Ashtavakra Gita 2.9Chapter 2, Verse 9
Ashtavakra Gita 2.9 is a verse from chapter 2 (Janaka's wonder). King Janaka speaks it to his teacher, the sage Ashtavakra. In plain English it says: "How strange. Through not knowing, the imagined world appears in me, like silver in a shell, a snake in a rope, water in the sun's glare."
अहो विकल्पितं विश्वमज्ञानान्मयि भासते ।रूप्यं शुक्तौ फणी रज्जौ वारि सूर्यकरे यथा ॥
aho vikalpitaṃ viśvamajñānānmayi bhāsate |rūpyaṃ śuktau phaṇī rajjau vāri sūryakare yathā ||
How strange. Through not knowing, the imagined world appears in me, like silver in a shell, a snake in a rope, water in the sun's glare.
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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