Introduction

The Ashtavakra Gita (अष्टावक्रगीता; aṣṭāvakragītā) or the Song of Ashtavakra is a 2500 year old classical Indian poem written in Sanskrit. The poem takes the form of an open dialogue between a seeker who goes by the name of Janaka and a teacher named Ashtavakra.

These writings represent my fledgling attempt at a verse-by-verse translation of the message behind the original. Please note that everything other than the original Sanskrit verses is my writing and interpretation; thus, I am entirely at fault for any mistakes or (mis)representations thereof.

I would like to think of the Ashtavakra Gita as a combination of things: a deep exploration of phenomenal reality, the nature of the self (or the lack thereof), meditations on impermanence and the nature of emptiness.
Briefly, reality can be seen as the manifestation of interactional phenomena that do so based upon appropriate causal conditions. Neither the interactions, the resultant phenomena nor the causal conditions themselves have any lingering essence. Each of them is just that - causal conditions for further manifestations. Theories of reality like string, quantum mechanics and their ilk are only stories we tell ourselves that fit and work well under certain parameters and boundary conditions. Other than for those boundaries, theories of reality are stories we makeup to satisfy ourselves and somewhat correctly predict outcomes that agree to a large extent with our manifest world. Nothing more. The Ashtavakra Gita is another one of these stories, albeit, a compelling one written in exquisite lyrical style.

A brief outline of the unfolding dialogue between Ashtavakra and Janaka can be summarized thus:

• Chapter 1: Janaka, the seeker, starts by asking Ashtavakra, a sage, how he can understand knowledge, detachment, and liberation. Ashtavakra proceeds to explain.
• Chapter 2: Ashtavakra’s words help and Janaka understands his true inner nature. Janaka is so happy that he proceeds joyfully to describe his state of being.
• Chapter 3: On listening, Ashtavakra notices incongruities in Janaka's understanding and assays Janaka's understanding by probing deeper
• Chapter 4: Janaka gently but firmly sticks to his point of view.
• Chapter 5: While not disagreeing with Janaka, Ashtavakra lays out some fundamental truths about dissolution.
• Chapter 6: Ashtavakra undertakes to explain a state of awareness that emerges from the dissolution of the self-ego complex.
• Chapter 7: Janaka seems to understand, but proceeds to further describe his state of being aware.
• Chapter 8: Ashtavakra notices that aspects of the ego is still with Janaka. Ashtavakra proceeds to explain the nuances of attachment and possessiveness.
• Chapter 9: Ashtavakra explains and describes the nature and quality of non-attachment.
• Chapter 10: Ashtavakra goes on to explain the absurdity of desire in its various manifestations.
• Chapter 11: Ashtavakra explains the concept and state of achieving a non-desirous state of being
• Chapter 12: Janaka starts to see a truer, deeper version of himself.
• Chapter 13: Janaka, seeing the bigger patterns now states that he is indeed happy and at peace
• Chapter 14: Janaka lays out the essence of his current state of understanding with true equanimity of mind.
• Chapter 15: Ashtavakra talks about the inherent emptiness of one's self.
• Chapter 16: Ashtavakra probes deeper into what does it really mean to 'know something'
• Chapter 17: Ashtavakra describes the nature of one who is truly free.
• Chapter 18: Ashtavakra talks about the non-dual unified truth
• Chapter 19: Janaka seems to understand his enlightened state even better by speaking from a standpoint of emptiness.
• Chapter 20: Janaka understands the fundamental truth behind dissolution and finally says: “No more can be said.” Ashtavakra feels his job is done.

A couple of parting thoughts before we dive into the verses themselves:

In looking at the message underlining the Ashtavarka Gita, my undertaking was to indulge and understand the poem in a more straightforward manner than to be waylaid by the pernicious pessimism of cynicism that pervades much of our everyday conversations and society in general. A cynicism that must have originally (and organically) evolved as some kind of a self-preservation mechanism to safeguard our egos; fragile egos that reflexively paints anything that tends towards simplicity and sincerity with the broad brushstrokes of unsophistication and bland naïveté - fully aware that the fundamental truths that are common across most scriptural and spiritual treatments are, at its core, just so - simple, direct, unsophisticated and sincere.

Mostly because the nature of the world itself is rooted within change, metamorphosis and flux, one cannot conceive of nor concede to a philosophy that is completely consistent, supremely logical and absolute - because the nature of the universe itself does not hew to logic nor to consistency nor to regularity - the nature is one that is chaotic, random and subject to various accidental choices and fortuitous conditions resulting in the world as we know it to be. In that sense, please do not expect to be presented with flawless logic or absolutism of any kind within these writings - these are writings that have been created primarily with a view towards teaching myself an approach to better thinking and a peaceable co-existence and the inconsistencies thereof is surely of my own making.

In addition, while imparting some of the timeless ideas and thoughts as it relates to reality and self-realization, I also want to say that the Ashtavarka does so without resort to using any form of supernatural forces as a crutch to support these ideas nor to supreme beings of fantastic fancy for special effects nor religious claptrap adorned with rules and regulations nor any sort of frivolous magical thinking - just plain unadorned truth that is simple, direct, unsophisticated and sincere easing the search in finding oneself ---- just like all those good stories that work to explain us to us.

I have utilized the following format in interpreting each verse:

Chapter # (short description): Verse #

Original verse in Sanskrit script

PURPORT:

Implicated gist of the verse as it was understood by me in a semi-poetic style    

TRANSLITERATION:

Sandhi-split version of the original verse and its transliteration into English

MEANING:

Word meanings in English of each of the sandhi-split Sanskrit transliterated phrases

COMMENT:

My own free form interpretation of verse

NOTE:

Additional notes from my amateur research that may potentially add context