संत साहित्य · Aṣṭāvakra · Verse by verse
Chapter 19 — Repose in One's Own Glory
Verse by verse
जनक उवाच॥
तत्त्वविज्ञानसन्दंशमादाय हृदयोदरात्।
नाविधपरामर्शशल्योद्धारः कृतो मया॥१९- १॥
janaka uvāca||
tattvavijñānasandamśamādāya hṛdayodarāt|
nāvidhaparāmarśaśalyoddhāraḥ kṛto mayā||19- 1||
Janaka said: Having taken up the forceps of true knowledge (tattva-vijñāna) from deep within my heart, I have myself drawn out the dart of manifold false apprehension.
Janaka opens by describing self-inquiry as surgery: discriminative insight is the instrument used to extract the root delusion — the many wrong ideas about who one is — lodged like a barbed dart in the heart.
When a false belief about yourself surfaces — 'I'm not enough,' 'I am my failures' — name it precisely and pull it out by the root instead of just managing the pain around it.
क्व धर्मः क्व च वा कामः क्व चार्थः क्व विवेकिता।
क्व द्वैतं क्व च वाऽद्वैतं स्वमहिम्नि स्थितस्य मे॥१९- २॥
kva dharmaḥ kva ca vā kāmaḥ kva cārthaḥ kva vivekitā|
kva dvaitam kva ca vā'dvaitam svamahimni sthitasya me||19- 2||
Where is dharma, where is desire, where is wealth, where is discernment? Where is duality, where is non-duality — for me, who stand in my own glory?
Once established in svamahiman (one's own innate greatness, true nature), even the four traditional life-goals and the whole dual-versus-non-dual framework collapse — they were signposts for a seeker, not descriptions of what remains once seeking ends.
Notice how many of your life goals are signposts pointing toward peace rather than peace itself, and stop mistaking the finger for the moon.
क्व भूतं क्व भविष्यद् वा वर्तमानमपि क्व वा।
क्व देशः क्व च वा नित्यं स्वमहिम्नि स्थितस्य मे॥१९- ३॥
kva bhūtam kva bhaviṣyad vā vartamānamapi kva vā|
kva deśaḥ kva ca vā nityam svamahimni sthitasya me||19- 3||
Where is the past, where is the future, or even the present? Where is place, and where is the eternal — for me, who stand in my own glory?
Time — past, present, future — and space, along with the very idea of 'eternal' as opposed to 'temporary,' are frameworks that apply only to objects appearing within awareness; they don't touch awareness itself.
When you're anxious about running out of time, remember the awareness reading this clock has no age — root yourself there instead of in the countdown.
क्व चात्मा क्व च वानात्मा क्व शुभं क्वाशुभं यथा।
क्व चिन्ता क्व च वाचिन्ता स्वमहिम्नि स्थितस्य मे॥१९- ४॥
kva cātmā kva ca vānātmā kva śubham kvāśubham yathā|
kva cintā kva ca vācintā svamahimni sthitasya me||19- 4||
Where is self, where is non-self? Where is good, where is bad, as such? Where is worry, where is freedom from worry — for me, who stand in my own glory?
Even the foundational Vedantic pair — ātman (self) versus anātman (not-self), the whole method of sorting 'this is me, this isn't' — was a ladder; having arrived, moral categories and mental agitation lose their grip too.
Instead of endlessly sorting your day into good things and bad things, rest for one minute in the plain fact of noticing, before the sorting starts.
क्व स्वप्नः क्व सुषुप्तिर्वा क्व च जागरणं तथा।
क्व तुरियं भयं वापि स्वमहिम्नि स्थितस्य मे॥१९- ५॥
kva svapnaḥ kva suṣuptirvā kva ca jāgaraṇam tathā|
kva turiyam bhayam vāpi svamahimni sthitasya me||19- 5||
Where is dream, where is deep sleep, where is waking? Where is the fourth state (turīya), or even fear — for me, who stand in my own glory?
The classical map of consciousness — waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and the 'fourth' (turīya) ground beneath them — is itself a map; the territory it points to has no need of the map, or of the fear that clings to any one state.
The next time a bad dream or a rough bout of insomnia frightens you, remember you are the constant that witnesses all three states, not one more thing that can be lost inside them.
क्व दूरं क्व समीपं वा बाह्यं क्वाभ्यन्तरं क्व वा।
क्व स्थूलं क्व च वा सूक्ष्मं स्वमहिम्नि स्थितस्य मे॥१९- ६॥
kva dūram kva samīpam vā bāhyam kvābhyantaram kva vā|
kva sthūlam kva ca vā sūkṣmam svamahimni sthitasya me||19- 6||
Where is far, where is near? Where is outside, where is inside? Where is gross, where is subtle — for me, who stand in my own glory?
Spatial categories — near and far, inside and outside, coarse and subtle — are properties of objects appearing in awareness; awareness itself has no location, so these distinctions simply don't apply to what one actually is.
When you feel far from where you want to be in life, notice that the one who feels far hasn't moved an inch — settle there first.
क्व मृत्युर्जीवितं वा क्व लोकाः क्वास्य क्व लौकिकं।
क्व लयः क्व समाधिर्वा स्वमहिम्नि स्थितस्य मे॥१९- ७॥
kva mṛtyurjīvitam vā kva lokāḥ kvāsya kva laukikam|
kva layaḥ kva samādhirvā svamahimni sthitasya me||19- 7||
Where is death, where is life? Where are the worlds, where is this world, where is the worldly? Where is dissolution, where is samādhi — for me, who stand in my own glory?
Even the great polarities of life and death, and the yogic goals of laya (absorption) and samādhi (meditative union) — states people spend lifetimes pursuing — belong to the world of seeking, which has nothing left to add to what one already is.
Don't wait for a peak meditative experience to feel whole — the peace you're chasing in deep meditation is already what's noticing this sentence.
अलं त्रिवर्गकथया योगस्य कथयाप्यलं।
अलं विज्ञानकथया विश्रान्तस्य ममात्मनि॥१९- ८॥
alam trivargakathayā yogasya kathayāpyalam|
alam vijñānakathayā viśrāntasya mamātmani||19- 8||
Enough of talk of the three aims of life; enough even of talk of yoga. Enough of talk of knowledge itself — for me, who rests in my own self.
Janaka closes by setting aside all spiritual discourse — ethics, practice, and philosophy alike — because talking about the self is no longer needed by someone simply resting as the self, done with words about it.
At some point, stop reaching for one more book or talk about peace and just sit still in the peace you already have access to right now.