Ashtavakra Gita · Verse 11.5 · Ashtavakra speaks
One who has realized that care alone breeds misery in this world and nothing else, becomes free from it, and is happy, peaceful, and rid of desires everywhere.
Word by word
चिन्तया
cintayā
through care, through anxiety
noun, feminine, instrumental singular
cintā (anxious brooding) is identified as the sole proximate cause of suffering. Even karma-driven pain is intensified or diminished depending on whether the mind dwells upon it.
जायते
jāyate
is born, is produced
verb, present passive, 3rd person singular, √jan
दुःखम्
duḥkham
misery, suffering
noun, neuter, nominative singular
duḥkha in the Vedāntic context is not merely physical pain but existential suffering rooted in avidyā (ignorance). The teaching here is that mental cintā is the proximate activator even of karma-bound duḥkha.
न
na
not
indeclinable negative particle
अन्यथा
anyathā
otherwise, in any other way
indeclinable adverb
इह
iha
here, in this world
indeclinable adverb
इति
iti
thus
indeclinable particle (quotative)
निश्चयी
niścayī
one who knows for certain
adjective used as noun, masculine, nominative singular
तया
tayā
from that (care/anxiety)
pronoun, feminine, instrumental singular (referring to cintā)
हीनः
hīnaḥ
devoid of, free from
adjective, masculine, nominative singular
सुखी
sukhī
happy
adjective, masculine, nominative singular
शान्तः
śāntaḥ
peaceful
adjective, masculine, nominative singular
सर्वत्र
sarvatra
everywhere
indeclinable adverb
गलितस्पृहः
galita-spṛhaḥ
one whose desires have melted away
bahuvrīhi compound, masculine, nominative singular
spṛhā (longing, desire) is the restless reaching of the mind toward what it perceives as other. When cintā ceases, spṛhā has no fuel — detachment occurs spontaneously.