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Yoga Vashishtha 3.49.15–30
(These verses paint a vivid picture of an army made purely from maya or illusion)
श्रीवसिष्ठं उवाच ।
ऊर्ध्वकेशाः कृशाङ्गाश्च केचिच्च श्मश्रुला अपि।
कृष्णाङ्गा मलिनाङ्गाश्च ग्राम्या इव नभश्चराः ॥ १५॥
सभया मूढदृष्टाश्च यत्किंचनकराश्चलाः।
दीना वज्रासिनः क्रूरा दीना ग्राम्यजना इव ॥ १६॥
तरुकर्दमरथ्यान्तः शून्यगेहगृहाश्चलाः।
लेलिहानाः प्रेतरूपा कृष्णाङ्गाश्चपला इव ॥ १७॥
जगृहुस्ते तदा मत्ता हतशिष्टमरेर्बलम्।
आसंस्तत्सैनिकास्तत्र भिन्नास्त्रक्षुब्धचेतनाः ॥ १८॥
त्यक्तायुधतनुत्राणास्त्रस्तप्राणाः स्खलद्गमाः।
नेत्रैरङ्गेर्मुखैः पादैर्विकारभरकारिणः ॥ १९॥
त्यक्तकौपीनवसना निमग्नावसनोत्तराः।
विष्ठां मूत्रं च कुर्वन्तः स्थिरमारब्धनर्तनाः ॥ २०॥
पिशाचराजी राजानं तस्य यावद्विदूरथम्।
समाक्रामति तावत्तां मायां स बुबुधे बुधः ॥ २१॥
पिशाचसंग्रामकरीं मायां वेत्ति स भूमिपः।
तया पिशाचसैन्यं तत्परसैन्ये न्ययोजयत् ॥ २२॥
ततः स्वसैनिकाः स्वस्थाः परयोधाः पिशाचिनः।
तस्याशु रूपिकास्त्रं च ददावन्यदसौ रुषा ॥ २३॥
उदगुर्भूतलाद्व्योम्नो रूपिका ऊर्ध्वमूर्धजाः।
निर्मग्नविकरालाक्ष्यश्चलच्छ्रोणिपयोधराः ॥ २४॥
उद्भिन्नयौवना वृद्धाः पीवराङ्ग्योऽथ जर्जराः।
स्वरूपारूपजघना दुर्नाभ्यो विकसद्भगाः ॥ २५॥
नररक्तशिरोहस्ताः संध्याभ्रारुणगात्रिकाः।
अर्धचर्वितमांसासृक्स्रवत्सृक्क्याकुलाननाः ॥ २६॥
नानाङ्गवलना नानानमन्नमनसत्तमाः।
शिलाभुजगवक्रोरुकटिपार्श्वकराङ्गिकाः ॥ २७॥
नारीकृतार्भकशवा हस्ताकृष्टान्त्ररज्जवः।
श्वकाकोलूकवदना निम्नवक्त्रहनूदराः ॥ २८॥
जगृहुस्तान्पिशाचांस्ता दुर्बलान्दुःशिशूनिव।
पिशाचरूपिकासैन्यं तदासीदेकतां गतम् ॥ २९॥
निर्मग्ननर्तनोत्तानवदनाङ्गविलोचनम।
परस्पराक्रान्तिकरं प्रधावच्च परस्परम् ॥ ३०॥
Maharishi Vashishta continued:
3.49.15–23
> Some had hair standing straight up and thin bodies; some also had beards. They had black bodies and dirty bodies, like ordinary village people flying through the sky.
> They looked fearful with foolish eyes, ready to do anything, and kept moving unsteadily. They were poor, holding vajra swords, cruel, and poor like simple village people.
> They moved through the ends of muddy streets lined with trees and inside empty houses. They licked things like ghosts, with black bodies and unsteady movements.
> Then, in a drunken state, they seized whatever remained of the enemy’s killed army. They became soldiers in that army there, with broken weapons and minds full of worry.
> They had thrown away their weapons and body armor. Their lives were full of fear, their steps unsteady. Their eyes, limbs, faces, and feet created all kinds of strange distortions.
> They had given up their loincloths and clothes, with upper bodies exposed or messy. They passed stool and urine while starting a steady, strange dance.
> The line of pisachas advanced right up to King Viduratha. As soon as it came close, the wise King understood it was only maya, an illusion.
> The king recognized the maya that creates a battle of pisachas. Using that same power, he sent the pisacha army against the enemy forces.
> Then his own soldiers became calm and steady, while the enemy warriors turned into pisachas. In anger he quickly gave them special form-making weapons and another powerful one.
3.49.24–30
> Strange forms rose from the ground up into the sky, with hair standing straight up. They were naked, with terrible eyes, and their hips and breasts kept moving.
> Some were young girls in full bloom, some old and worn out; some had fat bodies. Their hips were sometimes formed and sometimes formless, with ugly navels and blooming private parts.
> They held heads and hands dripping with human blood; their bodies were red like evening clouds. Half-chewed meat and blood flowed from their mouths, making their faces look wild.
> Their limbs twisted in many ways; their minds bent strangely. Their bodies had stone-like arms, snake-like crooked thighs, sides, and hands.
> They had turned child corpses into women; their hands pulled ropes made of intestines. Their faces looked like dogs, crows, or owls, with low mouths, jaws, and bellies.
> They seized those weak pisachas just like bad children. That whole army of pisacha forms then became united as one.
> Naked and dancing, with faces, limbs, and eyes turned upward, they attacked each other and ran wildly towards one another.
Summary of the teachings:
The grotesque beings with standing hair, thin dirty bodies, and cruel looks appear scary and real, yet they are nothing but mental creations. This teaches that the world we see, including enemies and battles, is often just a projection of the mind that looks solid but has no true substance. The comparison to ordinary village people in the sky shows how even everyday things can be twisted into terrifying illusions when the mind is not awake.
The pisachas take over the leftover enemy soldiers in a drunken, chaotic way, turning them into part of their own force with broken weapons and fearful minds. This part shows how illusion can easily overpower those who lack awareness. Without wisdom, people become slaves to fear, distortion, and impurity, losing their strength and dignity. The verses warn that when we do not recognize maya, it spreads and controls us completely.
King Viduratha, being wise, instantly sees through the advancing line of pisachas and understands it as mere maya. This is the key teaching: true knowledge allows a person to stay calm and see the illusion for what it is instead of panicking. The king does not run or fight blindly; his understanding becomes his real power. It reminds us that awareness of the dream-like nature of life is the first step to freedom.
Using the same maya power, the king turns the situation around — his soldiers relax while the enemies become pisachas, and he creates new forms and weapons. This illustrates that an enlightened mind can actually use illusion cleverly for protection or to restore balance, without getting trapped in it. Maya is not always evil; when guided by wisdom, it can be turned into a tool rather than a trap.
Finally, the two illusory armies merge, dance wildly, and destroy each other in mutual attacks. This shows the Ultimate Truth that all opposites and conflicts created by maya cancel themselves out in the end. Nothing Real is destroyed because nothing real was ever there. The verses teach complete detachment: when we see that wars, forms, and fears are only self-made illusions fighting illusions, we rise beyond them to the Peaceful, Unchanging Reality.
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