VivekaVani

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Joy of Self-realization

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.

Joy of Self-realization

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.

Instruction   on Self-Realization

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

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.

Instruction   on Self-Realization

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

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.

‘Ashtavakra Gita’ is one of the advaitic masterpieces. Without mincing matters it comes out with the advaitic truth, the whole truth and nothing but advaita which is the Truth. This book embodies Ashtavakra’s teaching to King Janaka which vouched him Self-Knowledge between the time he placed one foot upon the stirrup of his horse and lifted himself to place the other foot on the other stirrup.

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)

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