — rest in what has no shape.
यथैवादर्शमध्यस्थे रूपेऽन्तः परितस्तु सः।
तथैवाऽस्मिन् शरीरेऽन्तः परितः परमेश्वरः॥१- १९॥
yathaivādarśamadhyasthe rūpe'ntaḥ paritastu saḥ|
tathaivā'smin śarīre'ntaḥ paritaḥ parameśvaraḥ||1- 19||
"Just as, within a mirror set before us, there is a reflected image, and the mirror itself is present both within it and all around — so too, within and all around this body, is the Supreme (parameśvara)."
A reflection in a mirror seems to be "in" the mirror, but the mirror's own presence pervades inside and outside the image equally; likewise the Supreme is not contained by the body but pervades it inside and out.
When you catch yourself thinking "I am this body," picture the mirror — the seeing pervades the reflection, it isn't trapped inside it.
एकं सर्वगतं व्योम बहिरन्तर्यथा घटे।
नित्यं निरन्तरं ब्रह्म सर्वभूतगणे तथा॥१- २०॥
ekam sarvagatam vyoma bahirantaryathā ghaṭe|
nityam nirantaram brahma sarvabhūtagaṇe tathā||1- 20||
"Just as the single, all-pervading space exists both outside and inside a pot, so the eternal, unbroken Absolute (Brahman) exists the same way in the whole multitude of beings."
A pot seems to contain its own private portion of space, but it's the same space as everywhere else, merely appearing divided by the pot's shape; likewise every being seems to have its own separate self, but it is the one undivided Brahman appearing as many.
When you feel separate from someone in conflict, remember: like space in two pots, what's aware in you and what's aware in them is the same thing.