Astavakra Gita

Astavakra Gita is a great treatise on Advaita Vedanta. Written in Sanskrit, it is in the form of a dialogue between great sage Astavakra and king Janaka. In the words of Satkari Mookerjee, Astavakra Gita “leaves no loophole for the misconception or misinterpretation of its fundamental standpoint of attitude. Its assertions are categorical, positive, direct, and unambiguous. It is an ancient classic, which proves that Gaudapada or Shankaracharya did not propound a newfangled philosophy under the influence of Budhist idealistic thought. This system of thought, on the contrary, had its moorings in the Upanishads and received definite articulation in older works, including the present one [Astavakra Gita]. It gives a candid, unhesitating, unblushing, and unapologetic presentation of the cardinal principles of Vedanta, without consideration for and concession to our realistic predispositions. No wonder that it is a vade-mecum for the monks of Shankara’s orders.”

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