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Yoga Vashishtha 3.36.11–20
(These verses form part of a vivid description likely in the context of a great battle or cosmic illusion of armies, often symbolic in the text's philosophical framework)
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
मिलिताश्चक्रिणश्चक्रैर्धनुर्धारैर्धनुर्धराः ।
खङ्गिभिः खङ्गयोद्धारो भुशुण्डीभिर्भुशुण्डयः ॥ ११ ॥
मुसलैर्मुसलोदाराः कुन्तिनः कुन्तिधारिभिः ।
ऋष्ट्यायुधा ऋष्टिधरैः प्रासिभिः प्रासपाणयः ॥ १२ ॥
समुद्गरा मुद्गरिभिः सगदैर्विलसद्गदाः।
शाक्तिकैः शक्तियोद्धारः शूलैः शूलविशारदाः ॥ १३ ॥
प्रासासनविदः प्रासैः परशूक्ताः परश्वधैः ।
लकुटोद्यैर्लकुटिनश्चोपलैरुपलायुधाः ॥ १४ ॥
पाशिभिः पाशधारिण्यः शङ्कुभिः शङ्कुधारिणः ।
क्षुरिकाभिस्तु क्षुरिका भिन्दिपालैश्च तद्गताः ॥ १५ ॥
वज्रमुष्टिधरा वज्रैरङ्कुशैरङ्कुशोद्धताः।
हलैर्हलनिकाषज्ञास्त्रिशूलैश्च त्रिशूलिनः ॥ १६ ॥
श्रृङ्खलाजालिनो जालैः श्रृङ्खलैरलिकोमलैः ।
क्षुभिताकल्पविक्षुब्धसागरोर्मिघटा इव ॥ १७ ॥
क्षुब्धचक्रदलावर्तः शरसीकरमारुतः।
प्रभ्रमद्धेतिमकरो व्योमैकार्णव आबभौ ॥ १८ ॥
उत्फुल्लायुधकल्लोलशिराकुलजलेचरः ।
रोदोरन्ध्रसमुद्रोऽसौ बभूवामरदुस्तरः ॥ १९ ॥
दिव्याष्टकजनानीकं पक्षद्वयतया तया।
अर्धेनार्धेन कुपितं भूपालाभ्यां तथा स्थितम् ॥ २० ॥
Maharishi Vashishta continued:
3.36.11–15
> Warriors with discuses gathered with those carrying discuses; archers with bow-bearers; swordsmen with sword-wielders; and those with bhushundi weapons with bhushundi carriers.
> Mace-wielders with those holding heavy maces; spear-fighters with spear-bearers; those armed with risti weapons with risti holders; and prasa users with those carrying prasa spears.
> Hammer-fighters with those wielding mudgaras; warriors with shining maces with mace-bearers; shakti fighters with shakti wielders; and experts with tridents with trident masters.
> Those skilled in prasa weapons with prasa holders; axe-fighters with parashu wielders; club-wielders with those holding lakutas; and stone-throwers with those using stones as weapons.
> Noose-wielders with those carrying pashas; spike-bearers with shanku holders; razor-like ksura users with ksura fighters; and those with bhindipala weapons with similar carriers.
3.36.16–20
> Vajra-fist holders with vajra weapons; those excited with ankushas with ankusha wielders; plow experts with halas; and trident-bearers with trishula holders.
> Those entangled in chain networks with nets and soft chains; they appeared like agitated clusters of ocean waves stirred by stormy winds.
> The sky looked like a single ocean with swirling discus whirlpools, arrow showers like raindrops, and circling weapon-crocodiles.
> It became a terrible ocean of weapons with rising waves of raised arms, full of moving creatures in the form of soldiers, impossible even for gods to cross.
> The Divine army of eight divisions stood divided into two sides, half angry on one part and half on the other, positioned against the two kings.
Detailed summary of the teachings:
These verses poetically depict the massive assembly of warriors from two opposing armies, each group matched with specific weapons and fighters, creating an overwhelming spectacle of military might. The detailed listing of weapons (discuses, bows, swords, maces, spears, tridents, nooses, vajras, chains, and more) emphasizes the diversity and ferocity of human conflict. In the broader philosophy of Yoga Vasishta, such vivid portrayals of armies and battles serve not as literal history but as metaphors for the chaos and multiplicity within the mind's illusions (maya). The world of duality—opposing forces, kings, and divisions—mirrors the apparent divisions in consciousness that fuel suffering and bondage.
The imagery escalates to compare the battlefield to a turbulent ocean: swirling whirlpools from discuses, arrow-showers like rain, weapons circling like sea creatures, and waves of raised arms. This oceanic metaphor teaches that the phenomenal world, filled with endless activity and strife, is as transient and illusory as stormy waves on the surface of the sea. Beneath the apparent turmoil lies the calm, unified Reality of Pure Consciousness (Brahm). The text uses this to illustrate how the ego perceives separation and conflict where none truly exists in the absolute sense, urging the seeker to look beyond surface phenomena.
The description culminates in the sky appearing as an impassable ocean, terrifying even to gods, highlighting the overwhelming power of illusion when one is caught in it. Yet, this terror is self-created through identification with the body, weapons, and sides. The teaching here is that what seems invincible and dreadful in the relative world loses its grip once the illusory nature of all forms is realized. Liberation comes from recognizing that these "armies" of thoughts, desires, and dualities are mere appearances in the mind, without independent Reality.
Verse 20 explicitly shows the army divided into two hostile halves, aligned against two kings, symbolizing the fundamental duality (dvaita) that characterizes samsara.
One side is depicted as angered, underscoring how passion, anger, and opposition arise from ignorance of unity. The Yoga Vasishta repeatedly teaches that such divisions are projections of the mind; True Peace arises when one transcends pairs of opposites and abides in non-dual awareness.
Overall, these verses reinforce the core teaching of the text: the entire manifested world, including grand battles and cosmic spectacles, is a dream-like projection of Consciousness. By contemplating such descriptions, the aspirant is guided to detach from identification with the perishable forms and actions, turning inward to the Unchanging Self. This leads to freedom from fear, conflict, and rebirth, as the apparent ocean of samsara dissolves into the serene ocean of Pure Being.
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