Ashtavakra Gita · Verse 2.20 · Janaka speaks
Body, heaven and hell, bondage and freedom, as also fear — all these are mere imagination. What have I to do with all these — I whose nature is Chit?
Word by word
शरीरम्
śarīram
the body
noun, neuter, nominative singular
स्वर्गनरकौ
svarganarakau
heaven and hell
compound noun, masculine, nominative dual
बन्धमोक्षौ
bandhamokṣau
bondage and liberation
compound noun, masculine, nominative dual
भयम्
bhayam
fear
noun, neuter, nominative singular
तथा
tathā
and also
indeclinable
कल्पनामात्रम्
kalpanāmātram
nothing but imagination
compound, neuter, nominative singular
Kalpanāmātra = mere mental construction; all dualistic categories (heaven/hell, bondage/freedom) exist only as mental projections, not as independent realities.
एव
eva
indeed
particle
एतत्
etat
this
pronoun, neuter, nominative singular
किम्
kim
what
pronoun, neuter, nominative singular (interrogative)
मे
me
my
pronoun, genitive singular
कार्यम्
kāryam
to be done, concern
gerundive/noun, neuter, nominative singular
चिदात्मनः
cidātmanaḥ
of one whose nature is pure consciousness
compound noun, masculine, genitive singular
Cidātman = the Self (ātman) whose intrinsic nature is pure consciousness (cit); the jñānī who has realized this has transcended all dualistic concerns.