AVG 3.13

Chapter 3 (Challenging The Seekers Understanding): Verse 13
स्वभावादेव जानानो दृश्यमेतन्न किंचन ।
इदं ग्राह्यमिदं त्याज्यं स किं पश्यति धीरधीः ॥ ३-१३॥

PURPORT:
Why should that resolute-minded one
knowing that the objects of perception verily
lack any innate essence and are hence empty,
consider this object to be adequate and sufficient
and that object to be unsuitable and lacking?

TRANSLITERATION:
स्वभावात् एव जानानः दृश्यम् एतत् न किंचन ।
svabhāvāt eva jānānaḥ dṛśyam etat na kiṃcana ।
इदम् ग्राह्यम् इदम् त्याज्यम् सः किम् पश्यति धीरधीः ॥ ३-१३॥
idam grāhyam idam tyājyam saḥ kim paśyati dhīradhīḥ ॥ 3-13॥

MEANING:
svabhāvāt (स्वभावात्) = in its innate disposition/in its own nature
eva (एव) = truly/verily
jānānaḥ (जानानः) = knowing/perceptive (one who is resolute minded in terms of perception and understanding)
dṛśyam (दृश्यम्) = the object of perception (perceived entities within the ones internal universe as well as entities extrinsic to oneself)
etat (एतत्) = this
na (न) = not
kiṃcana (किंचन) = anything ।
idam (इदम्) = this
grāhyam (ग्राह्यम्) = adequate/sufficient/acceptable
idam (इदम्) = this
tyājyam (त्याज्यम्) = inadequate/unsuitable/unsatisfactory
saḥ (सः) = this
kim (किम्) = why
paśyati (पश्यति) = sees/can be seen
dhīradhīḥ (धीरधीः) = steady-minded/resolute/dependable॥ 3-13॥

COMMENT:
In this beautiful verse, Ashtavakra manages to combine two important concepts - the fact that our perceived internal and external universes lack any underlying essence (and is in fact empty of any fundamental elemental basis) and the precept secure in such a knowledge is able to understand phenomena non-judgmentally (in so far as deciding something fit to be accepted as opposed to deeming some other thing as lacking fit).
The combination of choiceless awareness mixed in with emptiness makes this verse particularly fetching. While we have talked about choiceless understanding and perception earlier in this chapter, the concept of the underlying emptiness of phenomena merits some revisiting: understanding that all phenomena are dependently originated and understanding that this dependency can be hidden within the following three layers is essential – firstly, all phenomena come to be in dependence based upon causes and conditions and terminate when these causes and conditions are no longer present; secondly, all wholes are dependent upon their parts and the parts of wholes are dependent for their existence on the wholes of which they are parts; and finally, phenomena and entities are dependent for their existence as such based upon the their being ascribed and attributed based upon mundane nominal conventions that are contingent upon a commonly accepted cultural pattern.
The above three acting together will mean that all of our actions, motives, intentions, thoughts and personality idiosyncrasies are also causally dependent and any identity that we ascribe to ourselves as a unitary self is also only merely supposed. Given that our personalities and indeed that which we deem as our 'self' itself is causally dependent, Ashtavakra rightly points out that a non-judgmental demeanor to phenomena where the individual is only observing and not judging is the path forward.