Yoga Vashishtha 1.25.11–22
(Cosmic energy of Time as a dancing Goddess)
श्रीराम उवाच।
तस्या नर्तनलोलाया जगन्मण्डपकोटरे ।
अरुद्धस्पन्दरूपाया आगमापायचञ्चुरे ॥ ११ ॥
चारुभूषणमङ्गेषु देवलोकान्तरावली।
आपातालं नभोलम्बं कबरीमण्डलं बृहत् ॥ १२ ॥
नरकाली च मञ्जीरमाला कलकलोज्ज्वला ।
प्रोता दुष्कृतसूत्रेण पातालचरणे स्थिता ॥ १३ ॥
कस्तूरिकातिलककं क्रियासंख्योपकल्पितम् ।
चित्रितं चित्रगुप्तेन यमे वदनपट्टके ॥ १४॥
कालास्यं समुपादाय कल्पान्तेषु किलाकुला ।
नृत्यत्येषा पुनर्देवी स्फुटच्छैलघनारवम् ॥ १५ ॥
पश्चात्प्रालम्बविभ्रान्तकौमारभृतबर्हिभिः ।
नेत्रत्रयवृहद्रन्ध्रभूरिभाङ्कारभीषणैः ॥ १६॥
लम्बलोलजटाचन्द्रविकीर्णहरमूर्धभिः ।
उच्चरच्चारुमन्दारगौरीकबरचामरैः ॥ १७॥
उत्ताण्डवाचलाकारभैरवोदरतुम्बकैः ।
रणत्सशतरन्ध्रेन्द्रदेहभिक्षाकपालकैः ॥ १८॥
शुष्कशारीरखट्वाङ्गभरैरापूरिताम्बरम् ।
भीषयत्यात्मनात्मानं सर्वसंहारकारिणी ॥ १९ ॥
विश्वरूपशिरश्चक्रचारुपुष्करमालया ।
ताण्डवेषु विवल्गन्त्या महाकल्पेषु राजते ॥ २० ॥
प्रमत्तपुष्करावर्तडमरोड्डामरारवैः ।
तस्याः किल पलायन्ते कल्पान्ते तुम्बुरादयः ॥ २१ ॥
नृत्यतोऽन्तः कृतान्तस्य चन्द्रमण्डलभासिनः ।
तारकाचन्द्रिकाचारुव्योमपिच्छावचूलिनः ॥ २२ ॥
Sriram said:
11. "O Sage, within the grand theater of the Universe, that ever-dancing and restless energy sways—a force whose vibrations cannot be restrained, whose motion marks both the arrival and departure of worlds."
12. "Her limbs are adorned with beautiful ornaments, an array reflecting the splendor of celestial realms. Her vast hair, flowing down from the sky to the netherworld, forms a mighty canopy of locks."
13. "She wears anklets that resonate with a fearsome jingling sound, like a garland of hells, strung together by the thread of misdeeds, stationed on the very threshold of the underworld."
14. "Her forehead bears a fragrant musk mark, meticulously formed by the subtle arithmetic of karma, and inscribed upon the forehead-panel of Yama by Chitragupta, the cosmic scribe."
15. "With the gaping jaws of Time upon her, she becomes frenzied at the ends of aeons, dancing wildly with a roar that echoes through immovable mountains."
16. "Behind her sway plumes from youthful peacocks who have lost their way, while her triple eyes open vast and deep, terrifying with their tremendous expression."
17. "Her wild and swaying matted locks, adorned with the moon, scatter across the crowns of Shiva himself; they wave like royal fans made from the hair of the goddess Gaurī."
18. "As she rises in her Supreme Cosmic dance, the drums of Bhairava—the dreadful one—resound, while skull-bowls clatter from hundreds of severed Indras, rattling in fierce ecstasy."
19. "The sky is filled with the clatter of emaciated skeletal clubs and bones; she terrifies even herself, this all-consuming force of dissolution."
20. "She wears a garland of lotus-like heads in her universal form, whirling in her dance through the long cycles of Time, gleaming in her terrible splendor."
21. "In the thunderous whirlpools of her intoxicated dance, the damaru drums sound fiercely, and even celestial musicians like Tumburu flee at the end of the world-age."
22. "As she dances, Death himself moves within her, crowned with the light of the moon-disk, his trident adorned with the delicate feathers of starlit space and the soft grace of moonbeams."
Summary and Interpretation:
These verses present a vivid and terrifying personification of Cosmic energy as a dancing Goddess —an allegorical embodiment of Mahāmāyā or Kālaśakti, the power of Time and illusion (Maya). Her dance symbolizes the restless and cyclical nature of creation, preservation, and dissolution. This imagery underscores the idea that the Universe itself is a transient stage where appearances arise and dissolve endlessly under the sway of Time and karma.
She is adorned with the ornaments of Divine and infernal realms, pointing to her dominion over all levels of existence—from the heights of the heavens to the depths of the netherworlds. Her anklets made of hells and her hair stretching from sky to underworld suggest her all-encompassing reach, while the reference to karma and
Chitragupta implies that all beings are bound by the consequences of their actions in this Cosmic theater.
The ferocity of her dance at the end of cosmic cycles (kalpa) is particularly emphasized—skulls of gods, roaring drums, and terrifying features evoke a vision of the universal dissolution (pralaya). Yet, there is also grandeur in her dance, a rhythm that echoes the underlying law of the cosmos, where even deities flee from her unstoppable force.
Through these symbols, the verses encourage the seeker to understand the impermanent nature of the world. All forms, powers, pleasures, and terrors arise from the same energy and dissolve back into it. The dance is not only of destruction but of change, a perpetual transformation governed by Time (Kāla) and witnessed by the Self (Ātman), which alone remains untouched.
Thus, these verses are both poetic and philosophical. They challenge the aspirant to perceive the dance of the world not with fear, but with detachment and insight. By recognizing the dancer behind the dance—the Consciousness that animates all—one transcends illusion and attains the wisdom of Realization (jñāna).
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