Chapter-20, Verse 12

Ashtavakra Gita Verse 20.12

क्व प्रवृत्तिर्निवृत्तिर्वा क्व मुक्तिः क्व च बन्धनम्।
कूटस्थनिर्विभागस्य स्वस्थस्य मम सर्वदा ॥१२॥

Where is activity (pravritti) or inactivity (nivritti)? Where is liberation (mukti) or bondage (bandhana)? For the ever-established (kutastha), undivided (nirvibhaga), and ever-blissful Self, there is none of these. 

This verse in the Ashtavakra Gita reinforces the Absolute Nature of the Self (Atman) as beyond the limitations and dualities of the phenomenal world.

• Pravritti (Activity) and Nivritti (Inactivity): These represent the cycles of engagement and disengagement in the world. From the perspective of the Self, both are irrelevant.


• Mukti (Liberation) and Bandhana (Bondage): These concepts imply a state to be attained or avoided. The Self is inherently free and beyond these limitations.

The verse emphasizes that the Self, being the unchanging ground of all existence, is not affected by the play of activity and inactivity, liberation and bondage. It is ever-established (kutastha), undivided (nirvibhaga), and ever-blissful (svathastha).

The seat of the essential Consciousness in an individual set of equipments is indicated in the metaphorical term ‘kūṭasthaḥ’ by the Riṣis of Upaniṣad and the term indicates ‘That which remains (stha) as an anvil (kuṭam)’. Very often the ṛṣis use such pictorial terms to communicate to the students the nature and the function of the Self. An anvil remains unchanged, although in contact with it, other pieces of metal are hammered into different shapes. The body, mind and intellect get hammered by the world of happenings around and total personality of the individual gets constantly shaped and reshaped. In this process, the steady Consciousness in the depth of our bosom remains like an anvil ‘without itself changing, but at the same time presiding over all changes’. In short, the term ‘kūṭasthaḥ’ means that which remains immutable in the midst of all mutations. The Man of Realisation is one who has discovered and identified completely with this immutable (kūṭasthaḥ) and indivisible (nirvibhāga) Self. As the illuminating principle behind all activities of the body, mind and intellect, It, in itself, is not involved in any activity nor can we declare It as inactive. Activity and inactivity are the two states of the mind and body. The Consciousness is neither active, nor inactive. It being merely the Knowing Principle that illumines these two conditions into our awareness.

Similar Verses from Vedic Texts

1. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Verse 4.4.19 

न कर्मणा लिप्यते न मज्जति कदाचन ।
कर्मफलहेतुभूच्च न स भवति कर्मकृत् ॥१९॥

He is not tainted by work, nor is He ever immersed (in it). He is not the cause of the fruit of work, nor does He perform work. 

Both verses highlight the Self's (Atman) unattached nature. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad uses the metaphor of action (karma) not affecting the Self.

2. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sutra 1.33 

स सर्वज्ञाः सर्ववशी सर्व-अकर्ता सर्व-भावोभूतात्मा ॥३३॥

He (Ishvara) is the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the non-doer, the Self of all states (waking, dreaming, and sleeping). (as translated by Swami Vivekananda)

Both verses emphasize the all-knowing, omnipotent, and actionless nature of the ultimate reality. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras refer to this reality as Ishvara.

3. Bhagavad Gita 

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मां फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥५०॥

You have the right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty. 

While not explicitly negating the concepts of action and inaction, the Bhagavad Gita encourages performing actions without attachment to their fruits. This aligns with the idea of the Self being beyond the limitations of the phenomenal world.