Ashtavakra

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Ashtavakra was a sage in ancient india. Ashtavakra, also spelt as Ashtaavakra in Sanskrit:अष्‍टवक्र means "eight bends". Ashta means eight. Vakra means bend or deformity.

In ancient India, sage Ashtavakra was known to be very intelligent and spiritually well advanced rishi who realized self or Atman. More information about his birth and life comes from Indian epic Ramayana. Sage Uddalaka ran a school (Ashram) teaching Vedic knowledge. Kahola was one of his best disciples. Uddalaka was so pleased with him that he got his daughter Sujata married to him. Sujata, eventually got pregnant and wanted her child to surpass all the sages of his time in spirituality and intelligence. So, she began to sit in the classes taught by Uddalaka and Kahola, listening to their chanting of mantras with the unborn baby. In ancient india, there was a belief that when expectant mothers expose themselves spiritual teachings the child in the womb hears it and gathers that knowledge and becomes a genius in that spiritual area after its birth. It was one day, Kahola recited the Vedas as laid down in the disciplinary rules, but within hearing distance of the child growing in the womb. It heard the recitation but, since it was already aware of the correct pronunciation of every syllable since its mother used to attend classes with rapt attention, whenever Kahola spelt a syllable wrong, the child in the womb squirmed in distress. Sujata informed Kahola that he pronounced the syllable wrongly as indicated by the child in the womb. This happened on eight occasions. So, when the baby was born, it had eight bends, crooked in eight places, Naturally, he was named Ashtavakra (Eight Bends).

Later Ashtavakra grew into a spiritually advanced rishi and realised Atman. He went to Mithila and instructed King Janaka about the concept of Atman this forms the content of Ashtavakra Gita or Ashtavakra Samhita as it is sometimes called.