Sage Ashtavakra was born with eight physical deformities on his body due to a curse by his father for correcting him on his knowledge of vedas while in his mother’ womb. His father Kahola with his limited knowledge went to king Janaka’s court for seeking riches and was forced to debate with Scholar Vandin which he lost and consequently drowned in the river Ganga as punishment ( jala samadhi). Ashtavakra as 10 year old boy went to the king Janaka’s court to debate with scholar Vandin and everyone laughed at his physical deformities. He laughed back and said the those who see only the external form were fools and challenged Vandin for the debate and defeated him to avenge his father’s death. When Vandin was preparing to take jala samadhi as punishment, Ashtavakra pardoned him .
Ashtavakra Gita is a knowledgeable and soul searching dialogue between sage Ashtavakra and the scholarly king Janaka ( Sita’s father) on the nature of Self ( Atman), reality and bondage. It offers somewhat radical or agnostic version of Advaita ( non dualist) philosophy of Hinduism. The Gita insists on complete unreality of external world ( maya) and absolute oneness of existence ( aikyam). Sage Ashtavakra dismisses all physical names and forms as unreal including his own physical deformities. When there is no ‘me’ , that is liberation and when there is ‘me’ there is bondage . All is illusion ( maya) and I am the self. With self réalisation, you are the god. No one knows when this Gita was written, probably shortly after the Bhagwan Gita ,sometime in 500-400 BCE .
Ashtavakra Gita is a knowledgeable and soul searching dialogue between sage Ashtavakra and the scholarly king Janaka ( Sita’s father) on the nature of Self ( Atman), reality and bondage. It offers somewhat radical or agnostic version of Advaita ( non dualist) philosophy of Hinduism. The Gita insists on complete unreality of external world ( maya) and absolute oneness of existence ( aikyam). Sage Ashtavakra dismisses all physical names and forms as unreal including his own physical deformities. When there is no ‘me’ , that is liberation and when there is ‘me’ there is bondage . All is illusion ( maya) and I am the self. With self réalisation, you are the god. No one knows when this Gita was written, probably shortly after the Bhagwan Gita ,sometime in 500-400 BCE .
