Chapter 3.27, Verses 51–59

Yoga Vashishtha 3.27.51–59

(The painful and restless nature of worldly life, is compared to a long, turbulent river where the jiva is helplessly tossed by the winds of desire and karma)

लीलोवाच ।

कनकस्यन्दसंदोह सुन्दरैरङ्गपञ्जरैः।

स्वर्गेऽप्सरोम्बुजिन्याशु तोषिताः सुरषट्पदाः ॥ ५१ ॥

मणिकाञ्चनमाणिक्यमुक्तानिकरभूतले ।

कल्पद्रुमवने मेरौ यूना सह रतं कृतम् ॥ ५२ ॥

कल्लोलाकुलकच्छासु लसद्गुच्छलतासु च ।

वेलावनगुहास्वब्धेश्चिरं कूर्मतया स्थितम् ॥ ५३ ॥

तरत्तारतरङ्गासु दोलनं सरसालिनाम्।

चलच्छदपटालीषु राजहंस्यं मया कृतम् ॥ ५४ ॥

शाल्मलीदललोलानामान्दोलनदरिद्रताम् ।

मशकस्य मयालोक्य दीनं मशकया स्मितम् ॥ ५५ ॥

तरत्तारतरङ्गासु चञ्चद्वीच्यग्रचुम्बनैः।

भ्रान्तं शैलस्रवन्तीषु जलवञ्जुललीलया ॥ ५६ ॥

गन्धमादनमन्दारमन्दिरे मदनातुरा ।

पातिताः पादयोः पूर्वं विद्याधरकुमारकाः ॥ ५७ ॥

कर्णिकर्पूरपूरेषु तल्पेषु व्यसनातुरा ।

चिरं विलुलितास्मीन्दुबिम्बेष्विव शशिप्रभा ॥ ५८ ॥

योनिष्वनेकविधदुःखशतान्वितासु भ्रान्तं मयोन्नमनसन्नमनाकुलात्मा।

संसारदीर्घसरितश्चलया लहर्या दुर्वारवातहरिणीसरणक्रमेण ॥ ५९ ॥

Queen Lila continued:

3.27.51

In heaven, as a beautiful Apsara with a body shining like flowing molten gold and lovely lotus-like features, I quickly pleased the gods who are like bees.

3.27.52

On the jewel-strewn golden ground in the forests of wish-fulfilling trees on Mount Meru, I enjoyed youthful pleasures with young companions.

3.27.53

For a long time I stayed as a tortoise in the ocean's wave-filled shores, among shining clusters of creeping vines and in the caves of the seashore forests.

3.27.54

I acted as a royal swan, swaying on the trembling waves full of stars' reflections, among the fluttering rows of lotus leaves in lakes.

3.27.55

Seeing a female mosquito poor and deprived, swinging on the trembling leaves of the silk-cotton tree, I smiled with pity as a mosquito myself.

3.27.56

With the playful movements of water plants, I wandered on mountain streams, kissing the dancing wave tips with restless swift waves.

3.27.57

In the temple of mandara flowers on Gandhamadana mountain, love-stricken Vidhyadhara youths fell at my feet in devotion.

3.27.58

Overcome by passion, I rolled for a long time on beds filled with camphor and kunkuma, like moonlight scattered on the moon's orb.

3.27.59

With my mind rising and falling in confusion, I wandered through countless wombs full of hundreds of pains, carried along the long river of worldly existence by the unsteady waves, running helplessly like a deer chased by an irresistible wind.

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses form part of Lila's recollection of her countless past lives, as narrated in the Yoga Vasistha to illustrate the illusory and transient nature of individual existence. Lila describes her births in diverse forms—from a divine celestial nymph enjoying heavenly pleasures, to youthful enjoyments on sacred mountains, to an animal like a tortoise enduring long periods in the ocean, and even lowly insects like a mosquito. This shows how the soul (jiva), driven by karma and desires, cycles through high and low births without any lasting stability or true fulfillment.

The core teaching emphasizes that all forms of life, whether exalted like an Apsara in heaven or humble like a tortoise or mosquito, are equally bound by the cycle of samsara. Pleasures in higher realms or playful moments in nature are fleeting and ultimately lead to the same dissatisfaction. Even Divine enjoyments or romantic passions end in exhaustion and repetition, highlighting the futility of seeking happiness in external or bodily experiences.

A deeper lesson is the unreality of individuality across births. Lila's "I" has inhabited bodies as varied as a swan gliding on lakes, a love-maddened youth pursued by admirers, or a being tormented in painful wombs. This demonstrates that personal identity is not fixed but a product of mind and memory, shifting like waves in the river of existence. The soul appears to move through these states, yet in truth, it remains untouched as Pure Consciousness.

The verses underscore the painful and restless nature of worldly life, compared to a long, turbulent river where the jiva is helplessly tossed by the winds of desire and karma. No birth is free from suffering—whether the subtle pains of passion or the gross hardships of lower forms. This Realization aims to create detachment (vairagya), urging the seeker to recognize the impermanence and sorrow inherent in all conditioned existence.

Ultimately, these descriptions serve the larger Advaita teaching of the Yoga Vasistha: the world and its endless cycle of births are appearances in Consciousness, like dreams. By recollecting such diverse lives, Lila (and through her, the reader) is led to question the Reality of the ego and the body, paving the way for understanding one's true nature as the Unchanging Self beyond birth and death.