dattatreyaavadhutaadvaitaguru

Avadhuta Gita (Opening Verses)

Avadhuta Gita (Opening Verses) in English · English

🕉️ hindu·📿 1× repetitions·🕐 Early morning (Brahma Muhurta), Thursdays, and during meditation or self-enquiry·📜 Avadhuta Gita — traditionally the utterance of Lord Dattatreya (recorded by his disciples Swami and Kartika)

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀEnglishසිංහල 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

✦ Meaning

The Avadhuta Gita ('Song of the Avadhuta') is a sublime Advaita Vedanta text spoken by Lord Dattatreya, the supreme avadhuta and Adi Guru. Its verses are an unbroken outpouring of non-dual realisation — declaring that the Self alone is everything, the world a mere mirage, and the soul ever-free, formless, all-pervading pure consciousness. These famous opening verses, ending with the immortal counsel 'You are not the body... so move about happily', are treasured as one of the purest statements of the wisdom of oneness.

Origin & Story

Avadhuta Gita — traditionally the utterance of Lord Dattatreya (recorded by his disciples Swami and Kartika) · Lord Dattatreya (the supreme Avadhuta) · Ancient (classical Advaita Vedanta literature)

The Avadhuta Gita is held to be the spontaneous song of Lord Dattatreya — the avadhuta union of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and the Adi Guru — pouring forth his direct realisation of the non-dual Self. Free of all ritual and convention, it speaks from the standpoint of one who has fully awakened, declaring again and again that the Self alone is real and that bondage and liberation are equally illusory. Cherished by Vedantins and renunciates alike, its verses have inspired seekers of Self-knowledge for centuries as a fearless map of the truth of oneness.

✦ As told in scripture

The Avadhuta Gita is revered less for outward miracles than for the inner one it works — sages of the Advaita tradition relate that earnest contemplation of its verses can, in a flash of recognition, dissolve the lifelong sense of being the body and reveal the ever-free witness-Self, which is the very 'great deliverance from fear' the opening verse promises.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

Ishvaraanugrahaad-eva pumsaam-advaita-vaasanaa. Mahaa-bhaya-paritraanaad-vipraanaam-upajaayate.

Meaning:Only by the grace of God does the longing for non-duality arise in human beings, saving the wise from the great fear (of birth and death).

Verse 2

Yened-idam pooritam sarvam-aatmanaiv-aatman-aatmani. Niraakaaram katham vande hy-abhinnam shivam-avyayam.

Meaning:By whom all this is pervaded — the Self, by the Self, within the Self — how shall I bow to that formless one, the undivided, auspicious, imperishable Shiva?

Verse 3

Pancha-bhootaatmakam vishvam mareechi-jala-sannibham. Kasyaapy-aho namaskuryaam-aham-eko niranjanah.

Meaning:The universe made of the five elements is like the water of a mirage; ah, to whom then shall I bow, I who am the One, the stainless?

Verse 4

Aatmaiva kevalam sarvam bhedaabhedo na vidyate. Asti naasti katham brooyaam vismayah pratibhaati me.

Meaning:The Self alone is everything; neither division nor non-division exists. How then can I say 'it is' or 'it is not'? A great wonder shines forth in me.

Verse 5

Vedaanta-saara-sarvasvam jnaanam vijnaanam-eva cha. Aham-aatmaa niraakaarah sarva-vyaapee svabhaavatah.

Meaning:This is the whole essence and treasure of Vedanta, both knowledge and realisation: I am the Self, formless, all-pervading by my very nature.

Verse 6

Yo vai sarvaatmakam tattvam vetti nishchayato mama. Nirmamo nirvikalpo'sau shuddha-chaitanya-vigrahah.

Meaning:He who knows for certain that supreme Truth, which is the Self of all, is mine indeed — free of 'mine', free of all wavering, the very embodiment of pure consciousness.

Verse 7

Na tvam deho na te deho na bhoktaa na cha te kriyaa. Chid-roopo'si sadaa saakshee nirapekshah sukham chara.

Meaning:You are not the body, nor is the body yours; you are not the enjoyer, nor is action yours. You are pure consciousness, the eternal witness, free of all wants — so move about happily, in bliss.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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Ishvaraanugrahaad-eva🔊Only by the grace of God (Ishvara)

Advaita-vaasanaa🔊The inclination toward non-duality (the longing for oneness)

Mahaa-bhaya-paritraanaat🔊For deliverance from the great fear (of birth and death, samsara)

Upajaayate🔊Arises (in human beings)

Yened-idam pooritam sarvam🔊By whom all this is filled/pervaded

Aatmanaiv-aatman-aatmani🔊By the Self, as the Self, within the Self alone

Niraakaaram katham vande🔊How shall I bow to the formless one

Abhinnam shivam-avyayam🔊The undivided, auspicious (Shiva), imperishable One

Mareechi-jala-sannibham🔊Resembling the water of a mirage (the world is unreal as a mirage)

Aham-eko niranjanah🔊I am the One, the stainless (untainted) one

Aatmaiva kevalam sarvam🔊The Self alone is all that exists

Bhedaabhedo na vidyate🔊There is no division nor non-division (no duality at all)

Vismayah pratibhaati me🔊A great wonder shines forth in me

Vedaanta-saara-sarvasvam🔊The whole essence and treasure of Vedanta

Aham-aatmaa niraakaarah🔊I am the Self, formless

Sarva-vyaapee svabhaavatah🔊All-pervading by my very nature

Shuddha-chaitanya-vigrahah🔊The very embodiment of pure consciousness

Na tvam deho na te dehah🔊You are not the body, nor is the body yours

Na bhoktaa na cha te kriyaa🔊You are not the enjoyer, nor is action yours

Chid-roopo'si sadaa saakshee🔊You are of the nature of consciousness, the ever-present witness

Nirapekshah sukham chara🔊Free of all wants, move about happily (live in bliss)

Benefits of Chanting Avadhuta Gita (Opening Verses)

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Imparts the highest Advaita (non-dual) wisdom in the direct words of Lord Dattatreya

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Dissolves the sense of bondage by affirming 'You are not the body... you are pure consciousness'

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Cultivates fearlessness and freedom from the great fear of birth and death

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Grants deep peace by revealing the world as a mirage and the Self as the only reality

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A potent aid to meditation (nididhyasana) on one's true nature as the witness

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Strengthens devotion to Dattatreya as the supreme Guru of Self-knowledge

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Reading or hearing it with understanding is said to awaken abidance in the Self

How to Chant Avadhuta Gita (Opening Verses)

Repetitions1times

Best TimeEarly morning (Brahma Muhurta), Thursdays, and during meditation or self-enquiry

These are verses for contemplation (manana) and meditation (nididhyasana) rather than ritual repetition. Read them slowly, ideally aloud, after settling the mind, and pause on each declaration of the Self's true nature. Many sadhakas keep the Avadhuta Gita as a daily reading to steady the conviction of non-duality. Conclude by sitting silently as the witness-consciousness the text describes — 'free of all wants, abiding happily'.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Avadhuta Gita (Opening Verses) written in the English script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

The Avadhuta Gita is a celebrated Sanskrit scripture of Advaita Vedanta, traditionally regarded as the spontaneous utterance of Lord Dattatreya, the supreme avadhuta. In about 289 verses it expresses, in the boldest terms, the realisation that the individual Self is one with the infinite, formless Brahman.

An avadhuta is a liberated being who has 'shaken off' (ava-dhuta) all worldly bonds, conventions and identifications, abiding naturally in the bliss of the Self. Lord Dattatreya is honoured as the supreme avadhuta, and the Gita is his song of that state.

The central teaching is pure non-duality: the Self alone is everything, the world is no more real than a mirage, and one's true nature is formless, all-pervading consciousness — the eternal witness that is never the body, the doer or the enjoyer. Knowing this, one lives free and fearless.

It is meant for reflection and meditation rather than ritual chanting. Reading these verses slowly, contemplating their meaning, and then resting silently in the witness-consciousness they describe is the traditional way to let their wisdom take root.