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The Heart of Awareness: A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita
The Ashtavakra Gita conveys with beauty and simplicity the essential teachings of Advaita Vedanta, the most influential of the Hindu philosophical systems. Composed by an anonymous master of the school of the great sage Shankara, it is a book of practical advice for seekers of wisdom as well as an ecstatic expression of the experience of enlightenment. In this simple, aphoristic version, the translator conveys the clarity and lyricism of the Sanskrit original with fluency and precision.
117 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1953
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About the author
Ashṭāvakra
8 books30 followersAshtavakra is a sage mentioned in Hindu scriptures. He is described as one born with eight different deformities of the body. In Sanskrit, Aṣṭāvakra means "one having eight bends".
He is traditionally regarded as the author of one of the greatest cornerstone works of Advaita Vedanta - the Ashtavakra Gita, a philosophical/metaphysical dialogue between King Janaka of Mithila and Ashtavakra himself.
He is traditionally regarded as the author of one of the greatest cornerstone works of Advaita Vedanta - the Ashtavakra Gita, a philosophical/metaphysical dialogue between King Janaka of Mithila and Ashtavakra himself.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
April 23, 2019
The Ashtavakra Gita, also known as the Ashtavakra Samhita is written as a dialogue between sage Ashtavakra and Janaka, king of the kingdom Mithila. Ashtavakra Gita, is advaitic masterpiece stating the whole truth without duality. When it comes to spiritual books, there is no question of commenting on content of the book. The only thing that matters is how the Author has presented the content for the easy understanding of the reader.
This one is highly enlightening commentary on Ashtavakra Gita. Commentary in 'Doubt/Answer' format. A must for everybody to find the way to liberation and peace. It is Poetic yet precise translation of original Sanskrit verses into English. Not everyone who reads a spiritual text belong to same category of seekers. Hence, what one reader takes from the book will be entirely different from what another reader understands. May be that’s why we have so many spiritual advises given from time to time in the form of various Gitas.
Every single page of the Ashtavakra Gita is filled with wisdom. If you are a spiritual seeker at the very beginner level, this book is a boon to you.
This one is highly enlightening commentary on Ashtavakra Gita. Commentary in 'Doubt/Answer' format. A must for everybody to find the way to liberation and peace. It is Poetic yet precise translation of original Sanskrit verses into English. Not everyone who reads a spiritual text belong to same category of seekers. Hence, what one reader takes from the book will be entirely different from what another reader understands. May be that’s why we have so many spiritual advises given from time to time in the form of various Gitas.
Every single page of the Ashtavakra Gita is filled with wisdom. If you are a spiritual seeker at the very beginner level, this book is a boon to you.
December 28, 2014
The last verse of this gem...
Where is existence or non-existence?
Where is Unity or duality?
Nothing emanates from me.
No more can be said.
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Where is existence or non-existence?
Where is Unity or duality?
Nothing emanates from me.
No more can be said.
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January 3, 2011
This translation of the Ashtavakra Gita, along with translations of the Bhagavad Gita and Katha Upanishad, form the Hindu scripture portion of the heart of my personal library.
There is a mesmerizing poetry in this translation: simple, sparse, elegant. And so, the Gita soars from the page, fluid, unforced -- and arrestingly profound.
Some yoga practises bring the student into an awareness of the space in one's breathing, between exhalation and inhalation -- a point of stillness. Generally, the intent is that an awareness of this stillness can be used to extend the peaceful state through the entire breathing cycle, and the yoga practise.
The Ashtavakra Gita pulls me steadily and surely to that very point of stillness, and it is a rare thing if I do not notice my breathing shift as it immerses me in its message. And I'm not even religious! (I could probably be best described as a religiously-literate atheist.) :)
There is a mesmerizing poetry in this translation: simple, sparse, elegant. And so, the Gita soars from the page, fluid, unforced -- and arrestingly profound.
Some yoga practises bring the student into an awareness of the space in one's breathing, between exhalation and inhalation -- a point of stillness. Generally, the intent is that an awareness of this stillness can be used to extend the peaceful state through the entire breathing cycle, and the yoga practise.
The Ashtavakra Gita pulls me steadily and surely to that very point of stillness, and it is a rare thing if I do not notice my breathing shift as it immerses me in its message. And I'm not even religious! (I could probably be best described as a religiously-literate atheist.) :)
January 3, 2018
As Osho says, unparalleled. There is a full Hindi translation of the main book that consists of a prologue and epilogue that gives it a tale/novel kind of motion that made me more emotionally involved than any other English novel I have ever read.
Who would have thought that thirty five pages of an ancient hindu scripture (read in hindi/sanskrit) describing the experiences casued by a conversation between a cuirious king and a handicapped child-sage comprising of a few days in a time period of apparently 400 BCE can be this impacting and invoke radical change in perception that no therapist, study of psychology, spiritual practices and experiences, lectures of world renowned spiritual speakers could accomplish and yet leave you mind blown at the end.
Few pages. Very few words. Will definitely change you forever.
Who would have thought that thirty five pages of an ancient hindu scripture (read in hindi/sanskrit) describing the experiences casued by a conversation between a cuirious king and a handicapped child-sage comprising of a few days in a time period of apparently 400 BCE can be this impacting and invoke radical change in perception that no therapist, study of psychology, spiritual practices and experiences, lectures of world renowned spiritual speakers could accomplish and yet leave you mind blown at the end.
Few pages. Very few words. Will definitely change you forever.
October 5, 2008
This book very important for the seeker and read carefully....repeat reading...and I am very happy after read this book....If I have spare time,I try to read this book.If someone else asking me which one the best books about advaita....I recomend this books...
February 23, 2020
A cataract surgery for the soul. Personally, it appeared defeatist and indolent at times but if you can pick and choose from its teaching, it's an enlightening work of philosophy. It humbled me to the ranks of a simpleton with its profound, yet amusing wit.
July 27, 2011
Do not read this unless you are actively pursuing a spiritual path. It possesses an unheralded amount of spiritual nihilism that will not produce positive results for the casual reader. It is a meditation and proclamation that we are already awake and merely need to awaken to this awakeness. If you like Richard Rose, Jed McKenna, Franklin Merrell-Wolff, Douglas Harding, Nisargadatta Maharaj, UG Krishnamurti or Wei Wu Wei you'll like Astavakra.
December 18, 2008
One of the best Indian gitas that is comparable in many ways to the Tao Te Ching. Simple yet profound wisdom.
January 4, 2011
While the Ashtavakra Gita is a beautiful book, this translation is horrible. It is so disappointing, that even over a year later, memories of it has spurred me to write a review here so that others may be made aware and go seek a better translation.
My main issue is that the author's translation changes the very nature of this Gita. The Ashtavakra Gita is originally in a debate/dialogue format between the King and a challenger. The depth and meaning of this beautiful Gita resides in that exchange. Although there is only one author, one voice (one master), the duality in verse is as much a part of the wisdom of this Gita as what is being spoken. It's what makes the original so genius!
And this author has removed all traces of this dialogue in his translation. Eep. The pace and witty lines have been replaced with a soft mushy flow. Any possible transmission has been replaced by flat white noise. What's more upsetting is that the author even tells us about removing this subtle dialogue in his Notes. On page 79 he says, "Except here and in a few other verses, there is no clear or natural colloquy and no attempt to distinguish the voices of King Janaka and Ashtavakra. On the contrary, a single voice, speaking with undisputed authority, dominates every chapter. For these reasons I have dispensed with the fiction of dramatic dialogue, except for the opening question." Argh!
How do you go about removing something so significant and then call it a translation?
Sure, sand away and smooth out the edges of that scratchiness, but now you've destroyed that which made the Ashtavakra Gita stand out from the Vedas and other Gitas. I don't deny that Byrom's words in this books are not beautiful. They are. But they don't represent the essence of the Ashtavakra Gita anymore. The author has strayed too much from the original intent. Gone is the earnest seeker. Gone is the dual voice which unfolds to the nondual in the discourse between Janaka and the King.
My main issue is that the author's translation changes the very nature of this Gita. The Ashtavakra Gita is originally in a debate/dialogue format between the King and a challenger. The depth and meaning of this beautiful Gita resides in that exchange. Although there is only one author, one voice (one master), the duality in verse is as much a part of the wisdom of this Gita as what is being spoken. It's what makes the original so genius!
And this author has removed all traces of this dialogue in his translation. Eep. The pace and witty lines have been replaced with a soft mushy flow. Any possible transmission has been replaced by flat white noise. What's more upsetting is that the author even tells us about removing this subtle dialogue in his Notes. On page 79 he says, "Except here and in a few other verses, there is no clear or natural colloquy and no attempt to distinguish the voices of King Janaka and Ashtavakra. On the contrary, a single voice, speaking with undisputed authority, dominates every chapter. For these reasons I have dispensed with the fiction of dramatic dialogue, except for the opening question." Argh!
How do you go about removing something so significant and then call it a translation?
Sure, sand away and smooth out the edges of that scratchiness, but now you've destroyed that which made the Ashtavakra Gita stand out from the Vedas and other Gitas. I don't deny that Byrom's words in this books are not beautiful. They are. But they don't represent the essence of the Ashtavakra Gita anymore. The author has strayed too much from the original intent. Gone is the earnest seeker. Gone is the dual voice which unfolds to the nondual in the discourse between Janaka and the King.
April 15, 2013
One Amazing source of spiritual knowledge, so easily explained...I can go back to this awsome book anytime... Yeah.. Literally anytime... opens up one's thinking beyond horizons... Must read!
April 8, 2024
Een interessant perspectief voor wetenschappers in spe:
"What do I care who knows,
What is known,
Or how it is known?
What do I care for knowlegde?
What do I care what is,
Or what is not?
(...)
Nothing arises in me,
In whom nothing is single,
Nothing is double.
Nothing is,
Nothing is not.
What more is there to say?"
"What do I care who knows,
What is known,
Or how it is known?
What do I care for knowlegde?
What do I care what is,
Or what is not?
(...)
Nothing arises in me,
In whom nothing is single,
Nothing is double.
Nothing is,
Nothing is not.
What more is there to say?"
May 22, 2009
a friend quoted a part of the Ashtavakra Gita to me when I had bells palsy in college. i picked up this book when my mom was sick with cancer so that i could share it with her, as well.
You are not your body.
Your body is not you.
You are not the doer.
You are not the enjoyer.
You are pure awareness,
The witness of all things.
You are without expectation,
Free.
You are not your body.
Your body is not you.
You are not the doer.
You are not the enjoyer.
You are pure awareness,
The witness of all things.
You are without expectation,
Free.
May 13, 2014
Fundamental en la doctrina Advaita
December 8, 2018
Great book to understand Advaita
December 9, 2018
What is more to say?
January 13, 2020
The only book a person would ever need to read. That simple really.
November 30, 2025
Ashtavakra Gita je jedno od najradikalnijih dela indijske duhovnosti - ne drži čitaoca nežno za ruku, niti obilazi temu, već jasno i nedvosmisleno pokazuje put ka buđenju apsolutne svesti. Nema filozofije, nema mita, samo ogoljen dijalog između kralja i sveca, koji vodi direktno ka srži samospoznaje.
"Like a leaf in the wind the liberated one is untethered from life - desireless, independent, free."
Knjiga ne nudi nikakve tehnike i rituale već poništava sve uvrežene pojmove: identitet, dužnost ka naporu, želju za ovim ili onim, patnju, pa čak i meditaciju. Ona kaže - sve je iluzorno, sve je samo deo poigravanja svesti i kad se sa tim znanjem saživi onda se sve vidi kao jedan san koji više nije patnja i u kojem se živi lako, spontano i lišeno tereta lične potrebe i obaveznosti. U suštini, ako se deo ovog znanja ponese u svet u kojem smo zatečeni, onda je lakše ne uzimati unutrašnja previranja suviše ozbiljno, ne vezivati se za ishod i jednostavno pustiti život da se odvija kroz nas umesto da ga pokušavamo forsirati. Kratka knjižica kojoj ću se vratiti - istovremeno zastrašujuća i oslobađajuća.
"One of tranquil mind seeks neither crowds nor wilderness. He is the same wherever he goes."
"Like a leaf in the wind the liberated one is untethered from life - desireless, independent, free."
Knjiga ne nudi nikakve tehnike i rituale već poništava sve uvrežene pojmove: identitet, dužnost ka naporu, želju za ovim ili onim, patnju, pa čak i meditaciju. Ona kaže - sve je iluzorno, sve je samo deo poigravanja svesti i kad se sa tim znanjem saživi onda se sve vidi kao jedan san koji više nije patnja i u kojem se živi lako, spontano i lišeno tereta lične potrebe i obaveznosti. U suštini, ako se deo ovog znanja ponese u svet u kojem smo zatečeni, onda je lakše ne uzimati unutrašnja previranja suviše ozbiljno, ne vezivati se za ishod i jednostavno pustiti život da se odvija kroz nas umesto da ga pokušavamo forsirati. Kratka knjižica kojoj ću se vratiti - istovremeno zastrašujuća i oslobađajuća.
"One of tranquil mind seeks neither crowds nor wilderness. He is the same wherever he goes."
December 26, 2025
The Ashtavakra Gita (c. 500–800 CE) is a radical Advaita text that cuts straight through spiritual striving, emphasizing the futility—and subtle suffering—embedded in seeking itself. The core reason is simple and uncompromising: you are already, always, formless awareness.
In the Ashtavakra Gita (and Advaita Vedanta more broadly), liberation doesn’t arise from effort, discipline, or spiritual practice. It comes only through recognizing the illusion of egoic identification—mistaking oneself for body, mind, personality, or action.
Nothing needs to be attained—except, paradoxically, a radical, complete, lived realization of what is already the case, alongside the full disillusionment of ego identification.
I just listened to a brief audio version immediately after a longer, Sanskrit line-by-line interpretation by Swami Nityaswarupananda (review here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...).
Revisiting the text in this more direct, narrated form—after the scholarly deep dive—was surprisingly powerful.
It helped me reconnect with the human scale of the teaching.
And honestly, I got far more out of it on this pass.
An added bonus: the audiobook’s prologue features conversations with Ramana Maharshi. His voice and clarity are always grounding, always clarifying.
A great listen.
Very worth it.
5/5 ⭐️
In the Ashtavakra Gita (and Advaita Vedanta more broadly), liberation doesn’t arise from effort, discipline, or spiritual practice. It comes only through recognizing the illusion of egoic identification—mistaking oneself for body, mind, personality, or action.
Nothing needs to be attained—except, paradoxically, a radical, complete, lived realization of what is already the case, alongside the full disillusionment of ego identification.
I just listened to a brief audio version immediately after a longer, Sanskrit line-by-line interpretation by Swami Nityaswarupananda (review here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...).
Revisiting the text in this more direct, narrated form—after the scholarly deep dive—was surprisingly powerful.
It helped me reconnect with the human scale of the teaching.
And honestly, I got far more out of it on this pass.
An added bonus: the audiobook’s prologue features conversations with Ramana Maharshi. His voice and clarity are always grounding, always clarifying.
A great listen.
Very worth it.
5/5 ⭐️
July 17, 2025
"Even when he is still, / The selfish man is busy. / Even when he is busy. / The selfless man is still."
August 28, 2019
profound exposition on ashtavakra essence
January 15, 2023
Warning: if you cannot find this exact book, please choose a translation from an *Indian* Sanskritist. Reason? Having a working foundation in both spoken and Vedic Sanskrit, I tend to read texts in Devanagari script. This time, I checked out some English versions online. Wrong move! Three online “translations” (Richards, Marshall, Byrom) were all incorrect… we’re talking misinterpreting basic Sanskrit 101 vocabulary like विश्व (universe) and आत्मा (soul).
Literally the 2 most repeated words in everything Vedantic, and they get them wrong. Unbelievable.
After you do get an authentic translation… enjoy ! This is possibly the most clear and digestible explanation of the massive distance one should keep between the Self and the body/mind I’ve read. So wonderful…
Quotes from Sri Ramanasraram’s version :
——————————————————-
“Oh beloved, if you want liberation then renounce the passions as poison, and take forgiveness, innocence, compassion, contentment and truth as nectar. To attain liberation, know yourself as the witnessing consciousness of all these.”
“If you can separate yourself from your physical body and rest in consciousness, then this very moment you will be happy, at peace and free of bondage.”
“ you are not perceived by the eyes or other senses. Unattached and without form,
You are not the doer nor the enjoyer
You are the one observer of all, and in reality always free. Your bondage is this: You see the other - not yourself - as the observer
"I am an individually projected life," drop this illusion and also the feeling of inner and outer, and awaken in the feeling that you are the unchanging, conscious, nondual soul."
“Hence have faith only in consciousness.”
“Amazing that through ignorance the imaginary world appears in me, just as silver appears in mother of pearl, a snake in a rope, or a mirage in the rays of the sun.”
“Amazing am I, I bow down to myself. None here is as capable as I, who have been maintaining this universe for an eternity without even touching it with the body.”
(To be continued…)
“
Literally the 2 most repeated words in everything Vedantic, and they get them wrong. Unbelievable.
After you do get an authentic translation… enjoy ! This is possibly the most clear and digestible explanation of the massive distance one should keep between the Self and the body/mind I’ve read. So wonderful…
Quotes from Sri Ramanasraram’s version :
——————————————————-
“Oh beloved, if you want liberation then renounce the passions as poison, and take forgiveness, innocence, compassion, contentment and truth as nectar. To attain liberation, know yourself as the witnessing consciousness of all these.”
“If you can separate yourself from your physical body and rest in consciousness, then this very moment you will be happy, at peace and free of bondage.”
“ you are not perceived by the eyes or other senses. Unattached and without form,
You are not the doer nor the enjoyer
You are the one observer of all, and in reality always free. Your bondage is this: You see the other - not yourself - as the observer
"I am an individually projected life," drop this illusion and also the feeling of inner and outer, and awaken in the feeling that you are the unchanging, conscious, nondual soul."
“Hence have faith only in consciousness.”
“Amazing that through ignorance the imaginary world appears in me, just as silver appears in mother of pearl, a snake in a rope, or a mirage in the rays of the sun.”
“Amazing am I, I bow down to myself. None here is as capable as I, who have been maintaining this universe for an eternity without even touching it with the body.”
(To be continued…)
“
January 11, 2020
One of the best books. It gives clear understanding of life. A must read for the seekers who wants to live life at best
September 23, 2020
Good one
May 15, 2019
To understand that our mind is just a sailboat floating on an ocean of 'being'. Just like a droplet of water (the self, the ego) that has evaporated into the sky from the ocean and eventually will rain down into the ocean when we get awake by dissolving ourselves loosing those layers of dust that we acquired on the surface of the droplet. That was what trapped me in the reading process. It's so beautiful.
November 5, 2017
Deep and profound knowledge
Practical wisdom from ancient times but still so relevant in modern times and situations. This is one book you would go over and over again in different stages of life.
Practical wisdom from ancient times but still so relevant in modern times and situations. This is one book you would go over and over again in different stages of life.
September 20, 2019
Eye opener, distroyed all my disbelief which I carried since long
This book is much above these five stars. It has destroyed all my disbelief and given the right way to move forward. I have read many books but nothing campared to this. Thank you so much for this.....
This book is much above these five stars. It has destroyed all my disbelief and given the right way to move forward. I have read many books but nothing campared to this. Thank you so much for this.....
May 8, 2012
awesome...ageold wisdom unfolding in print..
December 3, 2012
Soothing knowledge, knowledge for the soul and priority for a spiritual seeker.
April 15, 2013
In the deepest of deep, where no words go, he finds a way to describe it and make it better.
March 26, 2014
Layers and layers of simple truth for the journey of enlightenment.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews