Aṣṭāvakra strips away the entire social and ritual framework of Vedic dharma: caste (varṇa), stage of life (āśrama), and the fire sacrifice (agnihotra). These are the pillars of orthodox Hindu identity, and Aṣṭāvakra dismisses them all as irrelevant to the Self. You are not your social role, your life stage, or your ritual obligations — you are the Consciousness (caitanya) that observes all of these. This is a direct challenge to the karma-kāṇḍa (ritual section) of the Vedas, and aligns the Aṣṭāvakra Gītā firmly with the jñāna-kāṇḍa (knowledge section) of the Upaniṣads.