Aṣṭāvakra Saṃhitā
A Dialogue on Self-realization
Chapter 1
Order Now 
Introduction to Ashtavakra Samhita Chapter 1 – Janaka’s Enquiry
Complete List of Verses in Ashtavakra Samhita Chapter 1
Ashtavakra Samhita 1.1 Janaka's Three Fundamental Questions on Jnana, Mukti and Vairagya
प्रथमोऽध्याय:
जनक उवाच ।
कथं ज्ञानमवाप्नोति कथं मुक्तिर्भविष्यति ।
वैराग्यं च कथं प्राप्तमेतद् ब्रूहि मम प्रभो
prathamo’dhyāya: –
janaka uvāca ..
kathaṃ jñānam-avāpnoti kathaṃ muktir-bhaviṣyati .
vairāgyaṃ ca kathaṃ prāptam-etad brūhi mama prabho .. 1-1..
How can jñana (wisdom) be attained? How will liberation result? And how does one gain dispassion? O Lord, please tell me.
Ashtavakra Samhita 1.2 Abandon Sense Objects as Poison, Embrace Virtues as Nectar
अष्टावक्र उवाच ।
मुक्तिमिच्छसि चेत्तात विषयान् विषवत्त्यज ।
क्षमार्जवदयातोषसत्यं पीयूषवद्भज ॥ 1-2॥
aṣṭāvakra uvāca ..
muktim-icchasi cet-tāta viṣayān viṣavat-tyaja .
kṣamārjava-dayā-toṣa-satyaṃ pīyūṣavad-bhaja .. 1-2..
Dear son, if you aspire for liberation, abandon all the objects considering them as poison. Take instead to patience, straightforwardness, compassion, contentment and truthfulness, considering them as nectar. Worship these wholeheartedly.
Ashtavakra Samhita 1.3 You Are Not the Five Elements; You Are the Witness (Sakshi)
न पृथ्वी न जलं नाग्निर्न वायुर्द्यौर्न वा भवान् ।
एषां साक्षिणमात्मानं चिद्रूपं विद्धि मुक्तये ॥ 1-3॥
na pṛthvī na jalaṃ nāgnir-na vāyur-dyaur-na vā bhavān .
eṣāṃ sākṣiṇam-ātmānaṃ cid-rūpaṃ viddhi muktaye .. 1-3..
Dear son, if you aspire for liberation, abandon all the objects considering them as poison. Take instead to patience, straightforwardness, compassion, contentment and truthfulness, considering them as nectar. Worship these wholeheartedly.
Ashtavakra Samhita 1.4 Rest in Consciousness and Be Liberated This Very Moment
यदि देहं पृथक्कृत्य चिति विश्राम्य तिष्ठसि ।
अधुनैव सुखी शान्तो बन्धमुक्तो भविष्यसि ॥ 1-4॥
yadi dehaṃ pṛthak-kṛtya citi viśrāmya tiṣṭhasi .
adhunaiva sukhī śānto bandha-mukto bhaviṣyasi .. 1-4.
Separating the body distinctly, should you sit restfully in Consciousness, this moment itself will you become comfortable, peaceful, liberated from bondage.
Ashtavakra Samhita 1.5 Beyond Caste, Ashrama and All Sense Perception
न त्वं विप्रादिको वर्णो नाश्रमी नाक्षगोचर: ।
असङ्गोऽसि निराकारो विश्वसाक्षी सुखी भव ॥ 1-5॥
na tvaṃ viprādiko varṇo nāśramī nākṣa-gocaraḥ .
asaṅgo’si nirākāro viśva-sākṣī sukhī bhava .. 1-5..
You are not of any caste like the Brahmana, etc. You are not also of any āśrama (a stage in life). Why say much, you are not perceptible to the senses (as the body is) at all. Being so, you are unattached, formless, witness of the whole universe. Be happy.
Ashtavakra Samhita 1.6 You Are Not the Doer or Enjoyer; You Are Ever Liberated
धर्माधर्मौ सुखं दु:खं मानसानि न ते विभो ।
न कर्तासि न भोक्तासि मुक्त एवासि सर्वदा ॥ 1-6॥
dharmādharmau sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ mānasāni na te vibho .
na kartāsi na bhoktāsi mukta evāsi sarvadā .. 1-6..
O all-pervading one, righteousness and unrighteousness, happiness and grief, are mind-borne, mental; they are not for you. You are not any doer or experiencer. Hence are liberated indeed, always.
Ashtavakra Samhita 1.7 You Are the One Seer of All; Seeing the Seer as Another Is Bondage
एको द्रष्टासि सर्वस्य मुक्तप्रायोऽसि सर्वदा ।
अयमेव हि ते बन्धो द्रष्टारं पश्यसीतरम् ॥ 1-7॥
eko draṣṭāsi sarvasya mukta-prāyo’si sarvadā .
ayam-eva hi te bandho draṣṭāraṃ paśyasītaram .. 1-7..
You are the one Seer of all, and always free, liberated. This indeed is your bondage, that you are seeing the Seer as another.
Bhagavad Gita 1.8 The Poison of Egoistic Doership and the Nectar of Non-Doership
अहं कर्तेत्यहंमानमहाकृष्णाहिदंशित: ।
नाहं कर्तेति विश्वासामृतं पीत्वा सुखी भव ॥ 1-8॥
ahaṃ kartety-ahammāna-mahā-kṛṣṇāhi-daṃśitaḥ .
nāhaṃ karteti viśvāsāmṛtaṃ pītvā sukhī bhava .. 1-8..
You are bitten by the powerful black serpent, namely, egoistic notion, ‘I am the doer’. Drink well the nectar of faith, namely ‘I am not the doer’, and be comfortable.
Ashtavakra Samhita 1.9 Burn the Forest of Ignorance with the Fire of Pure Consciousness
एको विशुद्धबोधोऽहमिति निश्चयवह्निना ।
प्रज्वाल्याज्ञानगहनं वीतशोक: सुखी भव ॥ 1-9॥
eko viśuddha-bodho’ham-iti niścaya-vahninā .
prajvālyājñāna-gahanaṃ vīta-śokaḥ sukhī bhava .. 1-9..
With the blazing fire of conclusion that ‘I am the pure Consciousness’, burning down the huge forest of ignorance and delusion, transcend grief, and be happy.
Ashtavakra Samhita 1.10 The Universe Is Superimposed on Consciousness Like a Snake on a Rope
यत्र विश्वमिदं भाति कल्पितं रज्जुसर्पवत् ।
आनन्दपरमानन्द: स बोधस्त्वं सुखं चर ॥ 1-10॥
yatra viśvam-idaṃ bhāti kalpitaṃ rajju-sarpavat .
ānanda-paramānandaḥ sa bodhas-tvaṃ sukhaṃ cara .. 1-10..
You are that Consciousness, which is blissful and supremely ecstatic, on which this universe is superimposed like the snake on a rope. Live and move, bereft of all anxiety and grief.
Select Chapter and Verse
