Brahma Jnanavali Mala
Brahma Jnanavali Mala in English · English
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✦ Meaning
The Brahma Jnanavali Mala ('Garland of Gems of the Knowledge of Brahman') is a celebrated Advaita prakarana of about twenty verses attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, said to grant the knowledge of Brahman upon merely hearing it once. The verses are a sustained, first-person affirmation — 'aham eva aham avyayah', 'I alone am the imperishable Self' — and culminate in the famous Vedantic summary 'Brahman is real, the world is illusory, the soul is none other than Brahman'. It is a powerful tool for Self-enquiry and meditation on one's true nature.
Origin & Story
Prakarana grantha (independent didactic treatise) ascribed to Adi Shankaracharya · Adi Shankaracharya · Classical (traditionally 8th century CE)
The Brahma Jnanavali Mala is one of Adi Shankaracharya's prakarana works — short independent treatises that distil the teaching of Advaita Vedanta. Composed as a garland of affirmative verses in the first person, it describes the marks of the one who has realized 'I am Brahman'. Its opening verse boldly states that it is meant for the liberation of all and that Brahma-jnana can dawn upon merely hearing it once. The hymn is treasured by advanced seekers as a direct pointer to the non-dual Self, ending with the luminous declaration 'I am Shiva, the light of lights'.
✦ As told in scripture
Tradition holds that this garland of verses is so potent that 'sakrit shravana matrena' — by a single sincere hearing — the listener's heart can be turned toward the knowledge of Brahman; seekers who steep the mind in its affirmation 'I am the witness, the imperishable Self' are said to be freed, in that very recognition, from the bondage of birth and death.
Complete Text with Meaning
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asaṅgo'ham asaṅgo'ham asaṅgo'haṃ punaḥ punaḥ | sac-cid-ānanda-rūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||1||
Meaning:Unattached am I, unattached am I, unattached am I, again and again; of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
nitya-śuddha-vimukto'haṃ nirākāro'ham avyayaḥ | bhūmānanda-svarūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||2||
Meaning:Eternally pure and ever-free am I, formless and changeless; of the nature of infinite bliss am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
nityo'haṃ niravadyo'haṃ nirākāro'ham ucyate | paramānanda-rūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||3||
Meaning:Eternal am I, blameless am I, formless I am declared to be; of the nature of supreme bliss am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
śuddha-caitanya-rūpo'ham ātmārāmo'ham eva ca | akhaṇḍānanda-rūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||4||
Meaning:Of the nature of pure consciousness am I, ever delighting in the Self; of the nature of undivided bliss am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
pratyak-caitanya-rūpo'haṃ śānto'haṃ prakṛteḥ paraḥ | śāśvatānanda-rūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||5||
Meaning:Of the nature of inner consciousness am I, serene am I, beyond Nature; of the nature of everlasting bliss am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
tattvātītaḥ parātmāhaṃ madhyātītaḥ paraḥ śivaḥ | māyātītaḥ paraṃ-jyotir aham evāham avyayaḥ ||6||
Meaning:Beyond all principles I am the Supreme Self; beyond the middle, I am the supreme Shiva; beyond Maya, the supreme Light am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
nānā-rūpa-vyatīto'haṃ cid-ākāro'ham acyutaḥ | sukha-rūpa-svarūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||7||
Meaning:Beyond all manifold forms am I, of the form of consciousness, undecaying; of the very nature of happiness am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
māyā-tat-kārya-dehādi mama nāsty eva sarvadā | sva-prakāśaika-rūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||8||
Meaning:Maya and its effects — the body and the rest — never truly belong to me at all; self-luminous and one am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
guṇa-traya-vyatīto'haṃ brahmādīnāṃ ca sākṣy aham | anantānanda-rūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||9||
Meaning:Beyond the three gunas am I, the witness of Brahma and all the gods; of the nature of endless bliss am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
antaryāmi-svarūpo'haṃ kūṭasthaḥ sarvago'smy aham | paramātma-svarūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||10||
Meaning:Of the nature of the inner ruler am I, changeless and all-pervading am I; of the nature of the Supreme Self am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
niṣkalo'haṃ niṣkriyo'haṃ sarvātmādyaḥ sanātanaḥ | aparokṣa-svarūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||11||
Meaning:Partless am I, actionless am I, the Self of all, first and eternal; of the nature of immediate (direct) experience am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
dvandvādi-sākṣi-rūpo'ham acalo'haṃ sanātanaḥ | sarva-sākṣi-svarūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||12||
Meaning:The witness of the pairs of opposites am I, unmoving and eternal; of the nature of the witness of all am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
prajñāna-ghana evāhaṃ vijñāna-ghana eva ca | akartāham abhoktāham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||13||
Meaning:A mass of pure cognition am I indeed, a mass of pure knowledge too; the non-doer and the non-enjoyer am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
nirādhāra-svarūpo'haṃ sarvādhāro'ham eva ca | āpta-kāma-svarūpo'ham aham evāham avyayaḥ ||14||
Meaning:Without any support am I, yet the support of all am I; ever-content, with every desire fulfilled, am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
tāpa-traya-vinirmukto deha-traya-vilakṣaṇaḥ | avasthā-traya-sākṣy asmi cāham evāham avyayaḥ ||15||
Meaning:Free from the three afflictions, distinct from the three bodies, the witness of the three states am I, I alone am I, the imperishable.
dṛg-dṛśyau dvau padārthau staḥ paraspara-vilakṣaṇau | dṛg-brahma dṛśyaṃ māyeti sarva-vedānta-ḍiṇḍimaḥ ||16||
Meaning:Seer and seen are two categories, mutually distinct; the seer is Brahman, the seen is Maya — such is the drumbeat (proclamation) of all Vedanta.
ahaṃ sākṣīti yo vidyād vivicyaivaṃ punaḥ punaḥ | sa eva muktaḥ so vidvān iti vedānta-ḍiṇḍimaḥ ||17||
Meaning:Whoever knows, by enquiring thus again and again, 'I am the witness', he alone is liberated, he alone is the wise one — such is the proclamation of Vedanta.
ghaṭa-kuḍyādikaṃ sarvaṃ mṛttikā-mātram eva ca | tadvad brahma jagat sarvam iti vedānta-ḍiṇḍimaḥ ||18||
Meaning:Just as pot, wall and the rest are nothing but clay, so too this entire world is nothing but Brahman — such is the proclamation of Vedanta.
brahma satyaṃ jagan mithyā jīvo brahmaiva nāparaḥ | anena vedyaṃ sac-chāstram iti vedānta-ḍiṇḍimaḥ ||19||
Meaning:Brahman is real, the world is illusory, and the soul is Brahman itself, not other; this is to be known as the conclusion of true scripture — such is the proclamation of Vedanta.
antar-jyotir bahir-jyotiḥ pratyag-jyotiḥ parāt-paraḥ | jyotir-jyotiḥ svayaṃ-jyotir ātma-jyotiḥ śivo'smy aham ||20||
Meaning:Inner light, outer light, the indwelling light, higher than the highest; the light of lights, self-luminous light, the light of the Self — that auspicious Self am I.
Word-by-Word Meaning
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Benefits of Chanting Brahma Jnanavali Mala
Said to bestow the knowledge of Brahman (Brahma-jnana) even upon a single attentive hearing
Powerfully reinforces the great Advaitic truths 'Aham Brahmasmi' and 'Brahman is real, the world illusory'
An ideal text for nididhyasana — sustained meditation on one's true Self
Dissolves the false identification with body, mind, gunas and the three states (waking, dream, deep sleep)
Cultivates deep, abiding peace and freedom from the three afflictions (tapatraya)
Frequently used for daily Vedantic study (svadhyaya) and contemplation by seekers of liberation
How to Chant Brahma Jnanavali Mala
Sit quietly facing east or north in a calm, clean place. Recite the verses slowly, allowing each first-person affirmation ('I am the witness… I alone am the imperishable Self') to sink in. Reflect on the closing teaching 'Brahman is real, the world illusory, the soul is Brahman itself'. Even a single careful recitation is said to be fruitful; many recite it daily as part of contemplation and Self-enquiry.
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