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Yoga Vashishtha 3.38.41–58
(The verses portray the scene as a terrifying, blood-soaked landscape resembling the end of the world or the mouth of death)
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
मर्मच्छेदशराघातव्यथाविदितदुष्कृति ।
कबन्धबन्धप्रारब्धवेतालवदनाक्रमम् ॥ ४१ ॥
उह्यमानध्वजच्छत्रचारुचामरपङ्कजम् ।
किरत्संध्यारुणं दिक्षु तेजस्कं रक्तपङ्कजम् ॥ ४२ ॥
रथचक्रधरावर्तं रक्तार्णवमिवाष्टमम् ।
पताकाफेनपुञ्जाढ्यं चारुचामरबुद्बुदम् ॥ ४३ ॥
विपर्यस्तरथं भूमिपङ्कमग्नपुरोपमम् ।
उत्पातवातनिर्धूतद्रुमं वनमिवाततम् ॥ ४४ ॥
कल्पदग्धजगत्प्रख्यं मुनिपीतार्णवोपमम् ।
अतिवृष्टिहतं देशमिव प्रोज्झितमानवम् ॥ ४५ ॥
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रक्तनिःस्वनभाङ्कारफेत्कारार्धमृतारवम् ।
शिलामुखललद्रक्तधाराधूतरजःखगम् ॥ ५४ ॥
सुतालोत्तालवेतालतालताण्डवसंकटम् ।
पर्यस्तरथदार्वन्तरर्धान्तरितसद्भटम् ॥ ५५ ॥
अन्तस्थसज्जीवभटस्पन्दिस्पन्दनभीतिदम् ।
रक्तकर्दमपूर्णास्यकिंचिज्जीवकृपाच्छवम् ॥ ५६ ॥
किंचिज्जीवनरोद्ग्रीवदुःखदृष्टश्ववायसम् ।
एकामिषोत्कक्रव्यादयुद्धकोलाहलाकुलम् ।
एकामिषार्थयुद्धेहामृतक्रव्यादसंकुलम् ॥ ५७ ॥
विवृत्तासंख्याश्वद्विरदपुरुषाधीश्वररथप्रकृत्तोष्ट्रग्रीवाप्रसृतरुधिरोद्गारसुसरित् ।
रणोद्यानं मृत्योस्तदभवदशुष्कायुधलतं सशैलं कल्पान्ते जगदिव विपर्यस्तमखिलम् ॥ ५८ ॥
Maharishi Vashishta continued:
3.38.41–45
> The battlefield appeared like a demon (vetala) that had pierced the vital points with arrows, causing pain to the wicked, and like a headless torso (kabanda) that had begun its destined actions. It was carried along with beautiful flags, umbrellas, charming chowries (fly-whisks), and lotuses. It scattered the red glow of twilight in all directions, shining with splendor and like a red lotus. It resembled the eighth ocean of blood with whirlpools from chariot wheels, full of foam-like banners and bubbles from lovely chowries.
3.38.46–53
> The field was filled with the half-dead cries, groans, screams, and sounds of agony mixed with the clashing of weapons and the fluttering of vultures disturbed by streams of blood from stone-like faces. It was crowded with the wild dance of ghosts and goblins in rhythmic steps, with broken chariots and scattered remains of warriors half-hidden between wooden fragments. Inside, the trembling bodies of dying soldiers caused fear, their mouths filled with blood-mud and showing slight signs of lingering life and compassion in death. Some showed necks strained in pain, eyes staring at crows and dogs in misery. It was chaotic with battles among carnivorous beasts fighting over single pieces of flesh, and crowded with predators battling for the meat of the dead in a frenzy of slaughter.
3.38.54–58
> The place echoed with blood-curdling noises, half-screams of the dying, and birds shaken by flowing blood from rock-like mouths. It was dense with the frantic dance of ghosts and demons in loud rhythms. Half-burnt chariots and scattered warriors filled the gaps, terrifying with the faint movements of life within dying bodies. Mouths full of red mud showed a little life and pitiful remains. Some men with strained necks in pain gazed at scavenging birds and dogs. It was full of uproar from carnivores fighting over one piece of meat, and crowded with flesh-eating creatures battling for corpses. Countless horses, elephants, men, lords, and chariots lay cut down, with blood gushing from severed camel-like necks in streams. This war-garden of death had become dry-weapon creepers, with mountains, like the entire inverted world at the end of a cosmic cycle.
Detailed summary of the teachings:
These verses vividly describe a devastated battlefield after a massive war, using extreme imagery of blood, death, severed bodies, scavenging birds, and demonic forces to show the horrifying results of violence and attachment to power. The scene is compared to the destruction at the end of a world cycle (kalpanta), emphasizing how human conflicts mirror cosmic dissolution. The teaching here is that worldly pursuits like ambition, conquest, and ego-driven battles lead only to ruin, pain, and meaningless suffering, reminding us that the material world is transient and full of horror when viewed without wisdom.
The poet-sage uses this graphic picture to illustrate the impermanence (anitya) of the body and life. Heads roll, bodies are torn, blood flows like rivers, and even mighty warriors become food for crows and beasts. Nothing lasts—flags, chariots, umbrellas, and chowries that once symbolized glory now float in gore. This teaches detachment (vairagya) from physical forms and sensory pleasures, as everything ends in decay and feeds the cycle of nature.
A deeper lesson is the illusory nature of the world (maya). The battlefield looks like an inverted universe or the mouth of death, but it is just a play of forms in Consciousness. The verses show how the mind projects grand wars and victories, yet they collapse into chaos. True Knowledge reveals that all this is like a dream or mirage—real only to the ignorant who cling to it.
The description warns against the fruits of adharma (unrighteousness) and unchecked desire. The "wicked" feel the pain of arrow-wounds, and the proud fall headless. It points to karma: actions driven by anger, greed, or pride create destruction for oneself and others. Peace comes not from winning battles but from transcending the ego that starts them.
Ultimately, these verses urge turning inward for liberation (moksha). By seeing the horror of samsara (worldly existence) as clearly as this battlefield, one develops disgust for transient things and seeks the eternal Self (Atman). The wise sage uses such terrifying images not to scare but to awaken dispassion, leading to Realization that the True Reality is beyond birth, death, and all dualities — Pure, Unchanging Consciousness.
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