In chapter 18, this verse reinforces the central teaching of non-dual awareness. न दूरं न च सङ्कोचाल्लब्धमेवात्मनः पदम् । निर्विकल्पं निरायासं निर्विकारं निरञ्जनम्

Aṣṭāvakra dismantles the seeker’s imagined distance from truth. The Self’s abode (ātmanaḥ padam) is neither far (na dūraṃ) nor narrowed by contraction (na ca saṅkocāt) — it is already obtained (labdham eva). The adjectives nirvikalpa (free from conceptual discrimination), nirāyāsa (effortless), nirvikāra (unchanging), and nirañjana (unstained) describe the innate, ever-present nature of awareness. This verse undercuts the very notion of spiritual progress as movement toward a goal; the goal is the already-attained, ever-available ground of being.