Chapter 2 · Verse 8

एको द्रष्टा द्वैतस्य न मे द्वैतमस्ति किञ्चन

eko draṣṭā dvaitasya na me dvaitam asti kiñcana

Janaka closes his testimony with the most radical statement possible: he is the one Witness (eka draṣṭā) of duality (dvaita), yet for him no duality exists. This is the paradox of Advaita — the witness sees the appearance of multiplicity but is not touched by it. The universe, the renunciate, the seeker of liberation — all these belong to the realm of ignorance (ajñāna). For one who has realized, these categories dissolve. This verse is the culmination of Janaka’s eight-verse declaration and sets the stage for Aṣṭāvakra’s deeper elaboration in the chapters that follow.