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 4.1

जनक उवाच ।
हन्तात्मज्ञस्य धीरस्य खेलतो भोगलीलया ।
न हि संसारवाहीकैर्मूढैः सह समानता ॥ १ ॥

janaka uvāca |
hantātmajñasya dhīrasya khelato bhogalīlayā |
na hi saṃsāravāhīkairmūḍhaiḥ saha samānatā || 1 ||

Ashtavakra: Certainly the wise person of self-knowledge, playing the game of worldly enjoyment, bears no resemblance whatever to the world's bewildered beasts of burden.

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

Janaka, Hanta, Jna, Dhira, Khelat, Bhoga, Lila, Samsara, Vahika, Mudha, Saha, Samanata,

Analysis of Sanskrit grammar

Note: this is an experimental feature and only shows the first possible analysis of the Sanskrit text (Ashtavakra Gita Verse 4.1). 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: “janaka uvāca
  • janaka* -
  • janaka (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
  • uvāca -
  • vac (verb class 2)
    [perfect active first single], [perfect active third single]
    vac (verb class 3)
    [perfect active first single], [perfect active third single]
  • Line 2: “hantātmajñasya dhīrasya khelato bhogalīlayā
  • hantāt -
  • hanta (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [ablative single]
    hanta (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [ablative single]
  • ma -
  • ma (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    ma (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • jñasya -
  • jña (noun, masculine)
    [genitive single]
    jña (noun, neuter)
    [genitive single]
  • dhīrasya -
  • dhīra (noun, masculine)
    [genitive single]
    dhīra (noun, neuter)
    [genitive single]
  • khelato* -
  • khel -> khelat (participle, masculine)
    [accusative plural from √khel class 1 verb], [ablative single from √khel class 1 verb], [genitive single from √khel class 1 verb]
    khel -> khelat (participle, neuter)
    [ablative single from √khel class 1 verb], [genitive single from √khel class 1 verb]
    khel (verb class 1)
    [present active third dual]
  • bhoga -
  • bhoga (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    bhoga (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • līlayā -
  • līlā (noun, feminine)
    [instrumental single]
  • Line 3: “na hi saṃsāravāhīkairmūḍhaiḥ saha samānatā
  • na -
  • na (indeclinable particle)
    [indeclinable particle]
    na (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    na (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • hi -
  • hi (indeclinable particle)
    [indeclinable particle]
  • saṃsāra -
  • saṃsāra (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • vāhīkair -
  • vāhīka (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental plural]
    vāhīka (noun, neuter)
    [instrumental plural]
  • mūḍhaiḥ -
  • mūḍha (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental plural]
    mūḍha (noun, neuter)
    [instrumental plural]
    muh -> mūḍha (participle, masculine)
    [instrumental plural from √muh class 4 verb]
    muh -> mūḍha (participle, neuter)
    [instrumental plural from √muh class 4 verb]
  • saha -
  • saha (indeclinable postposition)
    [indeclinable postposition]
    saha (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    saha (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    sah (verb class 1)
    [imperative active second single]
  • samānatā -
  • samānatā (noun, feminine)
    [nominative single]

Other editions:

Also see the following editions of the Sanskrit text or (alternative) English translations of the Ashtavakra Gita Verse 4.1

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

Buy now!
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