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A~tavakra.
[ Al?~a vakrag'ita l
The song of the self supreme (A~tavakragita), the classi-
cal text of Atmadvaita by A~tavakra. With an introduc
tory essay, Sanskrit text, English translation, annotation,'\
and glossarial index, by Radhakamal Mukerjee. llst ed.1
Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass £19711
199 p. Rsl6.00
(Verse treatise on the Hindu Advaita Vedanta approach
to self-realization)
l-San-1627
7Ja72 MRML 20-C SVK
' ~-. •·11 -.. ..
The Song of The Self Supreme
(A~TAVAKRAGITA)
The Classical Text of Atmadvaita by A~tavakra with an Introductory
Essay, Sanskrit Text, English Translation, Annotation
and Glossarial Index .
•
By
Radhakamal Mukerjee
Formerly Vice-Chancellor, Lucknow University, Professor Emeritus, Kashi
Vidyapith, Director, J. K. Institute of Sociology, and Human Relations,
Lucknow University, Lucknow.
MOTILAL BANARSIDASS
DgLIJJ :: V4~A.?i.A.SI :: PATNA
@MOTILAL BANARSIDASS
NAGAR DELHI-7
Head Oflice : BUNGALOW ROAD, JAWAHAR '
Branches : (1) CHOWK, VARANASI-I (u.P.)
(2) ASHOK RAJPATH, PATNA-4 (BIHAR)
CONTENTS
Introductory Essay
I. Vision of the Self as the All-pervading
Witness (Sak~i) 29
II. Marvel of the Infinite Self Beyond Nature
(Ascaryam) 40
III. Self in All and All in the Self (A.tmadvaita) 52
IV. Knower and the Non-knower of the Self
(Sarvamatma) 58
V. Stages of Dissolution of Consciousness (Laya) 61
VI. Irrelevance of Dissolution of Consciousness
(Prakrte}:i Para}:i) 65
VII. Tranquil and Boundless Ocean of the Self
(Santa) ........___ 71
VIII. Bondage and Freedom ( Mok~a) 74
First Edition IX. Indifference (Nirveda) 76
1971 X. Dispassion (Vairagya) 81
Price Rs. 16.00 XI. Self as Pure and Radiant intelligence
(Cidrupa) 85
XII. Ascent of Contemplation (Svabhava) 90
XIII. Transcendent Bliss ( Yathasukham) 95
XIV. Natural Dissolution of the Mind (lsvara) 100
XV. Unborn Self or Brahman (Tattvam) 103
XVI. Self-Abidance through Obliteration of the
World (Svasthya) 117
XVII. Absolute Aloneness of the Self ( Kaivalya) 123
XVIII. Way and Goal of Natural Samadhi
(Jivanmukti) 132
XIX. Majesty of the Self ( Svamahima) 169
XX. Transcendence of the Self (Akificanabhava) 174
Glossarial Index 189
, I-A7 IN AT SHRI JAINENDRA PRESS, BUNGALOW
PRINTED IN INUIA BY S~IANl. ILAl. AND pUBLISHED BY SUNDARLAL JAIN,
ROAD, JAWAHAR NAC.AR, ~~:.~Lo'W ROAD JAWAHAR NAGAR, DELHl-7·
MOTILAL BANARSIDASS, B • · · '
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY
'/lw Importance and Background of the Text
The A~tavakra Gita is a unique text among the world's
rnntemplative classics dealing systematically with the mystical
··xreriences of the Self on its way to transcendence, peace
;ind bliss. There ar~ few ancient treatises in East or West
which evince such profound and lively concern with the
Supreme Self as the ultimate reality, embodied in mystical
insight and experience, and written with such spiritual imagi
uation and poetic fervour. It may, indeed, be compared
with the Dialogues of PLato, the Tao Teh King and the Bhagavad
<, 'rta that all record universal insights and experiences of medi-
ation which belong to the heritage of entire mankind.
1
A~tavakra' s teaching in respect of the cosmic Self is
presented in the form of his dialogue with Janairn, the
magnificent King of Videha, about whom we read so much
in the RamayaJJa, the Mahabharata and Br hadaraT}yaka Upani~ad.
Although the evidence is not clear and definite, A~tavakra of
this text is probably the same as the holy sage of the eight
curved body of the Mahabharata; while Janaka, his disciple
here, is identical with the renowned King-seer (rajaqi) of
Videha and father of Sita, spouse of Ramacandra, in both
1l ic epics. It is the S(lme King-seer whom Yajfiavalkya teaches
the birth of th~ Supreme Self in the BrhadaraTJ.yaka Upani$ad'
(IV, 2, 4; 3, 1) and who stimulates a metaphysical debate
l>ctween this sage-teacher and a group of BrahmaJ).a Nis in
1h e same Upani:wd (III, 1, 1). It is noteworthy that he is
also depicted as the splendid model of the wise man in the
Hhagavad Gita (IIr; 20, 25).
The Trio : A~ tavakra, Yajfiavalkya and Janaka
In the Mahabharata we find Janaka making the following
oft-quoted observation. "Infinite is, indeed, my wealth of
'vvhich nothing is mine. If Mithila is burnt, nothing that
is rnine is burnt" (Santiparva, VII, 1 ). In the A.~ftfoakra Gita
'me niisti kificana athap[j me sarvam'(II, 14) is similarlycchoed
2 The Song of the Self Supreme Tntroductory Essay 3
by Janaka. The spirit of the magnificent trio, A~tavakra, 1h c doctrine of the unity of Brahman (Brahmadvaitam )" ( Mahti
Yajfiavalkya and Janaka ,is identical-the quest and vision h!1iirata, Vanaparva 133; 18). Vandin was duly defeated in the
of the Self (iitmii.-Brahma-anusandhana-anubhava ). The true self, I 1hilosophical debate and merged into the ocean, whence KahoQ.a
as taught by both A~tavakra and Yajfiavalkya to King J anaka, 11·appeared. The father let his son bathe in the river Samanga.
is infinite:.Akafam iitma, says Yajfiavalkya in the Brhadiirargaka A~tavakra's limbs were immediately made straight, but he was
Upani~ad (III, 2, 13); ''boundless as Space is the Self; the .. vcr called AHavakra.
phenomenal world is like a water-pot", observes A~tavakra It is worth while to refer to the intellectual disquisition
(VI, 1). The Self is all pervasive, formless, subtle, bound- I wtween Astavakra and Vandin as given in the epic. The
less and stainless as the sky. ''That great unborn Self who 1;1rmer obvi~usly enters into the controversy with the object
is undecaying, undying, immortal, fearless Brahman'' (Brhada. of proving the supremacy of the Upani$adic creed, although
raf}yaka Upani~ad, IV, 4, 25). In the A~tlil1akl'a Gita we read, the meaning of his argument is hidden behind a citation of
"May be a king or a beggar, he shines who is unattached". the numerals in which the controversialists are seriously
King J anaka in both the epics is the fully liberated, unattached .. ngaged.
being (jivanmukta) who carries on in a disinterested manner
his duties of life for the integration of the world-order (what The Significance of Number Thirteen
the Bhagavad Gita calls Lokasarhgraha ), unaffected by the human As the intellectual combat proceeds, the various numerals,
condition. He is, therefore, the most appropriate disciple for one to thirteen, are successively brought out for denoting
being instructed in the truth of the supreme self by AHavakra the supreme principle of the universe. Vandin, citing from
in our text, leading to his withdrawal into the silence and the first to the twelfth number and referring to various
bliss of the Absolute. categories, beings and things, suddenly stopped after the
first-half of his sloka on the thirteenth number. A~tavakra
The A~tavakra Legend in the Mahabharata thereupon completed the full sloka relating to thirteen. The
The legend about A~tavakra is fully given in the Mahabharata implication is that the self which is essentially non-dual, free
( Vanaparva, 132-134). The sage was born a cripple, crooked and unconditioned becomes subject to happiness and sorrow
on eight parts of his body, due to the curse of his father, the and the cycle of birth and deaths through the thirteen viz.,
great r~i Kahoc;la. While he had been in hh mother's womb, the ten organs of sense and activity, and intelligence, mind and
he became so learned and wise that he expostulated with his ego-sense. Through wisdom, the Self not only shou:ld transcend
'father who had been reading the whole night. The enraged happiness and sorrow as well as the twelve Silas (viz., dharma,
father cursed the embryo. This was the cause of the eight truth, self-restraint, penance, good-wHl, modesty, forgiveness,
fold twisting of A~tavakra's limbs as he came out of his exemption from envy, sacrifice, charity, concentration and
mother's body. Later on, Kahoc;la went to the court of Janaka control over the senses) but also surmount the thirteen. This
where he was defeated in an intellectual duel with Vandin. is liberation in life, according to A~tavakra, who recovers the
As a result he was immersed into the ocean. For years no supreme Upani$adic truth, "l am Brahman" ( aham hrahmiismi ),
body in his family knew about this. and the Self is all that exists (sarvam atma ), which was eclipsed
When A~tavakra was only twelve, he came to ascertain from by the specious arguments of the sophist Vandin. The latter
Svetaketu about the fate of his father. He and Svetaketu only uses "words of subtlety" and cannot indeed get past
~hen jo~rneyed to the court of J anaka for challenging Vandin thirteen.
m a philosophical debate. A~tavakra there declared to Janaka When A~tavakra composes the second half of the sloka on
from whom he sought permission for entering into the intellec thirteen, he makes the remark, "Thirteen sacrifices are presided
tual combat, ''I have come befor~ the Brahmins to expound over by Kesi (which is an epithet of Knl}.a); and thirteen
Introductory Essay
4 The Song of the Self Supreme
(c. 2nd to 1st Century B.C. ). It is very much nearer to the
are devoured by Atichandas (the longer metres) of the Veda". !ilwganad Gita and such later Upani~ads as the Svetiisvatara,
The Supreme Self, as Knr:ia-Vasudeva, presides over the ,\/utJefaka and Ma~u/Ji~ya Upani,rnds than to the Brahmasutras { c.
sacrifices offered by the body, senses, mind and atman '.~nd Oen tury B.C. ). All these were composed in a mystical
(Adhiyajna of the Bhagavad Gita, VIII, 2, 4 )-thirteen in num lllilieu and emphasized int-uitive illumination and transcen
ber-and enables man to surmount the metres of the Vedas, c knee. There is a slight reference in the text to the Buddhist
and realize the supreme Brahman or Atman. Accordingly, speculation in respect of the non-existence (XVIIl,42, 63) and
the teachin~ of Brahmadvaita or Atmadvaita is duly expounded, 10 the Sun yarn or void (XX, 1 ), while one of its common similes
as promised by A~tavakra when he obtained his entry into of the ocean as the Self and its waves as the external world
Mithila, the city of Janaka, for the duel with Vandin. is used in an important context by Asvagho~a (c. 1st Century
Winternitz in his History of Indian Literature refers to number ;\.D.), the founder of Mahayfrna idealism. Like the Bhagavad
of riddles and Ii tanies from Christianity and Hinduism. L'ita, the A$favakra Gita preceded the formation of the Buddhist
A~tavakra's arrangement of the categories of truths according as well as of Hindu philosophical system. While the MuTJ,rj,aka
to numbers is a noteworthy example of number puzzle and Upani,r;ad and the Bhagavad Oita refer to the Ve<lftnta, the
prayer in Hinduism. /l>tiivakra Gita does not mention the term. Its several references
A much later legend is also recorded in the VinzupuratJa to dvaita and advaita, however, clearly indicate acquaintance
(V, 38; 71-84)that as the sage was performing penances with with the advaita Vedantic speculation of the times. "Rare
his body under waters, the nymphs of heaven offered hymns is the man who knows the Self as the One without a second
to him. On this A~tavakra gave them the boon that they as well the Ruler of the Universe. He is comrletely free from
would obtain Puru~ottama for husband. But as he came out fear'' (IV. 6). This echoes the supreme monism of the
of the waters the nymphs seeing his uncouth form laughed. Upani~ads. Surely does A~tavakra, like the seer of the MutJefaka
The sage cursed that they would be the wives of Puru~ottama l!pani$ad, realize that the completeness and certitude of the
and then fall into the hands of robbers. The symbolism knowledge of the Self can emerge only from Vedanta
underlying the twisted body of the sage is that it is atman and VzjFiana ( vedanta-vijnarza-suniscitarthiib, Afur;efaka Upani$ud).
knowledge rather than the physical appearance of the body Unlike the Bhagavad Gitii, the Aytavakra Gita shows no interest
which alone counts. Even the ugliest human frame can be in the personal God but goes back to the older Upani~adic
illumined by the radiance of wisdom of the self, ( atmajyotib) monistic idealism. The Self, according to A~tavakra, is the
absolute and supreme. ultimate reality, ineffable, eternal and universal. • There is
hardly any ancient Indian text like the A$/avakra Gitii which
The A~tavakra Gita and the Bhagavad Gfta : Possible Date of Our Gita depicts so eloquently and profoundly, yet so poetically, the
The A,ftiivakra Grta in its style and composition closely grandeur, the beauty, the bliss and the incomprehensibility of
resembles the epics. It belongs to the intellectual and the Self. According to the Brhadiirat}yaka Upani$ad, ''Where
s-piritual climate of the age of Janaka and Yajfiavalkya prior everything indeed has become the Self itself, whom and by
to the systematisation of philosophical thought. Like the what should one think ?" By what can we know the
Bhagavad Gita (c. 6th Century B.C) it is simple and easy and Universal Knower ?", (H, 4, 12-14). The Self is stainless
at the same time pregnant and forceful. Like it, it also avoids and perfect, beyond meaning and word. It is not only the
philosophical discussions and focuses on the spiritual reality, transcendent and the unthinkable but also the serene, the
insisting on tattvajfiana or ontological truth. Its date may be blissful, the beautiful and the beloved (XVIII, 35). The
assigned to the period immediately after theBhagavad Gita, to c. summum bonum of man's life is to attain the Self, but, as
5th, 4th century B.C. and before the rise of the great philoso A~tiivakra points out, the Self is not jiva, nor is it an object
phical schools and the fotmn1ation of the philosophical siitras
The Song of the Self Supreme Introductory Essaj
to be attained (II, 22 ), the Self already abides and abides and depth of the self. For in truth the unborn Self alone
for eternity (XVIII, 4 ). He must, therefore, be instinctually exists, and all that exists is the Self. The Self, incompre
and constantly established in himself giving up duties and lwnsible and marvellous, is in all cosmic beings and things, as all
goals of life, yogic discipline and prayer, and even samadhi rnrnic beings and things are in the Self(III 5, XV, 6 ). Meditate
itself (XII, 1-8 ). 1111 the Self and the Self is transformed into forms or modes of
t hc mind. "A man who reflects on the inconceivable Self resorts
The Grandeur of the Self in the A$ tavakra Gita
only to a form or mode of his thought. Hence abandoning that
A~tavakra's originality lies in giving a remarkably imagi thought, thus verily do I abide in myself" (XII, 7 ). Th~re
native and poetic expres.;;ion to the quest of the Self, absolute
is therefore, no jiva nor Brahman, no acceptance nor demal
and supreme. In the world's religious literature there can be
nor dissolution, neither unity nor duality. Such is the lofty
found no grander exposition of the status of the Self as· given
kaching of the A~tavakra Gita.
in chapters VI, XV, and XX. According to the Bhagavad Gita, ·
the phenomenal self of man is a fragment of the Supreme A,1·/avakra' s New Concepts and Epithets Relating to Atman
God-the ultimate reality {XV, 7 ). Radhakrishnan observes
Astavakra coins several new words and phrases for
that many names are given to this divine essence of the soul
l>1 ingi~g home the new teaching relating to self-knowledge
"apex, ground, abyss, spark, fire, inner light". To these we
a11d self-transcendence : svasthya, svasthi or svasthal; which now
may add That, Tao, darkness. void (sutrya), transcendence and
mean health or well-being, but denote eternal self
Being. There is a universal emphasis of the transcendent aspect
·' hi<lance in A~tavakra. It may be, however, noted that
of this real Self in the major religions of mankind. In A~tavakra
svasthi with bhava is an epithet of Siva. A~tavakra identi
while the Self is posited as pure absolute, unconditioned and
lics the nirupadhi, svastha Self,-free from any limitations, with
inalienably possessed of its own unity and bliss, he denies any si va {XX, 13 ). Gauc;lapada in his MiiTJ<f. ukya Ka rikii uses
process or opposition which jeopardizes or obscures the infinite
the same term { svasthal;) for the establishment of self in the Self
and indivisible reality in the cosmic process. This is, of course,
.don•r with his favourite epithet aja or unborn {III, 47) or
based on the blend of Upani~adic monistic notions with hallow 11/ma~ Sarhstha. (III 34 ). The Bhagavad Gitii uses the word
ed yogic experiences that the sage transmits from the past.
wastha only once, meaning one who dwells in his real Self
The transcendent and boundless absolute Self is, according to
(XIV, 24 ). The Tejobzndu Upani~ad says, svayameva prabhul;
A~tavakra, like the ocean; the phenomenal world is like its
''"'warilpe svayarfl svasthe .sa jivanmukta ucayati, using the epithets
waves. Due to the winds of mind or notions of finiteness, the , ~r svasvarupa and svastha~ together for the definition of the
things and beings of the universe rise and fall, jostle, play and
1wanmukta (IV, 31 ,32 ). A~tavakra's cognate, oft-repeated terms
interact with one another like the waves, all in the ocean of
•ltr: svarupa, Svasvarupa, svapada and svarupastha and his pec-
the unborn, changeless Self ( II, 4, 23-25; VI, 2; XV, 7, 11) .
11li.1r adjectives of the self are: nirvibhaga (indivisible), nirasa
There is neither gain nor loss of the infinite, oceanic Self~ due
( passionless) nirvimar.§a (free from reasoning) and nilµv~~hii_~a
to the fluctuations of the waves of phenomena, the body, senses, ( frl'c from natural attributes or human nature). PatanJah s
mind and the universe-the cosmic becoming. We have al
11'1 rn kaivalya (aloneness) is used by him only thrice in the
ready mentioned that A~tavakra's favourite simile of the ocean
"'·ns<· of absoluteness of the Self (XI, 6, XVII. 18, XX, 4).
of being and the waves of the mind and the phenomenal
It may be noted that the Bhagvad Gitii does not use the term
world reappears in the metaphysical monism of Asvagho~a
Ar1•ala or kaivalya in this sense at all.
(c. 100 A.D.), one of the founders of Mahayana Buddhism.
· 1· o Astavakra there is no universe nor cosmic process.
To A~tavakra neither knowledge nor duty, neither renun l'l1nc is .. only being, no becoming. I alone am. Nothing is
ciation nor yoga discipline and Samadhi can reveal the range
, v"r burn because the Self is the only formless and unimmi-
8 The Song of the Seif Supreme Introductory Essay 9
table entity-the ultimate reality (I. 18 ). I'his is nDt the avidya and knowledge or tattva in A~tavakra but rather a diffe
Buddhist sunyavada or nihilism but ekatmavada or kevala rmcc in viewpoint. J\1iiya creates the false image like the
atmadvaita in a radical form denying any form, appearance 11nreal mother-of-pearl, mistaken for the silver, the snake
or function. Life and death are equally appearances belong mistaken for the rope and the sun-beam mistaken for the
ing to subjectivity. Jfvanmukti or liberation vvhile living is water (II, 9 ). Similarly the universe appears in the Sdf as
formulated by A~tavakra as the goal. Man must accept life a false image, A~tavakra says, through ajnana or ignorance.
and its tasks resulting from actions in previous births, but In a similar manner Sar1kara sp,~aks of the whole world
his pure and serene Self stands aloof. With his tranquil mind ;1ppearing like a city's image, reflected in a looking-glass.
fixed in citsvarupa he lives and acts with all his body released The city exists entirely in the Self, but throu~h maya appears
from natural conditions ((XVIII, 13, 22, 25-26 ). At the same nutsde. .i\!fii,_ya, then, is the looking-glass that reflect-; the
time A~tavakra rejects this cherished Vedantic ideal by saying, unreality and not the unreality itself. In I, 10, we read that
"To the ever undifferentiated Self, what is liberation in life the image reflected in a looking-glass is unreal. The looking
and what is liberation in death ?'' (XX, 4 ). For ''nothing r~fass exists within and outside the mere reflection. And
exists in his yogic vision" (XVIII, 80 ). The Self, according so does the Self exist inside and outside, encompassing
to A~tavakra, ever is, and has neither birth nor death, neither the body, mind and the phenomenal world-mere appear
freedom nor bondage. It does not spring out of anything or ances. A~tavakra insists that the wise one should realise
akincanabhava (XIII, I ) neither comes and goes anywhere that the universe is mere appearance only existing up to the
(II, 12, XV, 9) and from it nothing springs (XX, 14). It is dawning ofself-knowledge (III, 11, XVIII, 73).
simply non-dual and abides encompassing the universe, having It is clear that the oppositions between the Self and miiyti
no beginning nor end. This certainly anticipates Gauc;Iapada's between jiva and !Svara and between vidya (knowledge) and
doctrine of aJO.tm)('ida by many centuries(Ma~¢ukya Karika, III, avidyti (ignorance), stressed so much by later Indian thought,
20, 36, 47-48) fade away in A~tavakra's conception of the Self as beyond 111
opposites, ever-effulgent, stainless and unborn (XX, 2, 11 ).
The Recovery of Upanifadic ivfonism by Aftavakra
His position accordingly is often paradoxical. Especially at
Sankara claims that the absolutist-creed ( advaita) was the end of XVIII (90-100) and in the final chapters XIX
recovered from the Vedas by Gauc;lapada, dated according to and XX, does he wax eloquent as he dismisses the distinctions
Vidhusekhara Bhattacharya about 500 A.D. and according between knowledge and ignorance, freedom and bondage, eter
R.D. Karmarkar about 600 A.D. Long before Gauc;Iapada's nity and death, partness and wholeness, being and non-being
Karika, A~tavakra rehabilitated the Upani~adic creed in a when the Self and nothing but the Self shines and illumines
bold and clear form, identifying the Self with the ulti both the outer and inner self. Indian spiritual experience
mate reality and denying orders or dimensions of reality. It is through the ages has indeed revelled in such paradoxes by
noteworthy that A~tavakra only once slightly hints at the abolishing all modalities of the real, and derived supreme
doctrine of Afayti. ''In the phenomenal world that lasrs until satisfaction from the realisation that there can be no definition
the dawning of self-knowledge .M~aya prevails (i.e. relativist of the Self, Goel or the Absolute except in paradoxical state
consciousness tainted by Maya) (XVIII, 73 ). The Brhadara ments.
~yaka Upanifad makes mention of mtiya only once (III, 5,19,)
and Svetafvatara Upani~ad thrice (IV, I 0, V, 5 and VI, 12 ). Atmanubhava or Mystical Experience
As a matter of fact the Upani~adic meaning of the term Our sage makes ontology entirely mystical through a
mayii js something different from what it obtained in Jater profound synthesis between man's rcas()n and suprarational
Indi.an thought. There is no antinomy between maya or intuition. He does not give any arguments in support of his
10 The Song of the Self Supreme Introductory Eassy
ontological position. Only mystical experience provides here pcrience in which the truth of the Self or Brahman must
the proof of the absoluteness of the Self. To say that: culminate is generated by the great Vedanta formulae. The
"You encompass the universe as the universe enters into l!pani$adzc mahiiviikyas that A~tavakra uses for meditation in
you. You are in reality the embodiment of pure conciousness. order to produce the direct experience of atman are several,
Do not give way to the pettiness of the finite mind,' (I, !5), or "0 1'..g. The ''Self is all that exists'' ( iitmii eva idam sarvam) in
pure intelligence, do not agitate your mind with (the thoughts IV, 4, XV, 15, XVIII, 9; ''The Self is the prime cause of
of) affirmation and denial. Silencing these, abide in your own all'' (kiira1Jiitmii eva sarvam) in II, 5, 10, XV, 14; ''The Self
Self-the embodiment of bliss itself" (XV, 19). is pure intelligence" (avikalpaf;, hi atmii cidrupaf;,) in I, 3, II, 19;
It is to rely exclusively on the mystical experience that "The Self is supreme, unutterable bliss in itself'' ( ananda iitmii)
blends profound insight ""ith perennial joy and peace. he in I, 10, XV, 19, XVI, 2; "I am Brahman" (aham Brahmiismi)
Self is eternally dear, blissful and glorious. A ~tavakra elegantly in I, 20, XVIII, 8, 28, 37; "Thou art that" (tattvamasi) in
salutes the Self thus:"Adoration to the One, the embodiment XV, 7; and "The Self is beyond all the states of conscious
of bliss and effulgence, with the dawning of knowledge of ness-waking, sleep, slumber and ecstasy (Mii'f}<}ilkya Upani$ad)
which one's delusion of the world becomes verily a dream" in XVIII, 94, XIX, 5. To A~tavakra the Self of the yogi
(XVIII, 1). experiencing atmiinubhava is not merely the inaccessible, supreme
In India direct or immediate mystical insight is called truth but also the inexpressible, supreme beauty and love and the
anubhava, svarupa darsana or siik~iU/riira. Gauc;lapada calls this unsurpassable supreme peace and joy (I II, 4, XVIII, 1, 3, 35 ).
supra-mundane intuition or LokatatrJajfi.iina (Miirp/,ukya Kiirikii, IV, A~tavakra's coinage of new terms and phrases for the
87-88 ). According to Vidyarar;iya, anubhava means a particular transcendent Self is remarkably rich, original and poetic.
mode of the mind, which has for its result the intuition of Apart from his use of such familiar Upm,i~adic term;; with
Brahman or atman. Non-duality establishes itself through reference to atman as siinta (XVIII, 1), .siva (XX, 13), sundara
the mental mode destroying itself as well as the phenomenal (III, 4), priya (XVIII, 35), pur~za svarasa vigraha (XVIII, 67)
world. The metaphor used in this context is that of the and adva_,pa or advaita (I, 20, II, 21, III, 6, XX, 7), we have a
powder of the clearing nut (kataka) when mixed in muddy host of new pregnant epithets of atman that do not occur
Ganges water precipitating itself as well as the mud. even in the principal Upani~ads and the Bhagavad Gita. Some of
Accordingly, as the Self is revealed in Anubhava or these are given below :akifi.canabhava or unborn (XIII, 1 ),
siikiatkiira, all plurality vanishes. Sankara explains this by mi$prapaiica or the self beyond relativity, (XVIII, 35);
saying that when Brahman or Atman is known through the nirvimarsa or the self free from dicursive reasoning (XX, 9, XV,
concentration of mind or Brahman or Atman in devotion and 20 ), nirvise~a or the self free from particularisation (XX, 4),
meditation (samiidhiina ), all duality, such as the distinction of ni~svabhiiva or the self as devoid of natural attributes (XVIII,
the meditative and the meditated, is destroyed. "Brahman , 9,XX, 5 ) ; niriiyiisa or the self as effortless (XVIII, 5);
and Atman is not known until this distinction is resolved, nirindriya or devoid of the sense-organs (XVIII, 95) and
what has been resolved cannot be revived"· anubhava rests nirasa or the self as tlavourless (XVIII, 68). It is only in
on the dissolution of all pairs of opposites and not merely the later Upani~ads that we encounter several other terms
of the opposition between _jiva and Brahman, freedom and often repeated by A~tavakra :nirafijana ( Svetiisvatara VI, 19,
bondage. It offers also not merely a clear, undoubted, all Mii1J<Jukya 1, 3), nibsankalpa, (Maitri, VI, 10, 30), nirvikalpa
encompassing awareness but also a boundless feeling of joy (Tejobindu, 6, .Niiriiya'f}a, 2 ), niriilamba ( Mukti, I, 23), nzrgu'f}a
and peace that are not otherwise experienced. (Gita, XIII, 14, 31, Svetiisvatara VI. 11) ni$kriya (Svetiisvatara
The Use of Upani~adic Mahiiviikyas by A~tiivakra VI, 12), asanga and nif;,sanga (asanga of the Upani$ads).
GauQapada, of course, has deployed the most considerable
Sankara stresses that the yogi's anubhava or integral ex-
12
The Song of the Seif Supreme
f11frorluctory Essay 13
number of terms in a later age while expounding the absolute
ness of the Self.
.1:; Nvara, Paramefvara and Bhagavan applied to the personal
Anomalous Use of Terms of Theistic Import c :od, Kq9a Vasudeva by the Bhagrwad Giia. This is due, no
doubt, to the profound influence of the Bhagavad Gita on
It is remarkable that A~tavakra, though showing no
1 lw spiritual and intellectual climate of the time. But this
theistic inclination at all links the ancient terms for the Lord
d<ws not imply at all any theism as embodied in contem-
or God with the Self. The Self, absolute and pure ·s Jt·
, 1 .. var a 1111rary Bhagavatism, of which the Bhaga11ad Gita is the
Paramefvara, Jagadffvara, Bhagaviin, Sak~ipuru~a and Sarnanirmiitii
principal scripture. The Atman is merely acknowledged,
(I, 12,, IV, 6, XI, 2, XIV, 3 and XV, 8) · Neither Gauc;Iapada
nor Sankara of the later ages has done this. The ke 1 <·vncd and adored by A~tavakra as the highest principle
doctrine of A~tavakra is:''You are the essence of Suprem~ ' It<~ all.pervading Lord of the universe, the creator and witness
,, r all who is also called Paramatmii or the Supreme and
Knowledge. You are the Lord, you are the Self and vou
1r ;t11s~endent Self. He observes : "Rare is the individual who
transcend nature" (jnanasvarupo bhagaviiniitma tvarn prak~teh
knows the non-dual Self as the Lord of the universe (Jagadis
parab, XV, 8 ). Much in a theistic manner he also stro~gly
enjoins in this verse faithfulness or fraidhii as indispensable n11ia ). He does whatever comes to his mind and has no fear
l"rom anywhere'' (IV, 6 ). Again, 'As I have known the supreme
for the quest of the Self (XV, 8) . Faithfulness or reverence
Self (Paramiitma) who is the eternal person as the witness
to being ( acmapriti or atmarati of the Bhagavad Gfta) is not
( Srzk,ri-puru~a) and who is the Lord ( lsvara), I have no desire
different in kind from faithfulness or reverence to the Lord
I< 1r bondage and liberation, nor anxiety for salvation"
Krg1a-Vasudeva. With the stress of the thought that th~ (XIV, 3).
realisation of the Self is spontaneous and unborn the common
It is noteworthy that A~tavakra seldom uses the term
way of theistic worship and grace of God docs not, however
l'aramatman or the supreme Self (II, 3, XIV, 3). In this he
find any place in A~tavakra. The first verse of the avadhut~
conforms to the Bhagavad Gita where the term occurs only
Gita says "By God's grace (iJvariinugraha) alone there arises in
four times as contrasted with its very frequent use in the
men the desire for non-duality ( advaita-vasana) ". Contemplation
.I lahiibhiirata. A~tavakra even uses the Upani~adic term Brahman
of the non-relational impersonal, absolute Self, beyond the
sparingly. The few instances of use of the term Brahman
notion of di1ality and unity which is considered by Astavaha
are given below : In I, 20 the absolute Self is identified with
as a delusion, supersedes God's mercy in his Gita. · ·
I he all-pervading Brahman. XVIII, 8, 16, 20, refer to the
The apparent theistic fervour (XV, 8) is obviously due to
formula 'l am, Brahman' (aham Brahmasmi); while XVIII, 37
the exalted position given to the Self or atman as the trans
mentions the self as enjoying the nature of the supreme Brahman
cendent principle. The same we find in the Kaufitaki
(parabrahma svarupa bhak). The word Puru~a or the Supreme
Brahmm;a-Upani~ad which says : ''This is truly the life-breath,
Person with which we are so familiar in the Upani5ads and the
the intelligent Self, bliss, ageless, immortal. He does not
J:hagavad Gita is used only once and that in the compound
become great by good action nor small by evil action. This
word sak5i-puru5a in the Aftiivakra Gita (XIV, 3 )·
one, truly indeed causes him w horn he wishes to lead up from
these worlds to perform good actions. This one, indeed, also Dffference between the A~ tiivakra Gita, the Upani5ads and Bhagavad
causes him whom he wishes to lead downward to perform bad Caa
action. He is the protector of the world, h~ is the sovereign A~tavakra does not agree with the general Upani$adic
of the world, he is the lord of all. He is myself, this one should view that in the cosmic process, dualities and relativities
know, he is myself, this one should know" (III, 8 ). Asta arise whkh obscure the infinite, undivided Atman or Brahman.
vakra has no scruples in using such terms for the supreme S~lf He completely and unequivocally denies any second philoso
phical prin:r:i ple and any transformation of the Self which in
