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| Ashtavakra |
Introduction to Ashtavakra Gita
The Astavakra-Gita (Samhita) is a treatise on Monistic Vedanta, ascribed to a great sage Astavakra. Written in Sanskrit, it is in the nature of a dialogue between Astavakra and his disciple, equally enlightened, Janaka. The identity of these two seers is not known. There is a reference in the Vana-Parva of the Mahabharata to the sage Astavakra and Janaka. There is no evidence that the dialogue was between those two seers mentioned therein. It may not be relevant either. What is profound is the content of the dialogue between the preceptor, the guru, and the disciple, the seeker after Truth, which is in the nature of a classic delineating the contours of Monistic Vedanta.
The Astavakra-Gita resembles an epic in its style and structure of composition. Like the Bhagavad-Gita, it has the simplicity of diction, clarity of expression, the forcefulness of language, and is pregnant with thought. There is no involved philosophical discussion and directs the attention of the disciple all along to the Supreme Reality – the Supreme Self.
The Astavakra-Gita has been assigned to a period immediately after the Bhagavad-Gita and just before the rise of the great philosophical schools. It is an ancient classic, with the system of its thought having its moorings in the Upanisads. It may be that Gaudapada and Sankaracharya were inspired by its system of thought.
