Ashtavakra Gita 20.1Chapter 20, Verse 1
Ashtavakra Gita 20.1 is a verse from chapter 20 (Free while living). King Janaka speaks it to his teacher, the sage Ashtavakra. In plain English it says: "Where are the elements, where is the body, where are the senses, where is the mind, where is emptiness, where is despair, in my own spotless nature?"
क्व भूतानि क्व देहो वा क्वेन्द्रियाणि क्व वा मनः ।क्व शून्यं क्व च नैराश्यं मत्स्वरूपे निरञ्जने ॥
kva bhūtāni kva deho vā kvendriyāṇi kva vā manaḥ |kva śūnyaṃ kva ca nairāśyaṃ matsvarūpe nirañjane ||
Where are the elements, where is the body, where are the senses, where is the mind, where is emptiness, where is despair, in my own spotless nature?
King Janaka, to Ashtavakra
Word meanings and a note for this verse are still being written. Read it in context on the chapter 20 page, or start with the verses in where to begin.
Chapter 20, Free while living: Janaka's last words: in his own nature there is no world, no one seeking freedom, no teacher and no teaching, and nothing rises.
Read all 14 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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