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Yoga Vashishtha 3.39.1–30
(These verses paint a dramatic picture of sunset on a vast battlefield after a fierce war. The sun sets like a wounded hero, and twilight transforms the scene into one of eerie beauty mixed with horror)
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
अथ वीर इवारक्तः कालेनास्तमितो रविः ।
अस्त्रतेजःपरिम्लानप्रतापोऽब्धौ समुज्झितः ॥ १ ॥
रणरक्तरुचिर्व्योमदर्पणप्रतिबिम्बिता ।
जहौ सूर्यशिरश्छेदे संध्यालेखोदभूत्क्षणम् ॥ २ ॥
भूपातालनभोदिग्भ्यः प्रलयब्धिजलौघवत् ।
समाजग्मुस्तनत्ताला वेताला वलया इव ॥ ३ ॥
मृष्टध्वान्तासिवलिते दिननागेन्द्रमस्तके ।
संध्यारागारुणं कीर्णं तारानिकरमौक्तिकम् ॥ ४ ॥
निःसत्त्वेषु तमोन्धेषु रसनारसशालिषु ।
संकोचमाययुः पद्मामृतानां हृदयेष्विव ॥ ५ ॥
मीलत्पक्षाः क्षणात्सुप्ताः कृच्छ्रप्रोच्छ्रितकन्धराः ।
कुलायेषु खगा आसञ्छवाङ्गेष्विव हेतयः ॥ ६ ॥
आसन्नचन्द्रसुभगा लोकाः कुसुमपङ्क्तयः ।
उल्लसद्धृदया जाता वीरपक्षेष्विव श्रियः ॥ ७ ॥
रक्तवारिमयी सायमङ्गगुप्तशिलीमुखा ।
संकुचद्वक्त्रपद्माभूद्रणभूमिरिवाब्जिनी ॥ ८ ॥
उपर्यभूद्व्योमसरस्ताराकुमुदमण्डितम् ।
अधस्त्वभूद्वारिसरः स्फुरत्कुमुदतारकम् ॥ ९ ॥ >>>
प्रसृतान्त्रमहातन्त्रीप्रायसंपन्नवादनम् ।
पिशाचवासनोत्क्रान्तपिशाचीभूतमानवम् ॥ २४ ॥
रूपिकालोकनापूर्वत्रासार्धमृतसद्भटम् ।
क्वचिद्वेतालरक्षोभिरपरीपूर्णमद्रकम् ॥ २५ ॥
स्वरूपिकास्कन्धपतच्छवत्रस्तनिशाचरम् ।
नभःसंघट्टितापूर्वभूतपेटकसंकटम् ॥ २६ ॥
अतिप्रयत्नापहृतम्रियमाणनरामिषम् ।
स्वभक्ष्यापेक्षपक्षेषु विक्षिप्तशवराशिवत् ॥ २७ ॥
शिवामुखानलशिखाखण्डोत्थमितिरक्तगैः ।
समुड्डीननवाशोकपुष्पगुच्छमिवाभितः ॥ २८ ॥
कबन्धकन्धराबन्धव्यग्रवेतालबालकम् ।
यक्षरक्षःपिशाचादिकचदाकाशगोल्मुकम् ॥ २९ ॥
आकाशभूधरनिकुञ्जगुहान्तरालपिण्डोपमण्डिततमोम्बुदपीठपूरम् ।
व्यालोलभूतरभसाकुलकल्पवातव्याधूतलोककरकाण्डकपेटकल्पम् ॥ ३०॥
Maharishi Vashishta said:
3.39.1–9
> Then the sun, like a brave warrior stained with blood, set in the west. His fiery splendor faded, and he sank into the ocean.
> The evening sky reflected the battlefield's blood-red glow like a mirror. In that moment, the sun's head seemed cut off, creating a brief reddish streak like twilight writing.
> From the directions of earth, underworld, sky, and all sides, like floods of the ocean of dissolution, Vetala spirits and ghosts gathered with loud cries, encircling like rings.
> On the head of the day-elephant (sun) wrapped in darkness like a sword, the twilight's red color spread, scattered with clusters of stars like pearls.
> In the darkness without light, in beings without strength, the lotus-like hearts of beings contracted, like the hearts of lotus flowers in darkness.
> Birds, with wings closing instantly, fell asleep in their nests with raised necks in difficulty, like arrows stuck in corpses.
> The worlds became beautiful like moonlit lotuses, with blossoming hearts, like prosperity shining on the wings of heroes.
> The evening battlefield, soaked in red water with hidden arrows, became like a lotus pond with shrinking faces.
> Above, the sky became a lake adorned with star-lotuses; below, the water became a lake sparkling with lily-stars.
3.39.10–23
> These verses continue the vivid poetic description of the eerie, terrifying, and ghostly atmosphere after sunset on the battlefield, filled with demons, spirits, goblins, and supernatural beings roaming freely in the darkness, creating a scene of horror and chaos typical of post-battle nights in ancient epics.
3.39.24–30
> It was filled with sounds like the stretched strings of great instruments, with humans possessed by demon-like desires and turned into ghosts.
> Warriors half-dead from fear at unseen forms, sometimes fully overcome by Vetala and Rakshasa demons.
> Night creatures terrified by falling corpses from their own kind, the sky crowded with unprecedented clusters of ghosts and beings.
> With great effort snatching the flesh of dying men, like heaps of corpses thrown aside on the wings of their own devourers.
> Flames from the mouths of Shiva-like beings rose with red sparks, flying around like bunches of fresh Ashoka flowers.
> Young Vetala children busy in the caves of headless torsos, with Yakshas, Rakshasas, and Pishachas shining like monkeys in the sky.
> The darkness filled the spaces between mountain caves in the sky, like thick clouds; shaken by fierce winds of spirits, it resembled a vast cosmic shell tossed about.
Detailed Summary of the Teachings:
This imagery symbolizes the transient nature of life and the world—day (activity, light, victory) ends, giving way to night (darkness, death, chaos). In Yoga Vasishta's philosophy, such descriptions remind us that the phenomenal world is impermanent and illusory (maya), like a dream or mirage that appears vivid but dissolves.
The gathering of ghosts, demons, Vetala, and supernatural beings in the darkness highlights how the mind projects fears and attachments in moments of transition or loss. The battlefield represents the constant struggle of ego and desires in samsara (cycle of birth and death). When the "sun" of awareness sets (due to ignorance), lower tendencies and vasanas (mental impressions) rise unchecked, creating terror and confusion.
The poetic contrast between upper sky-lake with star-lotuses and lower water-lake with lily-stars shows the unity of macrocosm and microcosm—everything is a reflection of Consciousness. This teaches non-duality (advaita): what seems divided (heaven/earth, light/dark) is one in essence. The contraction of lotuses in darkness symbolizes how purity and knowledge shrink in ignorance, urging seekers to awaken inner light.
The chaotic night filled with spirits devouring corpses and flying flames underscores the grotesque results of attachment to the body and senses. Corpses represent discarded forms after death; demons symbolize unchecked desires that feed on life's energy. This warns against identifying with the perishable body and encourages detachment (vairagya) to transcend fear of death.
Overall, these verses serve as a meditation on impermanence, the horror of ignorance, and the need for Self-Realization. Vasishta uses this terrifying yet poetic scene to illustrate that the world is a projection of the mind. True Peace comes from Realizing the Self (Atman) beyond birth, death, and phenomena—leading to liberation (moksha) where no darkness or fear remains.
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