Ashtavakra Gita: Annotated

As Rai Bajadur Lala Baijnath opened in his 1904 introduction, “The aim of all true philosophy is to raise man from the finite to the infinite and to make him indifferent to the world of sense around him.” The Ashtavakra Gita (अष्टावक्रगीता, Aṣtāvakragītā, ‘song of Ashtavakra’) depicts a dialogue between Aṣtavakra and Janaka centering on the nature and realization of the Ātman (true Self). The Ashtavakra Gita is an excellent example of Advaita Vedanta, the Hindu philosophical tradition that argues for the Self as pure consciousness or awareness, unseparated from the true reality of Brahman.Rai Bajadur Lala Baijnath’s 1904 translation of The Ashtavakra Gita is here placed alongside the Sanskrit on facing pages. The translation is also edited for modern spelling and grammar, and in some places for the accuracy of the translation. Read more