Ashtavakra Gita · Verse 10.7 · Ashtavakra speaks
Enough of prosperity, desire and pious deed. The mind has not found repose in any of these in the dreary forest of the world.
Word by word
अलम्
alam
enough!, stop!
indeclinable (niṣṭhā particle used as command)
अर्थेन
arthena
with wealth, prosperity
noun, masculine, instrumental singular
कामेन
kāmena
with desire
noun, masculine, instrumental singular
The instrumental case (with desire) with alam is an idiomatic Sanskrit construction meaning 'done with desire' — a categorical renunciation. Verse 10.7 echoes verse 10.1 in listing the same trivarga (kāma, artha, dharma) and declaring them exhausted as paths.
सुकृतेन
sukṛtena
with virtuous deed, pious merit
noun, neuter, instrumental singular
अपि
api
even
concessive particle
कर्मणा
karmaṇā
with action, deed
noun, neuter, instrumental singular
Karma here encompasses the full range of prescribed action (including religious ritual), emphasising that even virtuous karma cannot yield the mind's ultimate rest. This is consistent with the Advaita teaching that karma produces only saṃskāras and results, not liberation.
एभ्यः
ebhyaḥ
from these
demonstrative pronoun, ablative plural
संसारकान्तारे
saṃsārakāntāre
in the wilderness of saṃsāra
compound noun, neuter, locative singular; saṃsāra + kāntāra
Kāntāra means a difficult, desolate forest or wilderness — a vivid metaphor for saṃsāra as a place where the soul wanders lost, unable to rest. The compound saṃsāra-kāntāra is found in classical Vedānta literature as a standard image of cyclic existence.
न
na
not
negative particle
विश्रान्तम्
viśrāntam
rested, found repose
past participle, neuter, nominative singular, from vi + √śram
अभूत्
abhūt
was, became
verb, imperfect, 3rd person singular, from √bhū
मनः
manaḥ
mind
noun, neuter, nominative singular
Manas (mind) is the instrument that seeks rest through objects and activities but, being itself a product of the non-Self (jaḍa), cannot find lasting peace in anything within saṃsāra. Only dissolution of the mind's craving — not its satisfaction — yields śama (quietude).