Ashtavakra Gita 2.8Chapter 2, Verse 8
Ashtavakra Gita 2.8 is a verse from chapter 2 (Janaka's wonder). King Janaka speaks it to his teacher, the sage Ashtavakra. In plain English it says: "Light is my own form. I am nothing other than that. When the world shines, it is I who shine."
प्रकाशो मे निजं रूपं नातिरिक्तोऽस्म्यहं ततः ।यदा प्रकाशते विश्वं तदाहं भास एव हि ॥
prakāśo me nijaṃ rūpaṃ nātirikto'smyahaṃ tataḥ |yadā prakāśate viśvaṃ tadāhaṃ bhāsa eva hi ||
Light is my own form. I am nothing other than that. When the world shines, it is I who shine.
King Janaka, to Ashtavakra
Word meanings and a note for this verse are still being written. Read it in context on the chapter 2 page, or start with the verses in where to begin.
Chapter 2, Janaka's wonder: Janaka finds himself as awareness and bows to it in astonishment, testing the new view against the world, the body and the crowd.
Read all 25 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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