Ashtavakra Gita [sanskrit]

by John Richards | 1994 | 2,996 words

Ashtavakra Gita is a Sanskrit text belonging to the Advaita Vedanta school of orthodox Indian philosophy, instructing the reader in some of the core concepts. Traditionally believed to be authored by sage Ashtavakra, it is presented in the form of a dialogue between him and Janaka, king of Mithila. Alternative titles: अष्टावक्रगीता, Aṣṭāvakragītā, Astavakragita, अष्टावक्र-गीता, Aṣṭāvakra-gītā.

Verse 3.1

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अष्टावक्र उवाच ।
अविनाशिनमात्मानमेकं विज्ञाय तत्त्वतः ।
तवात्मज्ञानधीरस्य कथमर्थार्जने रतिः ॥ १ ॥

aṣṭāvakra uvāca |
avināśinamātmānamekaṃ vijñāya tattvataḥ |
tavātmajñānadhīrasya kathamarthārjane ratiḥ || 1 ||

Ashtavakra: Knowing yourself as truly one and indestructible, how could a wise man possessing self-knowledge like you feel any pleasure in acquiring wealth?
English translation by John Richards (1994) Read online

Glossary of Sanskrit terms

Note: This extracts Sanskrit terms and links to English definitions from the glossary, based on an experimental segmentation of verse (3.1). Some terms could be superfluous while some might not be mentioned. Click on the word to show English definitions.

Ashtavakra, Avinashin, Atman, Eka, Vijna, Vijnaya, Tattvatah, Tattvata, Yushmad, Atmajnana, Dhira, Katham, Katha, Artharjana, Rati,

Analysis of Sanskrit grammar

Note: this is an experimental feature and only shows the first possible analysis of the Sanskrit text (Ashtavakra Gita Verse 3.1). If the system was successful in segmenting the sentence, you will see of which words it is made up of, generally consisting of Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Participles and Indeclinables. Click on the link to show all possible derivations of the word.

Line 1: “aṣṭāvakra uvāca ”
aṣṭāvakra* -
aṣṭāvakra (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
uvāca -
√vac (verb class 2)

[perfect active first single], [perfect active third single]

√vac (verb class 3)

[perfect active first single], [perfect active third single]
Line 2: “avināśinamātmānamekaṃ vijñāya tattvataḥ ”
avināśinam -
avināśin (noun, masculine)

[accusative single]
ātmānam -
ātman (noun, masculine)

[accusative single]
ekam -
eka (noun, masculine)

[accusative single]

eka (noun, neuter)

[nominative single], [accusative single]
vijñāya -
vijñāya (noun, masculine)

[compound], [vocative single]

vijñāya (noun, neuter)

[compound], [vocative single]

vijña (noun, masculine)

[dative single]

vijña (noun, neuter)

[dative single]
tattvataḥ -
tattvataḥ (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]

tattvata (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
Line 3: “tavātmajñānadhīrasya kathamarthārjane ratiḥ ”
tavā -
yuṣmad (pronoun, none)

[genitive single]
ātmajñāna -
ātmajñāna (noun, neuter)

[compound], [vocative single]
dhīrasya -
dhīra (noun, masculine)

[genitive single]

dhīra (noun, neuter)

[genitive single]
katham -
katham (indeclinable interrogative)

[indeclinable interrogative]

katham (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]

kathā (noun, feminine)

[adverb]

katha (noun, masculine)

[adverb], [accusative single]

katha (noun, neuter)

[adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
arthārjane -
arthārjana (noun, neuter)

[nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual], [locative single]
ratiḥ -
rati (noun, feminine)

[nominative single]