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xiv
ASHTAVAKRA SAMHITA
The glowing poetry and the rapturous language of this
chapter can come forth only from a person who has
lived through these experiences. They do not fail
to evoke response even from persons who are in the
shackles of the world. They appeal with a force and
a charm that are irresistible for the time being. The
last two chapters give a reaffirmation of the truths
inculcated in the previous chapter through the realiza-
tion of the disciple himself.
The Ashtavakra Samhita bears close affinities to
the Bhagavad-Gita and seems to be the product of
the same age. We find in it the same forceful,
simple, unlaboured diction and the same ring of
sincerity and truth. No recourse is had to the
logical weapons, which were forged in later times to
counteract the attacks of rival philosophers. There
is absolutely no trace of wavering allegiance, no
intellectual or linguistic elaboration, and no weak-
ness in its deliverances. Without entering into chro-
nological controversy, which has very seldom proved
profitable in the field of Indology, it may be put
forward as an indisputable proposition that the work
is older than Gaudapâda's Karikas, which promul-
gate the doctrine called Ajâtaváda (the doctrine of
no creation), which obliterates the line of cleavage
between the Pratibhasika and the Vyâvahûrika
planes of reality. One may find in the present work
the germs of these extremistic theories. In our
judgment the parallelisms, which are by no means
pronounced, are capable of a satisfactory explana-
ASHTAVAKRA SAMHITA
The glowing poetry and the rapturous language of this
chapter can come forth only from a person who has
lived through these experiences. They do not fail
to evoke response even from persons who are in the
shackles of the world. They appeal with a force and
a charm that are irresistible for the time being. The
last two chapters give a reaffirmation of the truths
inculcated in the previous chapter through the realiza-
tion of the disciple himself.
The Ashtavakra Samhita bears close affinities to
the Bhagavad-Gita and seems to be the product of
the same age. We find in it the same forceful,
simple, unlaboured diction and the same ring of
sincerity and truth. No recourse is had to the
logical weapons, which were forged in later times to
counteract the attacks of rival philosophers. There
is absolutely no trace of wavering allegiance, no
intellectual or linguistic elaboration, and no weak-
ness in its deliverances. Without entering into chro-
nological controversy, which has very seldom proved
profitable in the field of Indology, it may be put
forward as an indisputable proposition that the work
is older than Gaudapâda's Karikas, which promul-
gate the doctrine called Ajâtaváda (the doctrine of
no creation), which obliterates the line of cleavage
between the Pratibhasika and the Vyâvahûrika
planes of reality. One may find in the present work
the germs of these extremistic theories. In our
judgment the parallelisms, which are by no means
pronounced, are capable of a satisfactory explana-