Chapter 3.20, Verses 1–12

Yoga Vashishtha 3.20.1–12

(Creation itself is only “bhranti-maya” – made of illusion alone)

श्रीदेव्युवाच ।

स ते भर्ताद्य संपन्नो द्विजो भूपत्वमागतः ।

या सावरुन्धती नाम ब्राह्मणी सा त्वमङ्गने ॥ १ ॥

इहेमौ कुरुतो राज्यं तौ भवन्तौ सुदम्पती ।

चक्रवाकाविव नवौ भुवि जातौ शिवाविव ॥ २ ॥

एष ते कथितः सर्वः प्राक्तनः संसृतिक्रमः ।

भ्रान्तिमात्रकमाकाशमेवं जीवस्वरूपधृक् ॥ ३ ॥

भ्रमादस्माच्चिदाकाशे भ्रमोऽयं प्रतिबिम्बितः ।

असत्य एव वा सत्यो भवतोर्भवभङ्गदः ॥ ४ ॥

तस्माद्भान्तिमयः कः स्यात्कोवा भ्रान्त्युज्झितो भवेत् सर्गो निरर्गलानर्थबोधान्नान्यो विजृम्भते ॥ ५॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।

इत्याकर्ण्य चिरं चारु विस्मयोत्फुल्ललोचना ।

भूत्वोवाच वचो लीला लीलालसपदाक्षरम् ॥ ६ ॥

लीलोवाच ।

देवि भोस्त्वद्वचो मिथ्या कथं संपन्नमीदृशम् ।

क्व विप्रजीवः स्वगृहे क्वेमे वयमिह स्थिताः ॥ ७ ॥

तादृग्लोकान्तरं सा भूस्ते शैलास्ता दिशो दश ।

कथं भान्ति गृहस्यान्तर्मद्भर्ता येष्ववस्थितः ॥ ८ ॥

मत्त ऐरावतो बद्धः सर्षपस्येव कोटरे।

मशकेन कृतं युद्धं सिंहौघैरणुकोटरे ॥ ९॥

पद्माक्षे स्थापितो मेरुर्निगीर्णो भृङ्गसूनुना ।

स्वप्नाब्दगर्जितं श्रुत्वा चित्रं नृत्यन्ति बर्हिणः ॥ १० ॥

असमंजसमेवैतद्यथा सर्वेश्वरेश्वरि।

तथा गृहान्तः पृथिवी शैलाश्चेत्यसमञ्जसम् ॥ ११ ॥

यथावदेतद्देवेशि कथयामलया धिया ।

प्रसादानुगृहीते हि नोद्विजन्ते महौजसः ॥ १२ ॥

3.20.1  

Goddess Saraswati said: O beautiful one, your husband who was a brahmin has now become a King. That brahmani woman named Arundhati in the past life – that is you now, dear lady.

3.20.2  

Both of you are ruling this kingdom together as a happy couple, just like a fresh pair of chakravaka birds on earth or like Shiva and Parvati.

3.20.3  

I have told you the whole sequence of your previous births. This individual soul (jiva) is nothing but Pure Space of Consciousness covered by mere illusion.

3.20.4  

Because of delusion in the Space of Consciousness, this world-appearance is reflected. Whether you call it unreal or Real, it is the cause of repeated birth and death for both of you.

3.20.5  

Therefore, who can truly say this creation is Real with illusion, and who can say it is completely given up? Nothing else ever really expands except the endless awareness of meaningless things born of pure illusion.

3.20.6  

Sage Vasishta said: Hearing these words for a long time, Leela’s eyes widened in wonder and bloom, and she spoke these playful and charming words.

3.20.7  

Queen Leela said: O Goddess, how can your words be true? Where is that brahmin’s life in his small house, and where are we standing here now?

3.20.8  

How can those other worlds, that earth, those mountains, and all ten directions appear inside this small house where my husband is lying?

3.20.9  

It is like tying an Airavata elephant inside a mustard seed, or a mosquito fighting a horde of lions inside an atom!

3.20.10  

It is like placing Mount Meru inside a lotus petal, or a tiny worm swallowing it, or peacocks dancing in joy hearing thunder in a dream!

3.20.11  

O Queen of all, this whole thing is completely impossible and illogical – just like having an entire earth and mountains inside one small house.

3.20.12  

O Goddess of gods, please explain this properly with your Pure and Spotless Mind, because great souls who have received your Grace never feel agitated or confused.

Summary of the Teachings:

The Goddess reveals to Leela the astonishing truth of her and her husband’s past lives: they were once a simple brahmin couple (the husband being the present king and Leela being Arundhati), and through the play of Consciousness they have now become royal. This shows that all identities – brahmin or king, poor or wealthy – are temporary appearances within the same unchanging Consciousness.

The entire world that Leela sees – kingdoms, mountains, vast space, and countless lives – is nothing but an illusion (bhranti) appearing in the Infinite Space of Pure Consciousness (chidakasha). Whether we call the world Real or unreal, it is still the cause of endless birth and death as long as the delusion lasts.

Leela is stunned and gives humorous examples of impossibility: an elephant inside a mustard seed, Meru mountain inside a lotus petal, peacocks dancing to dream-thunder. These examples beautifully illustrate that, from the standpoint of ordinary logic and waking-state experience, it is absolutely impossible for whole Universes to exist inside a tiny room. Yet the teaching is that Consciousness is Limitless and can contain anything.

The core message is that creation itself is only “bhranti-maya” – made of illusion alone. Nothing truly comes into existence apart from the meaningless play of delusion in Pure Awareness. When this is clearly understood through the Grace of the Goddess (or the Guru), even the greatest wonders no longer disturb the mind.

Finally, Leela humbly requests a clear and pure explanation, showing the right attitude of a seeker: instead of rejecting the teaching as impossible, she admits her confusion and asks for clarification with full faith. This teaches that True Knowledge dawns only when the mind is open, surrendered, and free from agitation.