Ashtavakra Gita · Verse 9.2 · Ashtavakra speaks
Rare indeed, my child, is that blessed person whose desire for life, enjoyment and learning have been extinguished by observing the ways of men.
Word by word
कस्यापि
kasyāpi
of someone, of any
pronoun + particle, masculine, genitive singular
तात
tāta
dear child, my son
noun, masculine, vocative singular
धन्यस्य
dhanyasya
of the blessed one
adjective, masculine, genitive singular
लोकचेष्टावलोकनात्
lokaceṣṭāvalokanāt
from observing world's ways
compound noun, masculine, ablative singular (loka + ceṣṭā + avalokana)
Some people learn the hollowness of the world through observation — seeing the sufferings of others, they realize the world cannot give eternal happiness. Others, duller of perception, learn only after plunging into worldly experience themselves.
जीवितेच्छा
jīvitecchā
desire for life
compound noun, feminine, nominative singular (jīvita + icchā)
बुभुक्षा
bubhukṣā
desire for enjoyment
noun, feminine, nominative singular (desiderative form)
च
ca
and
indeclinable conjunction
बुभुत्सा
bubhutsā
desire to learn/know
noun, feminine, nominative singular (desiderative of budh)
The three desires — for life (jīvita), enjoyment (bhoga), and learning (jijñāsā/bubhutsā) — represent the full spectrum of human craving. Their extinction through clear seeing, not through suppression, marks the rare blessed individual.
उपशमं
upaśamaṃ
extinction, cessation
noun, masculine, accusative singular
Upaśama — the quieting or cessation of desire — is here the result of viveka (discrimination) born from observing worldly life, not from ascetic effort alone.
गताः
gatāḥ
have gone, are extinguished
past passive participle, masculine/feminine, nominative plural