Chapter-17, Verse 14

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 17.14:

सानुरागां स्त्रियं दृष्ट्वा मृत्युं वा समुपस्थितम् । अविह्वलमनाः स्वस्थो मुक्त एव महाशयः ॥ १४ ॥

When a great souled one is equally unperturbed in mind and self-possessed at the sight of a woman full of desire and at approaching death, he is truly liberated.

The meaning of this verse is that a Realized person is free from attachment and aversion to the objects of the senses, such as a woman full of desire, which represents the attraction of the world, and death, which represents the fear of the world. He is not disturbed by the dualities of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, honor and dishonor, etc. He is firmly established in his own Self, which is the Supreme Reality, and does not identify with the body, mind, or ego. He is a Great Souled One, who has realized his oneness with the Supreme Self, and is thus free from the bondage of ignorance and karma.

Similar verses from other Vedic texts are:

- From the Bhagavad Gita (2.56):

दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः ।

वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते ॥

He whose mind is not shaken by adversity, who does not hanker after pleasures, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady wisdom.

- From the Yoga Vasistha (6.2.34):

यदा न लिप्यते चित्तं निष्कामेषु कदाचन ।

अतीतानागतं वापि तदा मुक्तो भवेन्नरः ॥

When the mind is not attached to anything, neither to the objects of desire nor to the past or the future, then one is Realized and Free.

- From the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.19):

न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः । तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति ॥

There the sun does not shine, nor the moon and the stars, nor these lightnings, and much less this fire. When he shines, everything shines after him; by his light all this is lighted.

These verses convey the same message of detachment, self-knowledge, and Realization as the Ashtavakra Gita verse. They describe the characteristics of a Realized person, who is unaffected by the worldly phenomena, and who realizes the Supreme Self as the source of all light and Bliss. They also imply that the world is illusory and dependent on the Self, and that the Self is independent and self-luminous.