The Ashtavakra Gita (Sanskrit: अष्टावक्रगीता; IAST: aṣṭāvakragītā)[1] or Song of Ashtavakra is a classical Hindu text in the form of a dialogue between the sage Ashtavakra and Janaka, king of Mithila.[2]
Radhakamal Mukerjee, an Indian social scientist, dated the book to the period immediately after the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita (600 BCE according to Mukerjee; commonly dated to ca. 2nd century BCE), at c. 500–400 BCE.[3] J. L. Brockington, emeritus professor of Sanskrit at the University of Edinburgh, places the Ashtavakra Gita much later, supposing it to have been written either in the eighth century CE by a follower of Adi Shankara, or in the fourteenth century during a resurgence of Shankara's teaching.[4][5] Sri Swami Shantananda Puri suggests that since the book contains the seed of the theory of non-creation Ajata Vada developed later by Gaudapada in Mandookya Karika, this book comes from a period prior to that of Gaudapada (6th century CE) and hence prior to Shankara.[6]
Identification of Ashtavakraedit
Ashtavakra is probably identical to the holy sage with the same name who appears in Mahabharata, though the connection is not clearly stated in any of the texts.[7] Mukherjee identifies Janaka as the father of Sita and disciple of the sage Yajnavalkya in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.[7][note 1] Janaka is also depicted as a king who has attained perfection in vedas.
Contentsedit
Overviewedit
Ashtavakra Gita is a dialogue between Ashtavakra and Janaka on the nature of Self/Atman, reality and bondage.[9] It offers a radical version of non-dualist philosophy. The Gita insists on the complete unreality of the external world and absolute oneness of existence. It does not mention any morality or duties, and therefore is seen by commentators as 'godless'. It also dismisses names and forms as unreal and a sign of ignorance.[10]
In a conversation between Janaka and Ashtavakra, pertaining to the deformity of his crooked body, Ashtavakra explains that the size of a temple is not affected by how it is shaped, and the shape of his own body does not affect himself (or Atman). The ignorant man's vision is shrouded by names and forms, but a wise man sees only the Self:[11][12]
You are really unbound and action-less, self-illuminating and spotless already. The cause of your bondage is that you are still resorting to stilling the mind. (I.15)
You are unconditioned and changeless, formless and immovable, unfathomable awareness, imperturbable- such consciousness is un-clinging. (I.17)
You are not bound by anything. What does a pure person like you need to renounce? Putting the complex organism to rest, you can go to your rest. (V.1) [13]
Ashtavakra Gita continues to inspire people. The first musical form of Ashtavakra Gita Saksi I (Chapter 1) was set in the raga Svadhya by Composer Rajan.[16]
Translations and commentariesedit
Lala Baij Nath(1907) opened the discourse of this Gita into the English language.[17]
^Byrom, Thomas (1990). The Heart of Awareness: A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita. Shambhala Publications. Page xxiii.
^Brockington, J. L. (1990). Foreword to The Heart of Awareness: A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita, trans. Thomas Byrom. Shambhala Publications. Page xi.
^Puri, Sri Swami Shantananda (2001). The Quantum Leap into the Absolute (Essence of ASHTAVAKRA GITA)(PDF). Bangalore: Parvathamma C.P. Subbaraju Setty Charitable Trust.
^Manuel Schoch (1 July 2007). Bitten by the Black Snake: The Ancient Wisdom of Ashtavakra. Sentient Publications. ISBN978-1-59181-060-5. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
^Ruth Vanita (2005). Gandhi's Tiger and Sita's Smile: Essays on Gender, Sexuality, and Culture. Yoda Press. pp. 239–. ISBN978-81-902272-5-4. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
^Vanita, Ruth (12 September 2010). "Full of God: Ashtavakra and Ideas of Justice in Hindu Texts". Religions of South Asia. 3 (2): 167–181. doi:10.1558/rosa.v3i2.167.
^Astavakra Gita 2006-06-12 at the Wayback Machine, translation by John Richards. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
^"திருவாரூர் இளைஞரின் சர்வதேச சாதனை: புகழ்பெற்ற சங்கத் தமிழ்ப் பாடல்களுக்கு சிம்பொனி இசை!". 4 February 2020.
^Baij Nath (Lala.) (1907). The Ashtavakra Gita: being a dialogue between King Janaka and Rishi Ashtavakra on Vedanta. Office of the Vaishya Hitkari.
^Aṣṭāvakra saṁhitā : text with word-for-word translation, English rendering, comments and index. Swami Nityaswarupananda. Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama. 1996. ISBN81-85301-13-1. OCLC 43272368.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link).
^Radhakamal Mukerjee (1971). The song of the self supreme (Aṣṭāvakragītā): the classical text of Ātmādvaita by Aṣṭāvakra. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN978-81-208-1367-0. Source: [1] (accessed: Friday March 19, 2010).
^Stroud, Scott R. (2004). "Narrative as Argument in Indian Philosophy: The Astavakra Gita as Multivalent Narrative." Philosophy and Rhetoric - Volume 37, Number 1, 2004, ISSN 0031-8213, pp. 42-71.
Mukerjee, Radhakaml (1971), Aṣṭāvakragītā (the Song of the Self Supreme): The Classical Text of Ātmādvaita by Aṣṭāvakra, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN978-81-208-1367-0
External linksedit
Original textedit
Sanskrit Wikisource has original text related to this article: अष्टावक्रगीता
In original Sanskrit as PDF
Ashtavakra Gita in Devanagari with English translation side by side
Translationsedit
Works related to Ashtavakra Gita at Wikisource
Quotations related to Ashtavakra Gita at Wikiquote
Poetic translation of Ashtavakra Gita in Hindi by Dr Mridul Kirti
The Heart of Awareness, poetic translation by Thomas Byrom, pdf
s:Ashtavakra Gita Translation at Wikisource by John Richards
Ashtavakra Gita, translation by John Richards
John Richards translation
Astavakra Samhita, translation by Swami Nityaswarupananda
Swami Nityaswarupananda (1940): AshTavakra Geeta, Sanskrit text with word-for-word translation, English rendering and comments 2013-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
Asthavakra Gita - Awareness is Everything. Translation and commentary by Mansoor (2010). ISBN978-1-4467-1442-3
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This article contains Indic text Without proper rendering support you may see question marks or boxes misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text The Ashtavakra Gita Sanskrit अष ट वक रग त IAST aṣṭavakragita 1 or Song of Ashtavakra is a classical Hindu text in the form of a dialogue between the sage Ashtavakra and Janaka king of Mithila 2 Contents 1 Dating 2 Identification of Ashtavakra 3 Contents 3 1 Overview 3 2 Structure 4 Appreciation 5 Translations and commentaries 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Sources 10 External links 10 1 Original text 10 2 TranslationsDating editRadhakamal Mukerjee an Indian social scientist dated the book to the period immediately after the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita 600 BCE according to Mukerjee commonly dated to ca 2nd century BCE at c 500 400 BCE 3 J L Brockington emeritus professor of Sanskrit at the University of Edinburgh places the Ashtavakra Gita much later supposing it to have been written either in the eighth century CE by a follower of Adi Shankara or in the fourteenth century during a resurgence of Shankara s teaching 4 5 Sri Swami Shantananda Puri suggests that since the book contains the seed of the theory of non creation Ajata Vada developed later by Gaudapada in Mandookya Karika this book comes from a period prior to that of Gaudapada 6th century CE and hence prior to Shankara 6 Identification of Ashtavakra editAshtavakra is probably identical to the holy sage with the same name who appears in Mahabharata though the connection is not clearly stated in any of the texts 7 Mukherjee identifies Janaka as the father of Sita and disciple of the sage Yajnavalkya in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 7 note 1 Janaka is also depicted as a king who has attained perfection in vedas Contents editOverview edit Ashtavakra Gita is a dialogue between Ashtavakra and Janaka on the nature of Self Atman reality and bondage 9 It offers a radical version of non dualist philosophy The Gita insists on the complete unreality of the external world and absolute oneness of existence It does not mention any morality or duties and therefore is seen by commentators as godless It also dismisses names and forms as unreal and a sign of ignorance 10 In a conversation between Janaka and Ashtavakra pertaining to the deformity of his crooked body Ashtavakra explains that the size of a temple is not affected by how it is shaped and the shape of his own body does not affect himself or Atman The ignorant man s vision is shrouded by names and forms but a wise man sees only the Self 11 12 You are really unbound and action less self illuminating and spotless already The cause of your bondage is that you are still resorting to stilling the mind I 15 You are unconditioned and changeless formless and immovable unfathomable awareness imperturbable such consciousness is un clinging I 17 You are not bound by anything What does a pure person like you need to renounce Putting the complex organism to rest you can go to your rest V 1 13 Structure edit The book comprises 20 chapters 14 I Saksi Vision of the Self as the All pervading Witness II Ascaryam Marvel of the Infinite Self Beyond Nature III Atmadvaita Self in All and All in the Self IV Sarvamatma Knower and the Non knower of the Self V Laya Stages of Dissolution of Consciousness VI Prakrteh Parah Irrelevance of Dissolution of Consciousness VII Santa Tranquil and Boundless Ocean of the Self VIII Moksa Bondage and Freedom IX Nirveda Indifference X Vairagya Dispassion XI Cidrupa Self as Pure and Radiant Intelligence XII Svabhava Ascent of Contemplation XIII Yathasukham Transcendent Bliss XIV Isvara Natural Dissolution of the Mind XV Tattvam Unborn Self or Brahman XVI Svasthya Self Abidance through Obliteration of the World XVII Kaivalya Absolute Aloneness of the Self XVIII Jivanmukti Way and Goal of Natural Samadhi XIX Svamahima Majesty of the Self XX Akincanabhava Transcendence of the SelfAppreciation editThe work was known appreciated and quoted by Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda as well as Ramana Maharshi Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan refers to it with great respect 15 Ashtavakra Gita continues to inspire people The first musical form of Ashtavakra Gita Saksi I Chapter 1 was set in the raga Svadhya by Composer Rajan 16 Translations and commentaries editLala Baij Nath 1907 opened the discourse of this Gita into the English language 17 Swami Nityaswarupananda has written a word by word translation from 1929 to 1931 18 Radhakamal Mukerjee 1889 1968 continued the discourse into English with his work posthumously published in 1971 19 Scott R Stroud 2004 wrote on the Astavakra Gita as a work of multivalent narrative 20 The Heart of Awareness A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita Shambhala Dragon Editions translated by Thomas Byrom 1990 Swami Chinmayananda 21 wrote a commentary on the Ashtavakra Gita which has references to the Upanishads to help convey the meaning of the text John Richards published an English translation of the Ashtavakra Gita in 1997 22 Osho has given commentary on Ashtavakra Gita in a long series of 91 discourses named as Ashtavakra Mahageeta 23 given in his Pune Ashram Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has given commentary on Ashtavakra Gita in Hindi 24 and English 25 Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai has given commentary on Ashtavakra Gita through 60 discourses totalling more than 116 hours 26 The Book has also been translated into Urdu language with the title of Mehak e Agahi 2021 Alexandra David Neel translated the text from Sanskrit into French title Astavakra Gita 1951 See also editAvadhuta Gita Ribhu Gita Bhagavad Gita The Ganesha Gita Self consciousness Vedanta Uddhava Gita Vedas Prasthanatrayi Vyadha GitaNotes edit Janaka receives the teaching of the supreme Self from Yajnavalkya in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 8 References edit Mukerjee 1971 p i Mukerjee 1971 p 184 Mukerjee 1971 p 4 Byrom Thomas 1990 The Heart of Awareness A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita Shambhala Publications Page xxiii Brockington J L 1990 Foreword to The Heart of Awareness A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita trans Thomas Byrom Shambhala Publications Page xi Puri Sri Swami Shantananda 2001 The Quantum Leap into the Absolute Essence of ASHTAVAKRA GITA PDF Bangalore Parvathamma C P Subbaraju Setty Charitable Trust a b Mukerjee 1971 p 1 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Chapter Four Manuel Schoch 1 July 2007 Bitten by the Black Snake The Ancient Wisdom of Ashtavakra Sentient Publications ISBN 978 1 59181 060 5 Retrieved 20 July 2012 Ruth Vanita 2005 Gandhi s Tiger and Sita s Smile Essays on Gender Sexuality and Culture Yoda Press pp 239 ISBN 978 81 902272 5 4 Retrieved 20 July 2012 Chinmayananda 1997 n p Vanita Ruth 12 September 2010 Full of God Ashtavakra and Ideas of Justice in Hindu Texts Religions of South Asia 3 2 167 181 doi 10 1558 rosa v3i2 167 Astavakra Gita Archived 2006 06 12 at the Wayback Machine translation by John Richards Retrieved 20 July 2012 Mukerjee 1971 p iii s Ashtavakra Gita Translator s Notes த ர வ ர ர இள ஞர ன சர வத ச ச தன ப கழ ப ற ற சங கத தம ழ ப ப டல கள க க ச ம ப ன இச 4 February 2020 Baij Nath Lala 1907 The Ashtavakra Gita being a dialogue between King Janaka and Rishi Ashtavakra on Vedanta Office of the Vaishya Hitkari Aṣṭavakra saṁhita text with word for word translation English rendering comments and index Swami Nityaswarupananda Calcutta Advaita Ashrama 1996 ISBN 81 85301 13 1 OCLC 43272368 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint others link Radhakamal Mukerjee 1971 The song of the self supreme Aṣṭavakragita the classical text of Atmadvaita by Aṣṭavakra Motilal Banarsidass Publ ISBN 978 81 208 1367 0 Source 1 accessed Friday March 19 2010 Stroud Scott R 2004 Narrative as Argument in Indian Philosophy The Astavakra Gita as Multivalent Narrative Philosophy and Rhetoric Volume 37 Number 1 2004 ISSN 0031 8213 pp 42 71 Partha Dash Ashtavakra Gita Swami Chinmayananda 1997 Richards John H 1997 Ashtavakra Gita Source 2 accessed July 10 2021 Ashtavakra Mahageeta अष ट वक र मह ग त series The Sannyas Wiki www sannyas wiki Retrieved 2020 03 27 Ashtavakra Gita DVD Pack Hindi Archived from the original on 28 October 2016 Retrieved 28 October 2016 Shankar Sri Sri Ravi 2010 Ashtavakra Gita Bangalore Sri Sri Publications Trust ISBN 9789380592831 Ashtavakra Gita SRMD org Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur Retrieved 9 January 2021 Sources editMukerjee Radhakaml 1971 Aṣṭavakragita the Song of the Self Supreme The Classical Text of Atmadvaita by Aṣṭavakra Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 1367 0External links editOriginal text edit nbsp Sanskrit Wikisource has original text related to this article अष ट वक रग त In original Sanskrit as PDF In original Sanskrit In Devanagari In Romanized Sanskrit Ashtavakra Gita in Devanagari with English translation side by side Translations edit nbsp Works related to Ashtavakra Gita at Wikisource nbsp Quotations related to Ashtavakra Gita at Wikiquote The Ultimate Reality Within ISBN 978 0 615 93228 6 Poetic translation of Ashtavakra Gita in Hindi by Dr Mridul Kirti The Heart of Awareness poetic translation by Thomas Byrom pdf s Ashtavakra Gita Translation at Wikisource by John Richards Ashtavakra Gita translation by John Richards John Richards translation First in a series of 41 Discourses on Ashtavakra Gita available for free downloading Astavakra Samhita translation by Swami Nityaswarupananda Swami Nityaswarupananda 1940 AshTavakra Geeta Sanskrit text with word for word translation English rendering and commentsArchived 2013 10 11 at the Wayback Machine Asthavakra Gita Awareness is Everything Translation and commentary by Mansoor 2010 ISBN 978 1 4467 1442 3 audio books Ashtavakra Gita English Audio Book Ashtavakra Gita Hindi Audio Book Ashtavakra Gita Marathi Audio Book Translation by Ramana Maharshi audiobook Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ashtavakra Gita amp oldid 1220012452, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
