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 18.21

निर्वासनो निरालम्बः स्वच्छन्दो मुक्तबन्धनः ।
क्षिप्तः संस्कारवातेन चेष्टते शुष्कपर्णवत् ॥ २१ ॥

nirvāsano nirālambaḥ svacchando muktabandhanaḥ |
kṣiptaḥ saṃskāravātena ceṣṭate śuṣkaparṇavat || 21 ||

He who is desireless, self-reliant, independent and free of bonds functions like a dead leaf blown about by the wind of causality.

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 (18.21). Some terms could be superfluous while some might not be mentioned. Click on the word to show English definitions.

Nirvasana, Niralamba, Svacchanda, Muktabandhana, Kshipta, Samskara, Vata, Shushkaparnavat,

Analysis of Sanskrit grammar

Note: this is an experimental feature and only shows the first possible analysis of the Sanskrit text (Ashtavakra Gita Verse 18.21). 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: “nirvāsano nirālambaḥ svacchando muktabandhanaḥ
  • nirvāsano* -
  • nirvāsana (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
  • nirālambaḥ -
  • nirālamba (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
  • svacchando* -
  • svacchanda (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
  • muktabandhanaḥ -
  • muktabandhana (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
  • Line 2: “kṣiptaḥ saṃskāravātena ceṣṭate śuṣkaparṇavat
  • kṣiptaḥ -
  • kṣipta (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
    kṣip -> kṣipta (participle, masculine)
    [nominative single from √kṣip class 4 verb], [nominative single from √kṣip class 6 verb]
  • saṃskāra -
  • saṃskāra (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • vātena -
  • vāta (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental single]
    vāta (noun, neuter)
    [instrumental single]
    -> vāta (participle, masculine)
    [instrumental single from √ class 2 verb]
    -> vāta (participle, neuter)
    [instrumental single from √ class 2 verb]
  • ceṣṭate -
  • ceṣṭ (verb class 1)
    [present middle third single]
  • śuṣkaparṇavat -
  • śuṣkaparṇavat (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]

Other editions:

Also see the following editions of the Sanskrit text or (alternative) English translations of the Ashtavakra Gita Verse 18.21

Cover of edition (1994)

Ashtavakra Gita (song of Ashtavakra)
by John Richards (1994)

Or the Song of Ashtavakra, Ashtavakra Samhita

Cover of edition (2016)

Astavakra (Ashtavakra) Gita
by Swami Chinmayananda (2016)

Sanskrit Text, Transliteration, Word-to-Word Meaning, Translation and Detailed Commentary

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Cover of edition (2013)

Ashtavakra Gita
by Kaka Hariom (2013)

Word-to-Word Meaning with Hindi Translation

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