Ashtavakra Gita · Verse 12.2 · Janaka speaks
Having no attachment for sound and all perceived objects, and the Self also not being an object of perception, my mind is free from distraction and one-pointed. Thus verily do I abide.
Word by word
प्रीत्यभावेन
prītyabhāvena
by non-existence of attachment
compound noun, neuter, instrumental singular (prīti + abhāva)
Attachment to sense-objects distracts the mind from the Self. Freedom from prīti (love/attraction toward objects) is prerequisite for one-pointedness.
शब्दादेः
śabdādeḥ
of sound etc., all percepts
compound noun, masculine, genitive singular (śabda + ādi)
अदृश्यत्वेन
adṛśyatvena
by non-perceivability
abstract noun, neuter, instrumental singular (a + dṛśya + tva)
Perception requires subject-object duality. The Self (ātman) is absolute and non-dual; it cannot be an object known by another. Hence it is adṛśya — beyond perception.
च
ca
and
indeclinable conjunction
आत्मनः
ātmanaḥ
of the Self
noun, masculine, genitive singular
Ātman — the Self, pure consciousness. It is not an object of perception since it is the eternal subject, the witness of all, beyond mind and speech.
विक्षेपैकाग्रहृदयः
vikṣepaikāgrahṛdayaḥ
one whose heart is free from distraction and one-pointed
bahuvrīhi compound, masculine, nominative singular (vikṣepa + ekāgra + hṛdaya)
Vikṣepa (distraction) and ekāgratā (one-pointedness) are opposites. Here Janaka describes a state that transcends even the effort for concentration — a natural one-pointedness arising from absence of attachment.
एवमेव
evameva
thus verily
compound indeclinable
अहम्
aham
I
pronoun, nominative singular, 1st person
आस्थितः
āsthitaḥ
abide, am established
past passive participle, masculine, nominative singular