Ashtavakra Gita 18.19Chapter 18, Verse 19
Ashtavakra Gita 18.19 is a verse from chapter 18 (Peace in a hundred verses). The sage Ashtavakra speaks it to King Janaka. In plain English it says: "The wise one, beyond being and not-being, content and free of tendencies, does nothing at all, though in other people's eyes he acts."
भावाभावविहीनो यस्तृप्तो निर्वासनो बुधः ।नैव किञ्चित्कृतं तेन लोकदृष्ट्या विकुर्वता ॥
bhāvābhāvavihīno yastṛpto nirvāsano budhaḥ |naiva kiñcitkṛtaṃ tena lokadṛṣṭyā vikurvatā ||
The wise one, beyond being and not-being, content and free of tendencies, does nothing at all, though in other people's eyes he acts.
Ashtavakra, to King Janaka
Word meanings and a note for this verse are still being written. Read it in context on the chapter 18 page, or start with the verses in where to begin.
Chapter 18, Peace in a hundred verses: The longest chapter, a third of the text, contrasting the confused who strive with the steady who are already at rest.
Read all 100 verses in this chapter →Seven mornings of short readings from the Bhagavad Gita, chosen for what you're going through, by email.
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