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 15.1

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अष्टावक्र उवाच ।
यथातथोपदेशेन कृतार्थः सत्त्वबुद्धिमान् ।
आजीवमपि जिज्ञासुः परस्तत्र विमुह्यति ॥ १ ॥

aṣṭāvakra uvāca |
yathātathopadeśena kṛtārthaḥ sattvabuddhimān |
ājīvamapi jijñāsuḥ parastatra vimuhyati || 1 ||

Ashtavakra: While a man of pure intelligence may achieve the goal by the most casual of instruction, another may seek knowledge all his life and still remain bewildered.
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 (15.1). Some terms could be superfluous while some might not be mentioned. Click on the word to show English definitions.

Ashtavakra, Yathatatha, Upadesha, Kritartha, Sattva, Buddhimat, Ajivam, Ajiva, Api, Jijnasu, Parah, Para, Tatra, Uhya, Ati,

Analysis of Sanskrit grammar

Note: this is an experimental feature and only shows the first possible analysis of the Sanskrit text (Ashtavakra Gita Verse 15.1). 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: “aṣṭāvakra uvāca ”
aṣṭāvakra* -
aṣṭāvakra (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: “yathātathopadeśena kṛtārthaḥ sattvabuddhimān ”
yathātatho -
yathātatha (noun, masculine)

[compound], [vocative single]

yathātatha (noun, neuter)

[compound], [vocative single]

yathātathā (noun, feminine)

[nominative single]
upadeśena -
upadeśa (noun, masculine)

[instrumental single]
kṛtārthaḥ -
kṛtārtha (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
sattva -
sattva (noun, masculine)

[compound], [vocative single]

sattva (noun, neuter)

[compound], [vocative single]
buddhimān -
buddhimat (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
Line 3: “ājīvamapi jijñāsuḥ parastatra vimuhyati ”
ājīvam -
ājīvam (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]

ājīva (noun, masculine)

[adverb], [accusative single]
api -
api (indeclinable preposition)

[indeclinable preposition]

ap (noun, neuter)

[locative single]
jijñāsuḥ -
jijñāsu (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]

jijñāsu (noun, feminine)

[nominative single]
paras -
paraḥ (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]

para (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
tatra -
tatra (indeclinable adverb)

[indeclinable adverb]

tatra (indeclinable correlative)

[indeclinable correlative]

tatra (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]
vim -
vi (noun, masculine)

[accusative single]
uhya -
√uh -> uhya (absolutive)

[absolutive from √uh]

√vah -> uhya (absolutive)

[absolutive from √vah]

uhya (noun, masculine)

[compound], [vocative single]

uhya (noun, neuter)

[compound], [vocative single]

√u (verb class 2)

[imperative active second single]
ati -
ati (indeclinable adverb)

[indeclinable adverb]

ati (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]

ati (Preverb)

[Preverb]