Ashtavakra Gita · Verse 10.3 · Ashtavakra speaks
Know that wherever there is desire, there is the world. Betaking yourself to firm non-attachment, go beyond desire and be happy.
Word by word
यत्र यत्र
yatra yatra
wherever
correlative adverb (repeated for universality)
भवेत्
bhavet
there may arise, exists
verb, optative, 3rd person singular, from √bhū
तृष्णा
tṛṣṇā
craving, thirst
noun, feminine, nominative singular
Tṛṣṇā (literally 'thirst') is the root cause of saṃsāra. Our knowledge of, and entanglement in, the world has desire for its root and basis. The moment one is completely freed from tṛṣṇā, the world as phenomenal appearance vanishes.
संसारम्
saṃsāram
world, cycle of existence
noun, masculine, accusative singular
Saṃsāra is not a physical place but a cognitive and karmic condition — the perpetual cycling of birth and death driven by desire and ignorance. Here it is equated directly with tṛṣṇā: wherever craving is, there saṃsāra is.
विद्धि
viddhi
know!
verb, imperative, 2nd person singular, from √vid
तत्र
tatra
there
adverb
वै
vai
verily, indeed
emphatic particle
प्रौढवैराग्यम्
prauḍhavairāgyam
mature, firm dispassion
compound noun, neuter, accusative singular; prauḍha + vairāgya
Prauḍha ('mature, full-grown') qualifies vairāgya (dispassion/non-attachment) to indicate an attitude of absolute non-attachment even when objects of enjoyment are in one's possession — not merely renouncing what one does not have. This is the viveka-vairāgya of Advaita sādhana.
आश्रित्य
āśritya
having taken refuge in, adopting
gerund (absolutive), from ā + √śri
वीततृष्णः
vītatṛṣṇaḥ
free from craving
compound adjective, masculine, nominative singular; vīta + tṛṣṇā
सुखी
sukhī
happy
adjective, masculine, nominative singular
भव
bhava
be!
verb, imperative, 2nd person singular, from √bhū