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Yoga Vashishtha 3.16.1–23
(Deep attachment, however sweet, always brings pain when we remember impermanence)
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
भूतलाप्सरसा सार्धमनन्यदयितापतिः ।
अकृत्रिमप्रेमरसं स रेमे कान्तया तया ॥ १ ॥
उद्यानवनगुल्मेषु तमालगहनेषु च ।
पुष्पमण्डपरम्येषु लतावलयसद्मसु ॥ २ ॥
पुष्पान्तःपुरशय्यासु पुष्पसंभारवीथिषु ।
वसन्तोद्यानदोलासु क्रीडापुष्करिणीषु च ॥ ३ ॥
चन्दनद्रुमशैलेषु संतानकतलेषु च ।
कदम्बनीपगेहेषु पारिभद्रोदरेषु च ॥ ४ ॥
विकसत्कुन्दमन्दारमकरन्दसुगन्धिषु ।
वसन्तवनजालेषु कूजत्कोकिलपक्षिषु ॥ ५ ॥
नानारण्यतृणानां च स्थलेषु मृदुदीप्तिषु।
निर्झरेषु तरत्तारसीकरासारवर्षिषु ॥ ६ ॥
शैलानां मणिमाणिक्यशिलानां फलकेषु च ।
देवर्षिमुनिगेहेषु दूरपुण्याश्रमेषु च ॥ ७ ॥
कुमुद्वतीषु फुल्लासु स्मेरासु नलिनीषु च ।
वनस्थलीषु कृष्णासु फुल्लासु फलिनीषु च ॥ ८ ॥
सुरतैः सुरतारुण्यैः सुन्दरः सुन्दरेहितैः ।
ईहितैः पेशलान्योन्यघनप्रेमरसाधिकैः ॥ ९॥
प्रहेलिकाभिराख्यानैस्तथा चाक्षरमुष्टिभिः ।
अष्टापदैर्बहुद्यूतैस्तथा गूढचतुर्थकैः ॥ १० ॥
नाटिकाख्यायिकाभिश्च श्लोकैर्विन्दुमतिक्रमैः ।
देशकालविभागैश्च नगरग्रामचेष्टितैः ॥ ११ ॥
स्रग्दाममालावलितैर्नानाभरणयोजनैः ।
लीलाविलोलचलनैर्विचित्ररसभोजनैः ॥ १२ ॥
आर्द्रकुङ्कुमकर्पूरताम्बूलीदलचर्वणैः ।
फुल्लपुष्पलतागुञ्जादेहगोपनखव्रणैः ॥ १३ ॥
समालम्भनलीलाभिर्मालाप्रहरणक्रमैः ।
गृहे कुसुमदोलाभिरन्योन्यं दोलनक्रमैः ॥ १४ ॥
नौयानयुग्महस्त्यश्वदान्तोष्ट्रादिगमागमैः ।
जलकेलिविलासेन परस्परसमुक्षणैः ॥ १५ ॥
नृत्यगीतकलालास्यतालताण्डवमण्डनैः ।
संगीतकैः संकथनैर्वीणामुरजवादनैः ॥ १६ ॥
उद्यानेषु सरित्तीरवृक्षेषु वरवीथिषु ।
अन्तःपुरेषु हर्म्येषु फुल्लदोलावदोलनैः ॥ १७ ॥
सा तथा सुखसंवृद्धा तस्य प्रणयिनी प्रिया ।
एकदा चिन्तयामास सुभ्रूः संकल्पशालिनी ॥ १८ ॥
प्राणेभ्योऽपि प्रियो भर्ता ममैष जगतीपतिः ।
यौवनोल्लासवान्श्रीमान्कथं स्यादजरामरः ॥ १९ ॥
भर्त्रानेन सहोत्तुङ्गस्तनी कुसुमसद्मसु।
कथं स्वैरं चिरं कान्ता रमे युगशतान्यहम् ॥ २० ॥
तथा यते यत्नमतस्तपोजपयमेहितैः।
रजनीशमुखो राजा यथा स्यादजरामरः ॥ २१ ॥
ज्ञानवृद्धांस्तपोवृद्धान्विद्यावृद्धानहं द्विजान् ।
पृच्छामि तावन्मरणं कथं न स्यान्नृणामिति ॥ २२ ॥
इत्यानीयाथ संपूज्य द्विजान्पप्रच्छ सा नता ।
अमरत्वं कथं विप्रा भवेदिति पुनःपुनः ॥ २३ ॥
Maharishi Vashishta said:
3.16.1: The king, whose only beloved was the apsara of the earth (Lila), enjoyed with that loving wife a natural and pure nectar of love.
3.16.2-8: They played together in royal gardens, thick tamala groves, on flower-bed mattresses, in lanes made of heaps of flowers, on spring-time swings, and in pleasure ponds; on sandalwood mountains, under spreading plantain trees, in kadamba and nipa cottages, inside paribhadra trees, in spring forests filled with the sweet smell of blooming kunda and mandara honey, where cuckoos sang sweetly; on soft glowing grassy plains of many forests, near waterfalls raining pearl-like spray; on the crystal and jewel slabs of mountains, in the hermitages of gods, rishis and sages far away in blessed ashrams; near blooming lotus lakes full of kumuda flowers, in smiling blue water-lily ponds, in dark forest clearings full of flowers and fruits.
3.16.9-17: The beautiful couple made love with beautiful youthful passion, with tender mutual love that grew deeper every moment; They played riddles, told stories, played dice, ashtapada, many gambling games and secret fourth-piece games; performed short plays, recited tales, beautiful verses, witty lines, spoke of different places and times, city and village happenings; wore flower garlands and many kinds of ornaments, moved with playful grace, ate foods of wonderful tastes; chewed wet kumkuma, camphor and betel leaves, hid scratch marks on their bodies with flowering creepers and flower clusters; embraced playfully, threw garlands at each other, swung together on flower swings in the palace; travelled by paired boats, elephants, horses, tame camels etc., played in water, splashed each other joyfully; danced, sang, made sweet sounds, performed rhythmic graceful dances, played music, talked sweetly, sounded veena and mridangam; in gardens, on river banks, under fine trees, in city streets, inside the palace, on terraces, swinging on flowering swings.
3.16.18-22: Thus that beloved wife, full of happiness and love, one day began to think, her beautiful eyebrows slightly raised, full of strong wish: “This husband of mine, the king of the world, is dearer to me than my own life. He is young, radiant and glorious. How can he become free from old age and death?” “How can I, with proud full breasts, freely enjoy with this husband in flower palaces for hundreds of years?” “Therefore I will make every effort through penance, japa and austerities so that the moon-faced king becomes ageless and immortal.” “I will ask learned brahmins who are old in knowledge, penance and scripture: ‘How can a person escape death?’”
3.16.23: Thinking thus, she humbly invited brahmins, honoured them and repeatedly asked: “O brahmins, how can one gain immortality?”
Summary of the Teachings:
These verses describe the height of worldly pleasure and attachment, showing how even the most perfect enjoyment eventually leads to fear of loss. King Padma and the apsara Lila enjoy every possible luxury and sensual delight together, yet their happiness is not complete because it is rooted in the body and time. The detailed list of gardens, flowers, music, love-making and games is deliberate: it shows that no amount of pleasure can remove the shadow of old age and death. True happiness cannot come from things that must end.
Lila’s sudden worry about her husband’s death is the turning point. Though she has everything a human being could desire, she realises that all of it will be snatched away by time. Her love is so strong that the thought of losing her husband becomes unbearable. This shows that deep attachment, however sweet, always brings pain when we remember impermanence. The text is teaching that even the greatest worldly love carries the seed of sorrow.
Lila immediately decides to find a way to make her husband immortal. She plans to practise penance and ask learned brahmins. This shows the natural human reaction when faced with death: we try to fix the problem at the level of the body and the world. We think, “If I do enough rituals, tapas or prayers, I can keep what I love forever.” The Yoga Vasishta will later show that this approach cannot succeed because the body itself is part of the dream of the mind.
These verses prepare the ground for the core teaching of advaita (non-duality). Worldly pleasure, however intense, is still within the realm of illusion (maya). Real immortality is not making the body live forever; it is waking up to the Self that was never born and never dies. Lila’s question “How can one become immortal?” is the same question every seeker asks, and Vasishta will answer it not by giving a magic ritual, but by revealing the knowledge of the Self.
Thus the passage is not just a beautiful love story; it is a perfect example of how life itself pushes a sincere person from enjoyment (bhoga) toward the search for Realization. Pleasure exhausts itself and turns into pain, pain gives rise to enquiry, and sincere enquiry leads to Knowledge and Freedom.
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