Chapter 3.107, Verses 1~24

Yoga Vashishtha 3.107.1–12

(Continuing the King’s account of his complete descent into the life of an outcaste)

राजोवाच।

बहुनात्र किमुक्तेन सोत्सवावर्जिताशयः।

तदाप्रभृति तत्राहं संपन्नः पुष्टपुल्कसः ॥ १॥

सप्तरात्रोत्सवस्यान्ते क्रमान्मासाष्टके गते।

पुष्पिता सास्य संपन्ना स्थिता गर्भवती ततः ॥ २॥

प्रसूता दुःखदां कन्यां विपद्दुःखक्रियामिव।

सा कन्या ववृधे शीघ्रं मूर्खचिन्तेव पीवरी ॥ ३॥

पुनः प्रसूता सा वर्षैस्त्रिभिः पुत्रमशोभनम्।

अनर्थमिव दुर्बुद्धिराशापाशविधायकम् ॥ ४॥

(३.१०७.५–२०)

अस्पृष्टेन जनैर्भुक्तं कुकलत्रवता मया।

गृहीततेजःक्षतये बहुवक्रविकारिणा ॥ २१॥

मार्गाविकमिवात्मीयं विक्रीतं पण्यमन्यतः।

प्राण्यङ्गवपुषस्तस्य प्रोत्कृत्त्योत्कृत्त्य पेशलः ॥ २२॥

आयसंपरि विक्रीता विन्ध्यपक्कणभूमिषु।

जन्मान्तरसहस्रोत्थं स्वपापमिव वृद्धये ॥ २३॥

अविकीर्णमसत्कीर्णं चण्डालारामभूमिषु।

दृष्टः कुद्दालको दृष्ट्या संध्यास्नेहविमुक्तया ॥ २४॥

The King said: 

3.107.1–4

> What more need be said here? From that time onward, my mind drawn by the festivities, I became a well-nourished Pulkasa (outcaste) there.

> At the end of the seven-night festival, after eight months had passed in due course, she became pregnant and remained with a swollen belly.

> She gave birth to a daughter who brings sorrow, like the very deeds that cause calamity and pain. That girl grew quickly, like the fattening thought of a fool.

> Again, after three years, she gave birth to an ugly son, like a misfortune produced by a dull mind that creates the noose of hope.

3.107.5–20

> In these intervening verses the King continues to describe his prolonged life among the outcastes: the daily hardships, the further birth of children, the gradual hardening of his mind to that degraded existence, the loss of his former royal dignity, the acceptance of menial work and impure food, and the deepening of delusion that made the lowly life seem normal to him.

3.107.21–24

> Food untouched by others was eaten by me, who now possessed a lowly wife—food that damaged my former radiance, eaten by one whose face had become distorted in many ways.

> Like goods sold on the roadside, what was my own was sold elsewhere; the soft flesh of that living body was cut off piece by piece.

> Iron tools were sold in the Vindhya outcaste settlements, like my own sins accumulated over thousands of past births, sold only to increase them further.

> Scattered and mixed with the impure, in the garden grounds of the Chandalas, Kuddalaka was seen with a gaze free from the affection of twilight (or evening attachment).

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses continue the king’s account of his complete descent into the life of an outcaste. After the initial marriage and festivities, he reports that he fully became one of them—well-fed yet degraded. The teaching here is that once a person crosses the boundary of social and moral order under the sway of desire or circumstance, the mind quickly adapts and begins to identify with the new, lower condition. What was once unthinkable becomes ordinary.

The birth of children—first a daughter described as a source of sorrow, then an ugly son compared to a misfortune—illustrates how actions performed in delusion produce further bonds. Offspring that arise from an impure union are portrayed not as blessings but as extensions of suffering and attachment. The rapid growth of the daughter is likened to the swelling of foolish thoughts, showing how ignorance multiplies itself when left unchecked.

The omitted middle section, together with the later verses, deepens the picture of progressive degradation. The King eats food that others avoid, loses his former bodily radiance, and engages in the buying and selling of iron tools and even the cutting of flesh. These acts symbolize the piecemeal destruction of his Higher Nature. The text teaches that repeated association with impurity does not remain external; it enters the body, the mind, and the sense of self, steadily eroding discrimination.

A further lesson concerns the accumulation of karma. The sale of iron implements in the outcaste settlements is compared to the increase of sins carried from thousands of previous births. Every action performed in this degraded state is shown to strengthen the very chains that bind the soul. The verses warn that once one has entered a path of impurity, even ordinary livelihood activities become means of further entanglement rather than neutral work.

Finally, the closing image of Kuddalaka seen with a gaze free from soft evening attachment suggests a moment of stark clarity amid the surrounding impurity. The overall teaching of the passage is that delusion, once accepted, leads step by step from a single transgression to a complete transformation of identity, family, livelihood, and inner vision. Only the recovery of true discrimination can reverse this descent; otherwise the soul continues to multiply its own suffering through the very life it has chosen.

Chapter 3.106, Verses 52~72

Yoga Vashishtha 3.106.52~72

(Under the pressure of extreme circumstances, all considerations of family tradition and social duty are abandoned)

राजोवाच।

अथोक्ता सा मया भर्ता भवामि तव सुव्रते।

केनापदि विचार्यन्ते वर्णधर्मकुलक्रमाः ॥ ५२॥

ततस्तयौदनादर्धं मह्यमेकं समर्पितम्।

माधव्येवामृतादर्धमिन्द्रायार्तिमहत्पुरा ॥ ५३॥

जम्बूफलरसः पीतः स भुक्तः पक्कणौदनः।

विश्रान्तं च मया तत्र मोहापहृतचेतसा ॥ ५४॥

मां तत्रार्कमिवापूर्य सा प्रावृट् श्यामला गता।

हस्तेन समुपादाय प्राणं बहिरिव स्थितम् ॥ ५५॥

दुराकृतिं दुरारम्भमाससाद भयप्रदम्।

पितरं पीवराकारमवीचिमिव यातना ॥ ५६॥

तया मदनुषङ्गिण्या स्वार्थस्तस्मै निवेदितः।

मातङ्गाय भ्रमर्येव निःस्वनेनालिलग्नया ॥ ५७॥

(३.१०६.५८–६७)

अथ विश्रम्य चण्डालभोजनान्यजिनासने।

संचितान्युपभुक्तानि दुष्कृतानीव भूरिशः ॥ ६८॥

अनन्तदुःखबीजानि न मनोज्ञतराण्यपि।

तानि प्रणयवाक्यानि श्रुतान्यसुभगान्यलम् ॥ ६९॥

निरभ्राम्बरनक्षत्रे कस्मिंश्चिद्दिवसे ततः।

तैस्तैरारम्भसंरम्भैस्तैर्वस्त्रविभवार्पणैः ॥ ७०॥

दत्ताप्यनेन सा मह्यं कुमारी भयदायिनी।

सुकृष्णा कृष्णवर्णेन दुष्कृतेनेव यातना ॥ ७१॥

सरभसमभितो विनेदुरत्र प्रसृतमहामदिरासवाः श्वपाकाः।

हतपटुपटहा विलासवन्तः स्वयमिव दुष्कृतराशयो महान्तः ॥ ७२॥

The King said: 

3.106.52–57

> Then I told her, “O virtuous one, I shall become your husband. In times of crisis, who bothers about caste rules, family customs or social order?”

> Then she offered me half of her cooked rice, just as Madhavi once offered half of the nectar to Indra when he was in great distress.

> I drank the juice of the jambu fruit and ate the rice of the outcaste settlement. There I rested, my mind overcome by delusion.

> Like a dark monsoon cloud that fills the sky around the sun, she took hold of me as if seizing my very life-breath that stood outside, and then left.

> She went to her father—a frightful, ill-formed man of massive body who looked like the torments of the lowest hell—and approached that terrifying figure of evil deeds.

> Accompanied by me, she announced her personal wish to that Chandala, just as a female bee clinging with a soft hum announces itself to an elephant.

3.106.58–67

> In these intervening verses the narrative continues with the king’s further experiences in the Chandala settlement: the father’s response, the arrangements made for the union, the living conditions among the outcastes, the food and daily life, the gradual acceptance of that degraded existence, and the growing sense of degradation and delusion that settled upon the king’s mind as he remained there.

3.106.68–72

> After resting, I partook of the Chandala meals served on animal-skin seats—meals that had been collected in abundance, like heaps of sinful deeds.

> Those words of affection I heard were seeds of endless sorrow; they were not at all pleasing, and they were thoroughly unpleasant.

> Then, on a certain day when the sky was clear and the stars were visible, amid all those excited preparations and the offerings of clothes and wealth,

> That girl, who inspired fear, was given to me by him. She was very dark, black in complexion, like the torment that follows an evil deed.

> All around, the dog-eaters shouted loudly in great excitement, reeking of strong liquor; with beaten drums and joyful display they seemed like great heaps of sin themselves.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses form part of a larger story in which a king recounts how, under the pressure of extreme circumstances, he abandoned all consideration of caste, family tradition and social duty. The teaching begins by showing that when survival or intense desire is at stake, the ordinary rules of varna and kula are quickly set aside. The king’s ready agreement to marry an outcaste woman illustrates how fragile social conventions become once personal need overrides them.

The episode next describes the king’s complete immersion in a life he would normally regard as impure and degrading. He accepts food from a Chandala household, rests in that environment, and allows his mind to be overtaken by delusion. The text thereby demonstrates how quickly the discriminating intellect can be clouded when one repeatedly associates with what is considered low or impure. The senses and the mind gradually accept what was once repulsive.

A further teaching concerns the power of attachment and the company one keeps. The woman, described as dark and fearful, draws the king deeper into that world; her words of affection become seeds of endless sorrow. The verses warn that even pleasant-sounding expressions of love, when rooted in a base or deluded context, plant the causes of future suffering. Attachment born of ignorance does not liberate; it binds more tightly.

The narrative then moves to the formalization of the union amid the noisy celebrations of the Chandala community. The atmosphere of liquor, drums and wild excitement is presented as the outer reflection of inner disorder. The king’s participation in this scene underscores that once one has crossed certain moral and social boundaries, the surrounding environment itself reinforces and multiplies the original error. Sinful associations tend to grow into larger heaps of misconduct.

Finally, the entire passage serves as a cautionary illustration within the larger philosophical framework of Yoga Vasistha. It shows how a single decision made under delusion can lead a person of high status into progressive degradation, how the mind loses its clarity step by step, and how the consequences of such choices appear as both inner torment and outer chaos. The teaching is that true discrimination must be maintained even in crisis; otherwise the soul sinks into conditions that multiply sorrow rather than remove it.

Chapter 3.106, Verses 25~51

Yoga Vashishtha 3.106.25~51

(King Lavana’s account of the long dream-illusion created by a magician)

राजोवाच।

शनैः श्यामिकया ग्रस्ते समस्ते भुवनोदरे।

रात्रिसंव्यवहारेषु संप्रवृत्तेषु जङ्गले ॥ २५॥

अहं तरुतृणे तस्मिन्पेलवे खण्डकोटरे।

निलीनश्चिरलीनास्यः स्वनीडे विहगो यथा ॥ २६॥

विषदष्टविवेकस्य कीनाशस्य गलत्स्मृतेः।

विक्रीतस्येव दीनस्य मग्नस्येवान्धकूपके ॥ २७॥

तत्र कल्पसमा रात्रिर्मोहमग्नस्य मे गता।

एकार्णवोह्यमानस्य मार्कण्डेयमुनेरिव ॥ २८॥

न स्नातवान्नार्चितवान्न तदा भुक्तवानहम्।

केवलं मे गता रात्रिः सापदां धुरि तिष्ठतः ॥ २९॥

विनिद्रस्य विधैर्यस्य स्फुरतः सह पल्लवैः।

समं दुष्टातिदैर्घ्येण सा व्यतीयाय शर्वरी ॥ ३०॥

(३.१०६.३१–४५)

तयोक्तं हारकेयूरिंश्चण्डालीं विद्धि मामिति।

राक्षसीमिव सुक्रूरा पुरुषाश्वगजाशनाम् ॥ ४६॥

राजन्यार्चनमात्रेण मत्तो नाप्नोषि भोजनम्।

ग्राम्यादनभिजातेहात्सौजन्यमिव सुन्दरम् ॥ ४७॥

इत्युक्तवत्या गच्छन्त्या खेलया च पदेपदे।

कुञ्जकेषु निमज्जन्त्या लीलावनतयोदितम् ॥ ४८॥

ददामि भोजनमिदं भर्ता भवसि चेन्मम।

लोको नोपकरोत्यर्थैः सामान्यः स्निग्धतां विना ॥ ४९॥

वाहयत्यत्र मे दान्तान्केदारे पुल्कसः पिता।

श्मशान इव वेतालः क्षुधितो धूलिधूसरः ॥ ५०॥

तस्येदमन्नं भवति भर्तृत्वे दीयते स्थिते।

प्राणैरपि हि संपूज्या वल्लभाः पुरुषा यतः ॥ ५१॥

The King said: 

3.106.25–30

> Slowly, as darkness covered the whole belly of the world and the night-time activities began in the forest.

> I hid myself in that soft grass and broken hollow of the tree, with my face long buried, just like a bird in its own nest.

> My discrimination was as if bitten by poison, my memory was fading, I was like a sold slave in misery, and like one sunk in a dark well.

> That night, as long as a full age of the World, passed for me who was sunk in delusion, like the Sage Markandeya being carried on the single Ocean.

> I did not bathe, did not worship, and did not eat then. That night simply passed for me who stood at the head of all troubles.

> Sleepless and without firmness, trembling along with the leaves, that long and wicked night passed away for me.

3.106.31–45

In these verses the King describes the end of the night, the coming of dawn and the rising sun, how he rose and wandered through the empty forest seeing only birds, and how at midday he met a dark-complexioned maiden carrying food and water. He begged her for something to eat because of his extreme hunger, but she gave him nothing and walked on; he followed her for a long time like her own shadow.

3.106.46–51

> She said to him: Know me to be a Chandala woman named Harakeyuri, cruel like a demoness who eats men, horses and elephants.

> O King, you will not get food from me merely by begging, just as good conduct is not obtained from a low-born person without proper effort.

> Saying this, she went on playfully step by step, diving into the thickets, and spoke again with a playful bow of her body.

> I will give you this food if you become my husband, because ordinary people do not help others without first securing their own interest, just as affection is needed for help.

> My father, a Chandala, is ploughing the field here with his strong oxen; dusty and hungry, he looks like a hungry ghost in a cremation ground.

> This food belongs to him; it will be given to you only if you accept the position of husband, because husbands are to be honoured even at the cost of one’s life.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses form part of King Lavana’s account of the long dream-illusion created by a magician. They show how a person of high status can suddenly fall into complete helplessness, hunger and fear, losing all sense of dignity and self-control. The experience of spending a night alone in a dark forest, trembling and unable to perform even basic duties, illustrates the fragile and temporary nature of worldly power and comfort.

The meeting with the Chandala woman and her demand that the King marry her in exchange for food highlights how extreme need forces a person to abandon social norms, caste distinctions and personal pride. What seemed unthinkable in ordinary life becomes acceptable when survival is at stake. This teaches that external conditions of birth, status and identity are not absolute; they can be overturned by circumstances created by the mind.

The woman’s words emphasise a practical truth about human nature: people rarely give help without receiving something in return. Ordinary persons act from self-interest, and true generosity without any expectation is rare. The king’s willingness to accept her condition shows how the instinct for self-preservation overpowers every other consideration.

Taken together, the episode demonstrates that the entire experience—whether the lonely night or the forced marriage—is only a mental projection. Just as the King later wakes up and realises that years of life as a Chandala had lasted only a short time in the waking world, so all joys and sorrows of ordinary life are equally dream-like and fleeting.

The deeper teaching is that attachment to body, status, family and social position is the root of suffering. When the mind creates vivid experiences of pleasure or pain, the wise person learns to remain detached, recognising that both the high royal life and the low Chandala life are equally unreal appearances within Consciousness.

Chapter 3.106, Verses 12–24

Yoga Vashishtha 3.106.12–24

(A hard outer journey that mirrors an inner one)

राजोवाच।

ज्ञस्येव विततं चेतो मूर्खस्येव रुषाऽजवम्।

अदृष्टजनसंसर्गमजाततृणपल्लवम् ॥ १२॥

अरण्यमिदमासाद्य मतिर्मे खेदमागता।

ललनेवैत्य दारिद्र्यं निरन्नफलबान्धवम् ॥ १३॥

कचन्मरुमरीच्यम्बुपुरःप्लुतककुम्मुखम्।

आसूर्यास्तं दिनं तत्र प्रक्रान्तं सीदता मया ॥ १४॥

तदरण्यं मयातीतमतिकृच्छ्रेण खेदिना।

विवेकिनेव संसारो मध्यशून्यतताकृति ॥ १५॥

यदेतेनातिवाह्याहं प्राप्तवाञ्जङ्गलं क्रमात्।

अस्ताद्रिसानुं खिन्नाश्वः शून्यभ्रान्त्येवभास्करः ॥ १६॥

जम्बूकदम्बप्रायेषु कलालापाः पतत्रिणः।

यत्र स्फुरन्ति खण्डेषु पान्थानामिव बान्धवाः ॥ १७॥

यत्र शष्पशिखाश्रेण्यो दृश्यन्ते विरलाः स्थले।

कदर्थलक्ष्म्या जिह्मस्य हृदीवानन्दवृत्तयः ॥ १८॥

पूर्वादरण्यादरसात्तद्धि किंचित्सुखावहम्।

अत्यन्तदुःखान्मरणाद्वरं व्याधिर्हि जन्तुषु ॥ १९॥

तत्र जम्बीरखण्डस्य तलं संप्राप्तवानहम्।

मार्कण्डेय इवागेन्द्रमेकार्णवविहारतः ॥ २०॥

आलम्बिता मया तत्र स्कन्धसंसर्गिणी लता।

नीला जलदमालेव तापतप्तेन भूभृता ॥ २१॥

मयि प्रलम्बमानेऽस्यां प्रयातः स तुरङ्गमः।

गङ्गावलम्बिनि नरे यथा दुष्कृतसंचयः ॥ २२॥

चिरं दीर्घाध्वगः खिन्नस्तत्र विश्रान्तवानहम्।

भानुरस्ताचलोत्सङ्गे तले कल्पतरोरिव ॥ २३॥

यावत्समस्तसंसारव्यवहारभरैः समम्।

रविर्विश्रमणायेव निविष्टोऽस्ताचलाङ्गणे ॥ २४॥

The King said: 

3.106.12–24

> My mind felt wide like that of a wise person, yet restless with anger like that of a fool. I had come to a forest never seen by people, without human contact, and without even grass or young leaves.

> Reaching this forest, my mind grew weary and sad. It felt like a woman falling into poverty, with no food, no fruit, and no relatives.

> The directions ahead shimmered with the water of desert mirages. Suffering there, I spent the whole day until the Sun set.

> With great hardship and exhaustion I crossed that forest. It was like the world crossed by a person of discrimination: empty and hollow in the middle.

> After passing that place I gradually reached a wilderness. I was like the Sun arriving at the peak of the western mountain with tired horses, wandering as if in emptiness.

> In groves of jambu and kadamba trees, birds with sweet calls shone in the patches of forest, like companions appearing to weary travelers.

> Sparse rows of grass tips were seen on the ground, like rare moments of joy in the heart of a crooked person whose fortune is wretched.

> Compared with the earlier tasteless forest, this place brought a little comfort. For living Beings, even illness is better than the extreme pain of death.

> There I reached the ground beneath a cluster of jambu trees, like Markandeya reaching a great mountain after wandering across the single Ocean.

> I clung to a creeper growing from the trunk of a tree, as a heat-scorched mountain clings to a dark garland of clouds.

> While I hung there, the horse went away, just as a heap of sins leaves a person who clings to the Ganga.

> Tired after a long road, I rested there for a while, like the Sun resting in the lap of the western mountain at the base of a wish-fulfilling tree.

> Meanwhile the Sun, as if to rest from the full burden of all worldly activity, settled in the courtyard of the western mountain.

Summary of the verses: 

The verses show a hard outer journey that mirrors an inner one. A barren, waterless forest stands for a mind and a world that look wide yet give no real support. Anger, loneliness, hunger, and mirage-water describe how restlessness and false hopes keep a person moving without rest. Crossing that waste with difficulty points to viveka: seeing that ordinary life is hollow in the middle even while it appears solid at the edges.

A slightly greener wilderness then appears. Sparse grass, a few trees, and the calls of birds are only small reliefs, yet they feel better than the earlier emptiness. The teaching is practical: even limited ease is preferable to total despair, just as illness can be better than death. The traveler does not stop at the first comfort; he still seeks a firmer place to rest.

Reaching the shade of jambu trees and holding a creeper is an image of taking support that is itself unstable. The horse that leaves while the traveler hangs on the vine shows how outer supports and past actions drop away once a person turns toward a higher refuge. The comparison with sins leaving a person who holds the Ganga suggests that genuine rest begins when clinging to the world is replaced by clinging to something that can actually hold.

Rest under the tree at sunset is the first true pause. The Sun itself, carrying the whole day’s work, also settles. The picture teaches that both the individual mind and the apparent activity of the world share the same rhythm of effort and needed stillness. Rest is not escape; it is the natural close of a cycle of strain.

Taken together the verses quietly point to the larger Yoga-Vasistha view: the forest of samsara can be crossed, small comforts are real but temporary, and lasting ease comes only when the traveler stops running after mirages and sits still. Discrimination, endurance, and the willingness to let go of what cannot stay are the inner counterparts of the outer march from waste land to shade.

Chapter 3.106, Verses 1–11

Yoga Vashishtha 3.106.1–11

(King’s vivid recollection of how an ordinary royal assembly was suddenly transformed by the appearance of a magician)

राजोवाच।

अस्ति तावदयं देशो नानावननदीयुतः।

वसुधामण्डलस्यास्य सहोदर इवानुजः ॥ १॥

अस्मिंश्चायमहं राजा पौराभिमतवृत्तिमान्।

इन्द्रः स्वर्ग इवास्यां तु सभायां मध्यसंस्थित ॥ २॥

यावदभ्यागतो दूरात्कश्चिच्छाम्बरिकस्त्वयम्।

रसातलादभ्युदितो मायी मय इव स्वयम् ॥ ३॥

अनेन भ्रमिताद्येह पिच्छिका तेजसोर्जिता।

कल्पान्तपवनाभ्रेण शक्रचापलता यथा ॥ ४॥

आलोक्यैतामहं लोलामस्याश्वस्य पुरः स्थितः।

पृष्ठमारूढवानेक आत्मना भ्रान्तमानसः ॥ ५॥

ततोऽद्रिं प्रलयक्षुब्धं पुष्करावर्तको यथा।

तथा चलन्तं चलितः स्वश्वमारूढवानहम् ॥ ६॥

गन्तुं प्रवृत्तो मृगयामेकोऽहमतिरंहसा।

उर्वरामिव निर्भर्तुः कल्लोलः प्रलयाम्बुधेः ॥ ७॥

तेनानिलविलोलेन दूरं नीतोऽस्मि वाजिना।

योगाभ्यासजडेनाज्ञो मुग्धस्य मनसा यथा ॥ ८॥

अकिंचनमनःशून्यं स्त्रीचित्तमिव निर्भरम्।

ततः प्रलयनिर्दग्धजगदास्पद भीषणम् ॥ ९॥

निष्पक्षिक्षारनीहारं निर्वृक्षमजलं महत्।

संप्राप्तोऽहमपर्यन्तमरण्यं श्रान्तवाहनः ॥ १०॥

तद्द्वितीयमिवाकाशं तथाष्टममिवाम्बुधिम्।

पञ्चमं सागरमिव संशुष्कं शून्यकोटरम् ॥ ११॥

The King continued: 

3.106.1–11

> There is this country full of various forests and rivers. It is like a younger brother of this whole circle of the Earth.

> In this land I am the King, living according to the wishes of the citizens. I sit in the middle of this assembly hall just as Indra sits in Heaven.

> Then a certain magician came from far away. He rose up from the nether world like the demon Maya himself.

> He whirled here a bright peacock-feather wand full of power, just as the wind-cloud at the end of a world-cycle scatters Indra’s rainbow.

> Looking at that moving wand and at the horse standing before him, I climbed alone onto the horse’s back with a bewildered mind.

> Then, just as the Pushkara and Avartaka clouds shake a mountain tossed about at the time of dissolution, I mounted the moving horse and began to move.

 

> I set out alone at great speed for the hunt, like a wave of the Ocean of dissolution rushing to cover a masterless Earth.

> That horse, restless as the wind, carried me far away, just as the mind of a deluded person carries an ignorant man who has been stupefied by the practice of yoga.

> Then I reached a place that was empty like the mind of a pauper, completely vacant like a woman’s mind, and terrifying like the World burnt by final dissolution.

> It was a vast wilderness without birds, without salt-mist, without trees and without water. With my tired horse I arrived at that endless forest.

> It was like a second sky, like an eighth Ocean, like a fifth dried-up sea — an empty hollow.

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses begin the King’s vivid recollection of how an ordinary royal assembly was suddenly transformed by the appearance of a magician. The King first describes his own prosperous kingdom and his secure place within it, establishing the normal waking reality from which the illusion will arise. This contrast prepares the listener to see how quickly and completely the mind can leave its familiar setting.

The arrival of the magician and the whirling of the peacock-feather wand mark the exact point at which the outer world begins to dissolve. The wand is compared to a Cosmic storm that breaks Indra’s rainbow, showing that what seems a small magical act can carry the force of universal dissolution. The mind, once caught by the spectacle, loses its ordinary bearings.

Mounting the horse is presented as an almost involuntary act performed in a state of mental confusion. The horse, though standing still in the court, becomes a vehicle of rapid movement. This illustrates how the mind can project intense motion and distance while the body remains motionless, revealing the creative and deceptive power of imagination.

The journey into an empty, waterless, birdless wilderness expands the teaching. The desert is likened to the mind of one who has nothing, to a woman’s restless heart, and to the burnt-out world at the end of a Cosmic cycle. These images teach that the landscape of experience is shaped by the state of the mind itself; when the mind is emptied of its usual supports, the world appears correspondingly barren and frightening.

Finally, the endless forest is compared to a second sky, an eighth Ocean and a dried-up fifth sea. Such similes emphasise the boundless and hollow nature of the projected world. The entire sequence shows that Time, Space, movement and desolation can all be generated within a brief interval of mental absorption, reminding the reader that ordinary waking life may be no more substantial than this magical ride.

Chapter 3.105, Verses 21–28

Yoga Vashishtha 3.105.21–28

(The mind can be overpowered by illusion, even when it is strong and trained)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

जाल्म जालजटालेन किमेतद्भवता कृतम्।

येनास्पन्दप्रसन्नोऽब्धिः क्षणादेत्य प्रसन्नताम् ॥ २१॥

चित्रं चित्रा हि देवस्य पदार्थशतशक्तयः।

सुशक्तमपि मे चित्तं याभिर्मोहे निवेशितम् ॥ २२॥

क्व वयं लोकपर्यायकृतान्तपदवेदिनः।

क्व मनोमोहदायिन्यो वितताः प्रकृतापदः ॥ २३॥

अप्यभ्यस्तमहाज्ञानं मनस्तिष्ठति देहके।

कदाचिन्मोहमादत्ते क्षणं मतिमतामपि ॥ २४॥

इदमाश्चर्यमाख्यानं श्रूयतां रे सभासदः।

मम शाम्बरिकेणेह यन्मुहूर्तं प्रदर्शितम् ॥ २५॥

दृष्टवानहमेतस्मिन्बह्वीः कार्यदशाश्चलाः।

मुहूर्तं प्रार्थितोऽध्वस्तशक्रसृष्टिरिवालजः ॥ २६॥

इत्युक्त्वोन्मुखनेत्रेषु सभ्येषु स हसन्निव।

राजा वर्णयितुं चित्रं वृत्तान्तमुपचक्रमे ॥ २७॥

राजोवाच।

इह विविधपदार्थसंकुलायां ह्रदनदपत्तनपर्वताकुलायाम्।

कुलशिखरिसमुद्रसंकरायां भुवि विभवावलितोऽस्त्ययं प्रदेशः ॥ २८॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.105.21–27

> O wretched one with hair tangled like a net! What have you done that the ocean of my mind, which was still and clear, has in a moment been thrown into agitation?

> How wonderful and varied are the hundred powers of the Divine! Even my strong and capable mind has been cast by them into delusion.

> Where are we who know the successive states of the World and the place of death, and where are these widespread natural calamities that delude the mind?

> Even a mind that has practiced the Highest Knowledge and still resides in the body can sometimes fall into delusion for a moment, even in the case of the wise.

> Listen, O members of the assembly, to this astonishing story of what this magician showed me here in a single moment.

> In that short time I saw many changing scenes of events, as numerous as those shown long ago by the creator when he destroyed the magic creation of Indra.

> Having spoken thus, while the assembly looked on with raised faces, the King, smiling as it were, began to describe the wonderful occurrence.

The King said: 

3.105.28

> In this World crowded with many kinds of things, filled with lakes, rivers, towns and mountains, mixed with family hills and oceans, there is this region rich in prosperity.

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses show how easily the mind can be overpowered by illusion, even when it is strong and trained. The King, who had just emerged from a magical trance, addresses the magician and expresses surprise that his calm mind could be disturbed so quickly. The comparison of the mind to a still ocean that is suddenly agitated teaches that mental peace is fragile and can be lost in an instant under the influence of external forces or internal tendencies.

The verses highlight the extraordinary and manifold powers that belong to the Divine or to the creative force of Consciousness. These powers are capable of producing countless effects and of casting even a disciplined mind into delusion. This points to the idea that the World of appearances is a display of infinite creative energy, and that no individual mind, however powerful, stands outside its reach.

The text contrasts human knowledge of the cycles of life, death and worldly change with the sudden onset of deluding experiences. It reminds us that theoretical understanding of impermanence does not automatically protect us from practical confusion. Even those who know the facts of existence can still be overtaken by mental disturbance when circumstances arise.

A central teaching is that the mind, although it lives in the body and may have cultivated the Highest Knowledge, remains liable to momentary delusion. Wisdom and practice do not grant permanent immunity; vigilance is always required. This underscores the need for continual self-awareness rather than complacent reliance on past attainments.

Finally, the king’s decision to recount the experience to his assembly illustrates the value of examining and sharing such events. By describing the many scenes he witnessed in a brief period—scenes as vast and varied as a cosmic magical display—he demonstrates that time and experience are relative to the state of the mind. The opening description of the prosperous region then begins the narrative proper, showing how the mind projects an entire world of objects, places and conditions within itself. Together the verses teach that the apparent solidity of ordinary life is no more substantial than a magician’s show, and that true clarity arises only when this is clearly recognized.

Chapter 3.105, Verses 10–20

Yoga Vashishtha 3.105.10–20

(Mind is easily pulled toward things that look pleasant only for a moment and later prove empty)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

आपातरमणीयेषु पर्यन्तविरसेषु च।

भोगेष्विव विकल्पेषु केषु ते लुलितं मनः ॥ १०॥

सततोदारवृत्तासु कथासु परिशीतलम्।

मनस्ते निर्मलं कस्मात्संभ्रमेषु निमज्जति ॥ ११॥

तुच्छालम्बनमालूनविशीर्णं लोकवृत्तिषु।

मनो मोहमुपादत्ते न महत्त्वविजृम्भितम् ॥ १२॥

सातत्येन हि यैवास्य मनसो वृत्तिरुत्थिता।

शरीरमदमत्तासु तामेवैतद्विधावति ॥ १३॥

अतुच्छालम्बनं धीरं प्रबुद्धं गुणहारि च।

तवापि हि मनश्चित्रमालूनमिव लक्ष्यते ॥ १४॥

अनभ्यस्तविवेकं हि देशकालवशानुगम्।

मन्त्रौषधिवशं याति मनो नोदारवृत्तिमत् ॥ १५॥

नित्यमात्तविवेकस्य कथमालूनशीर्णता।

धुनोति विततं चेतो वात्येव विबुधाचलम् ॥ १६॥

इति जातानुगीर्णस्य भूपतेः कान्तिराननम्।

भूषयामास शीतांशुं मासान्त इव पूर्णता ॥ १७॥

रराज राजा सौम्यास्यमुन्मीलितविलोचनः।

गते हिमर्तावुल्लासिपुष्पौघ इव माधवः ॥ १८॥

अथातिसंभ्रमाश्चर्यखिन्नास्मृतिमुखो बभौ।

आसन्नमृत्युरालोक्य राहुमिन्दुरिवाम्बरे ॥ १९॥

ऐन्द्रजालिकमालोक्य प्रोवाचाथ हसन्निव।

बभुं हिंसात्मकं दृष्ट्वा सर्परूपीव तक्षकः ॥ २०॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.105.10–14

> In which of those choices—like sense-pleasures that seem delightful at first but turn tasteless at the end—has your mind become confused and entangled?

> Your mind stays cool and pure when listening to stories of always-noble conduct. Why then does it sink into confusion and turmoil?

> A mind that rests on worthless supports, withered and broken amid ordinary worldly ways, takes hold of delusion. It does not expand into greatness.

> Whatever tendency keeps arising again and again in a mind that is drunk with bodily pride—that is the very path this mind races after.

> Even your mind, which rests on solid ground, is steady, awake, and full of good qualities, still appears strangely withered and disturbed.

3.105.15–20

> A mind that has never practised discrimination, that simply follows place and time, falls under the power of spells and drugs. A mind of noble tendency does not.

> How can withering and decay shake the wide Consciousness of one who constantly holds discrimination? A storm cannot shake the mountain of the gods.

> After the King was spoken to in this way, radiance adorned his face, just as the full moon’s completeness adorns the cool-rayed orb at the month’s end.

> The King shone with a calm face and open eyes, like the spring season that bursts into a mass of blooming flowers once winter has gone.

> Then his face showed extreme agitation, wonder, distress and loss of memory, looking like the moon in the sky that sees approaching death in the form of Rahu.

> Seeing the magician, he then spoke as if smiling—like the serpent Takshaka in snake-form when he sees a violent ape.

Summary of the teachings: 

These verses teach that the mind is easily pulled toward things that look pleasant only for a moment and later prove empty. Sense-pleasures and restless choices have exactly this nature: they attract at the start and leave dryness at the end. A mind that has been trained by noble stories and clear thinking should remain cool and pure, yet even such a mind can temporarily sink into confusion when it loses its firm hold on discrimination.  

The root of the problem is the support the mind chooses. When it leans on trivial, worldly props and is swollen with bodily pride, it races after the same restless tendencies again and again and falls into delusion. Greatness cannot grow from such weak supports. In contrast, a mind that rests on solid, non-trivial ground, stays steady, awake and full of good qualities is hard to shake—yet even that mind can appear momentarily withered if vigilance slips.  

Discrimination is the decisive protection. A mind that has never practised it simply drifts with place, time and circumstance and therefore becomes easy prey to outer spells, drugs or inner illusions. A mind of noble tendency, constantly practising discrimination, cannot be permanently unsettled. Storms of confusion may blow, but they cannot uproot a Consciousness that is wide and firmly established, any more than a gale can move the mountain of the gods.  

The outer story shows the recovery of the King. Kind and wise words restore the natural radiance to his face, like the full moon recovering its light or spring returning after winter. Yet the memory of the recent illusion still leaves a trace of agitation, wonder and fear—exactly as the moon looks pale when it remembers Rahu. This mixture of restored calm and residual disturbance is natural when a strong mind has just emerged from a powerful temporary delusion.  

Finally the verses point to the larger truth: even a powerful, knowledgeable mind dwelling in a body can, for a moment, fall under illusion. The episode with the magician is therefore not merely an external trick; it is a living demonstration of how the mind itself creates and dissolves entire worlds of experience in a short span of time. Recognition of this power, followed by steady discrimination, is the way to keep the mind from being repeatedly entangled.