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Yoga Vashishtha 3.27.26–42
(By seeing all lives as simultaneous illusions within the One Self, the aspirant transcends samsara, Realizing Eternal Freedom in Pure Awareness)
श्रीदेव्युवाच ।
अन्य एव हि संसारः सोऽन्यो ब्रह्माण्डमण्डपः ।
अन्या एव तता वत्से व्यवहारपरम्पराः ॥ २६ ॥
संसारमण्डलानीह तानि पार्श्वे स्थितान्यपि ।
दूरं योजनकोटीनां कोटयस्तेष्विहान्तरम् ॥ २७ ॥
आकाशमात्रमेतेषामिदं पश्य वपुः पुनः।
मेरुमन्दरकोटीनां कोटयस्तेष्ववस्थिताः ॥ २८ ॥
परमाणौ परमाणौ सर्ववर्गानिरर्गलम् ।
महाचितेः स्फुरन्त्यर्करुचीव त्रसरेणवः ॥ २९ ॥
महारम्भगुरूण्येवमपि ब्रह्माण्डकानि हि।
तुलया धानकामात्रमपि तानि भवन्ति नो ॥ ३० ॥
नानारत्नामलोद्द्योतो वनवद्भाति खे यथा ।
पृथ्व्यादिभूतरहिता जगच्चिद्भाति चिन्तया ॥ ३१ ॥
कचति ज्ञप्तिरेवेदं जगदित्यादि नात्मनि ।
नतु पृथ्व्यादि संपन्नं सर्गादावेव किंचन ॥ ३२ ॥
यथा तरङ्गः सरसि भूत्वा भूत्वा पुनर्भवेत् ।
विचित्राकारकालाङ्गदेशाज्ञप्तावलं तथा ॥ ३३ ॥
लीलोवाच ।
एवमेतज्जगन्मातर्मया स्मृतमिहाधुना ।
ममेदं राजसं जन्म न तमो न च सात्त्विकम् ॥ ३४ ॥
ब्रह्मणस्त्ववतीर्णाया अष्टौ जन्मशतानि मे ।
नानायोनीन्यतीतानि पश्यामीवाधुना पुनः ॥ ३५ ॥
संसारमण्डले देवि कस्मिंश्चिदभवं पुरा।
लोकान्तराब्जभ्रमरी विद्याधरवराङ्गना ॥ ३६ ॥
दुर्वासनाकलुषिता ततोऽहं मानुषी स्थिता ।
संसारमण्डलेऽन्यस्मिन्पन्नगेश्वरकामिनी ॥ ३७ ॥
कदम्बकुन्दजम्बीरकरञ्जवनवासिनी ।
पत्राम्बरधरा श्यामा शबर्यहमथाभवम् ॥ ३८ ॥
वनवासनया मुग्धा संपन्नाहमथोद्धता ।
गुलुच्छनयना पत्रहस्ता वनविलासिनी ॥ ३९ ॥
पुण्याश्रमलता साहं मुनिसङ्गपवित्रिता ।
वनाग्निदग्धा तस्यैव कन्याभूवं महामुनेः ॥ ४० ॥
अस्त्रीत्वफलदातॄणां कर्मणां परिणामतः ।
राजाहमभवं श्रीमान्सुराष्ट्रेषु समाः शतम् ॥ ४१ ॥
तालीनां तलकच्छेषु राजदुष्कृतदोषतः।
नकुली नववर्षाणि कुष्ठनष्टाङ्गिकाभवम् ॥ ४२ ॥
Goddess Saraswati said:
3.27.26
The world is one thing, the cosmic sphere is another, and the chain of worldly transactions is yet another, my child.
3.27.27
These circles of worlds exist here, even though they appear side by side; yet within them, there are distances of millions and millions of yojanas.
3.27.28
See, their essence is mere space. Again, within them are situated millions upon millions of Mount Merus and Mandaras.
3.27.29
In every atom, in every atom, without obstruction, all categories shine forth in the great Consciousness, like dust particles in the rays of the sun.
3.27.30
Even though these universes are vast and grand in their origin, when weighed, they do not equal even a single grain of corn.
3.27.31
Just as various jewels and pure lights shine like a forest in the sky, so the world shines in Consciousness without earth or other elements.
3.27.32
This world is nothing but the shining forth of Pure Awareness; it does not exist as earth etc. right from the beginning of Creation.
3.27.33
Just as waves in a lake appear and disappear repeatedly, so various forms, times, limbs, and places arise and shine in Awareness alone.
Queen Lila said:
3.27.24
O Mother of the world, I remember this now — this world. My birth here is rajasic (passionate), neither tamasic (dark) nor sattvic (pure).
3.27.35
For the incarnation descended from Brahman, I have had eight hundred births; having passed through various wombs, I see them all now again.
3.27.36
In some circle of the world long ago, O Goddess, I was a bee-like wanderer in the lotus of another realm, a supreme celestial woman (Vidyadhari).
3.27.37
Polluted by bad tendencies, from there I became a human woman. In another world circle, I was the beloved of the lord of serpents.
3.27.38
Living in forests of kadamba, kunda, jambira, and karanja trees, wearing leaf garments, dark-complexioned, I then became a Shabari woman.
3.27.39
Deluded by forest life, I became proud and endowed; with cluster-like eyes, holding leaves in hand, a forest-dwelling beauty.
3.27.40
As a creeper in a sacred hermitage, purified by association with sages, I was burned by forest fire and became the daughter of that great sage.
3.27.41
As a result of karma that bears the fruit of womanhood, due to the outcome of actions, I became a prosperous king in Surashtra for a hundred years.
3.27.42
Due to the faults of royal sins, in the palm groves and lowlands, I became Nakuli, afflicted with leprosy, with limbs destroyed for nine years.
Summary of the teachings:
These verses first illustrate the illusory and insubstantial nature of the Universe from the perspective of Supreme Consciousness (Chit). The Goddess explains that
countless worlds, even with their immense scales — including countless Mount Merus — are mere appearances within infinite space and ultimately within Pure Awareness. They are as insignificant as dust motes in sunlight or a single grain when compared to the vastness of Consciousness. This teaches that multiplicity and grandeur are deceptive; Reality is non-dual awareness alone, and the perceived world lacks independent material existence from the moment of apparent creation.
The imagery of atoms containing Universes and Universes being no heavier than a mustard seed emphasizes the dream-like quality of samsara. Everything arises, shines, and subsides solely within the self-luminous field of Knowledge (or information). There is no real creation involving earth, water, or other elements; forms, times, and places are transient waves on the ocean of Awareness, appearing and disappearing without ever altering the substratum. This revelation aims to dissolve attachment to the objective world by revealing its utter emptiness apart from Consciousness.
Lila's response shifts to personal recollection, marking a moment of spiritual awakening where she remembers her countless past lives across different realms and species. Her current birth is described as rajasic — driven by passion and activity — highlighting how gunas influence embodiment.
The teaching here is that the individual soul (jiva) undergoes endless transmigration due to vasanas (latent tendencies) and karma, cycling through Divine, human, animal-like, and even degraded states, yet all these are remembered in Higher Awareness as illusory projections.
Lila recounts her sequence of births: from a celestial Vidyadhari to a human, a serpent's consort, a tribal Shabari woman living primitively in forests, a purified hermitage creeper-like figure reborn as a sage's daughter after tragedy, then a powerful king, and finally a leper woman suffering greatly. This narrative shows the unpredictability and impermanence of worldly roles and pleasures, governed by karma's fruits — even virtuous or royal states lead to downfall, and womanhood itself is framed as a karmic result. It underscores that no status is permanent or ultimately fulfilling.
Overall, these verses combine cosmological insight with autobiographical reflection to convey core Advaitic teachings: the world is an appearance in Consciousness without Real substance; bondage arises from Ignorance of this Truth and from accumulated tendencies causing rebirth; Realization begins with recognition (smriti) of one's True Nature beyond births and deaths. By seeing all lives as simultaneous illusions within the One Self, the aspirant transcends samsara, Realizing Eternal Freedom in Pure Awareness.
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