Chapter 3.38, Verses 1–20

Yoga Vashishtha 3.38.1–20

(These verses vividly describe the horrific and chaotic nature of war, portraying it as a scene of total confusion, darkness, bloodshed, and destruction)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।

एवमत्याकुले युद्धे सास्फोटभयसंकुले ।

आदित्ये तमसा वृद्धे चटत्कठिनकङ्कटे ॥ १ ॥

वहत्यम्बूत्पतन्तीषु पतन्तीष्वश्मवृष्टिषु ।

नदीषु क्षेपणाच्छासु वरकेष्वब्जपङ्क्तिषु ॥ २ ॥

मिथः फलाग्रकाटोत्थवह्निसीकरिणीषु च।

आयान्तीषु प्रयान्तीषु दूरं शरनदीषु च ॥ ३ ॥

वहल्लूनशिरःपद्मचक्रावर्तैस्तरङ्गितैः ।

खार्णवे पूरिते हेतिवृन्दमन्दाकिनीगणैः ॥ ४ ॥

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अथसेनाधिनाथाभ्यां विचार्य सहमन्त्रिभिः ।

दूताः परस्परं वृत्ता युद्धं संह्रियतामिति ॥ ८ ॥

तत्र श्रमवशान्मन्दयन्त्रशस्त्रपराक्रमैः।

रणसंहरणं काले सर्वैरेवोररीकृतम् ॥ ९॥

ततो महारथोत्तुङ्गकेतुप्रान्तकृतास्पदम् ।

बलयोरारुहोहैक एको योधो ध्रुवो यथा ॥ १० ॥

सोंऽशुकं भ्रामयामास सर्वदिङ्मण्डले सितम् ।

श्यामेव दीर्घशुद्धांशुं युद्धं संह्रियतामिति ॥ ११ ॥

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विनिर्गन्तुं प्रववृते रणादथ बलद्वयम्।

वारिपूरश्चतुर्दिक्षु प्रलयैकार्णवादिव ॥ १५ ॥

उत्क्षिप्तमन्दरक्षीरसमुद्रवदनाकुलम् ।

सैन्यं प्रशाम्यदावर्तं शनैः साम्यमुपाययौ ॥ १६ ॥

क्रमेणासीन्मुहूर्तेन विकटोदरभीषणम् ।

अगस्त्यपीतार्णववच्छून्यमेव रणाङ्गणम् ॥ १७ ॥

शवसन्ततिसंपूर्णं वहद्रक्तनदाकुलम्।

परिकूजनझङ्कारपूर्णझिल्लिवनोपमम् ॥ १८ ॥

बहद्रक्तसरित्स्रोतस्तरङ्गारवघर्घरम् ।

साक्रन्दार्धमृताहूतसप्राणव्यग्रमानवम् ॥ १९ ॥

मृतार्धमृतदेहौघसृतासृक्प्लुतनिर्झरम् ।

सजीवनरपृष्ठस्थशवस्पन्दनभ्रान्तिदम् ॥ २० ॥

Maharishi Vashishtha continued: 

3.38.1–4

> In this extremely chaotic battle, filled with bursting fear and confusion, the sun was darkened by increasing darkness, and hard armors were clashing loudly.

> Rivers of water were flowing and falling, showers of stones were descending, rivers were being thrown by catapults, and rows of excellent lotuses were present.

> Mutual sparks from the tips of weapons produced fire-like drops, and arrow-rivers were coming and going far away.

> The sky-ocean was filled with swirling currents of severed heads like lotuses, and groups of weapons flowing like the Mandakini river.

3.38.8–11

> Then, the two army commanders, after discussing with their ministers, sent messengers to each other saying, "Let the war be stopped."

> Due to fatigue, with slowed chariots, weapons, and strength, everyone agreed to halt the battle at that time.

> Then, a great warrior, standing high with flags on his chariot, rose alone between the two armies like a fixed pole star.

> He waved his white cloth in all directions, like a dark cloud with long pure rays, signaling that the battle should stop.

3.38.15–20

> After that, both armies began to leave the battlefield, like floods of water spreading in all four directions from a single deluge ocean.

> The army, lifted up like the milky ocean churned by Mandara, gradually calmed its whirlpools and slowly attained peace.

> In a moment, the terrible battlefield, once fearsome with huge bellies, became empty like the ocean drunk by Agastya.

> It was filled with rows of corpses, troubled by flowing rivers of blood, resembling a forest of crickets full of humming and buzzing sounds.

> It had great rivers of blood with roaring waves, cries of the half-dead calling out, and agitated people still alive.

> Streams overflowed with blood from heaps of dead and half-dead bodies, and the trembling of corpses with residual life on the backs of living people created illusions of movement.

Detailed summary of the teachings:

The battlefield is compared to an ocean filled with weapons, severed heads, and flowing blood, emphasizing how violence creates an illusion of overwhelming Reality. This serves as a powerful metaphor in Yoga Vasishta for the illusory (maya) nature of the world—sensory experiences and conflicts appear intensely real but are ultimately transient and dream-like.

The turning point comes when both sides, exhausted by the strain on their bodies, weapons, and minds, decide through messengers to cease fighting. This highlights a key teaching: even in the midst of fierce duality and opposition, wisdom and reflection (vichara) can arise, leading to cessation of conflict. It shows that prolonged struggle drains vitality, making peace a natural outcome when fatigue reveals the futility of continued violence.

A single warrior stands as a symbol of calm authority amid the chaos, waving a white cloth to signal truce, like a steady light in darkness. This illustrates the role of inner clarity or a higher perspective (like the pole star) that can bring resolution. In the text's Advaita framework, it points to the unchanging Self that remains untouched by the turmoil of perceived battles between ego-forces.

The armies depart, and the battlefield empties slowly, like an ocean receding or being swallowed up. This process teaches impermanence—grandeur and terror vanish quickly, leaving emptiness. It underscores that all phenomena, including war's horrors, arise and subside in consciousness, without inherent substance.

Finally, the deserted field remains filled with corpses, blood rivers, cries, and eerie movements of half-dead bodies. This gruesome aftermath reinforces the central teaching of Yoga Vasishta: worldly existence is like a dream or nightmare of birth, death, and suffering. True liberation comes from recognizing this as illusion, turning inward to realize the eternal, peaceful Self beyond all such transient spectacles.