Chapter-2, Verse 11

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 2.11

अहो अहं नमो मह्यं विनाशो यस्य नास्ति मे। ब्रह्मादिस्तम्बपर्यन्तं जगन्नाशेऽपि तिष्ठतः॥११॥

11. O! Marvellous am I! Adoration to Myself who knows no decay and survives even the destruction of the universe, from the Creator (Brahmā) down to a blade of grass. 

From this point starts a set of four verses each an explosive exclamation over the new found glory and divinity of the essential Self, which is the one universal Reality that supports the entire flux of matter in the medium of time and space. Janak is here experiencing the condition of Brahmanda Mandal. Wonder of wonders! Marvellous am I! To me all adorations (aho ahaṁ namo mahyaṁ). This is the the chorus running all through the set of four verses here. With the Realization of the Self, It is recognised as something not merely fantastic, but also as something divine and beautiful that demands one's own reverence and adoration. 

The absolute Self knows no decay. It serves as the substratum, upon which the Creator and the created come, play and disappear. The Supreme ever remains just as It is – unaffected by the illusory play of the cosmos upon Its serene tranquillity. ‘This infinite Self am I’ is the Realisation. Therefore, in these verses Janaka uses the first person singular pronoun, he is identifying himself with the Supreme Brahman; the Upaniṣads are never tired of asserting – ‘The knower of the Brahman becomes Brahman.’ (ब्रह्मवेद ब्रह्मैव भवति The phrase “brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati” is from the Mundaka Upanishad 3.2.9.) It means “The Knower of Brahman becomes Brahman himself”. The Mundaka Upanishad is one of the most important Upanishads in Hinduism. 

Same idea has been couched in a more beautiful style in Varāha-Upaniṣad. (sarvabhūtāntarasthāya nityamuktacidātmane, pratyak caitanyarūpāya mahyameva namo namaḥ. – Varāha-Upaniṣad-2.33) This is a verse from the Varaha Upanishad. It is a prayer to the Supreme Lord who is present in all living entities and is the source of all consciousness. The verse says “I offer my obeisances to that Supreme Lord who is present within all living beings, who is eternally free and Pure, who is the embodiment of Consciousness and who is directly perceived by the soul.”

We find this very same verse repeated in Yogavāsiṣṭha. The Upaniṣad mantra also says: ‘Adoration for You and for Me, who is infinite; for Me and for You who is Pure Intelligence.’