Chapter-18, Verse 73

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 18.73

बुद्धिपर्यन्तसंसारे मायामात्रं विवर्तते ।

निर्ममो निरहंकारो निष्कामः शोभते बुधः ॥ ७३ ॥

Pure illusion reigns in samsara which will continue until Self-Realization, but the enlightened man lives in the beauty of freedom from me and mine, from the sense of responsibility and from any attachment. 

This verse summarizes the essence of the Ashtavakra Gita, which is a dialogue between the sage Ashtavakra and King Janaka on the Nature of the Self, Reality, and liberation. The verse contrasts the state of ignorance (avidya) and the state of enlightenment (vidya) in terms of how one perceives the world (samsara) and oneself.

The ignorant person is bound by the limitations of the intellect (buddhi), which creates the illusion (maya) of multiplicity and diversity in the world. The ignorant person identifies with the body, mind, and ego (mama and ahamkara), and is attached to the objects of desire (kama). The ignorant person suffers from the cycle of birth and death (samsara), and is constantly restless and unhappy.

The enlightened person, on the other hand, transcends the intellect and Realizes the True Nature of the Self, which is Pure Consciousness 

(atman). The enlightened person sees the world as a mere appearance (vivarta) of the one Reality (brahman), which is beyond name and form. The enlightened person is free from the sense of ownership and doership (nirmama and nirahamkara), and is detached from the results of actions (nishkama). The enlightened person lives in the beauty of freedom (moksha), and is always peaceful and blissful (shobhate budha).

Some similar verses from other Vedic texts are:

- Isha Upanishad, Verse 7

यस्मिन् सर्वाणि भूतान्यात्मैवाभूद्विजानतः ।

तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यतः ॥

When to the man of Realization all beings become the very Self, then what delusion and what sorrow can there be for that seer of Oneness? 

- Bhagavad Gita 

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः ।

उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः ॥

The unreal has no existence; there is no non-existence of the Real. The truth about both has been Realized by the seers of the truth. 

- Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.7

नेह नानास्ति किञ्चन मृत्योः संसारवृक्षस्य निर्णेतारं विदुः । येन निर्णीतं तद्विज्ञाय तद्विज्ञानेनामृतमश्नुते ॥

There is no diversity whatsoever in this world. The seers of the Truth know the One who cuts off the tree of samsara, which is the cause of death. By knowing that One, and by the Knowledge of that One, one attains immortality.