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Yoga Vashishtha 3.70.1~20
(The story describes the demoness shrinking her huge body step by step into a tiny needle using her will power)
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।
अथ भूधरशृङ्गाभा सा महाकृष्णराक्षसी।
कज्जलाम्बुदलेखेव तानवं गन्तुमुद्यता ॥ १॥
बभूवाभ्रोपमाकारा ततो विटपरूपिणी।
पुंस्प्रमाणा ततोऽप्यासीदथाभूद्धस्तमात्रिका ॥ २॥
ततः प्रादेशमात्रा सा ततोऽप्यङ्गुलिरूपिणी।
ततो माषशमीतुल्या ततः सूची बभूव ह ॥ ३॥
ततः कौशेयसूचित्वं पद्मकेसरसुन्दरी।
प्राप सा शिखराकारा संकल्पाद्रिरिवाणुताम् ॥ ४॥
रराज सूचिका कृष्णा सूक्ष्मायसमनायसी।
पुर्यष्टकेन चलिता व्योमगा व्योमवासिनी ॥ ५॥
3.70.6–14
कलाकलनधर्मिण्या वासनामात्रसारया।
क्षीणदीपांशुसूचीवत्तीक्ष्णयानुपलभ्यया ॥ १५॥
ग्रासार्थं सूचितां याता सैवास्था नोपयुज्यते।
विचारितं तया नैतदहो मौर्ख्यविजृम्भितम् ॥ १६॥
साग्रा संचिन्तयामास न सूचीरूपतुच्छताम्।
चित्तमीहितमेवैकं पश्यन्त्यास्ते निरर्थकम् ॥ १७॥
अविचार्यैव सूचित्वं तया मूढधियाऽऽस्थितम्।
नानर्थबुद्धेः स्फुरति पूर्वापरविचारणा ॥ १८॥
स्वार्थक्रियोग्रसामर्थ्याद्याति भावनयान्यताम्।
पदार्थोऽभिमतांशाढ्यो निःश्वासेनेव दर्पणः ॥ १९॥
सूचीभावं प्रपन्नायास्त्यजन्त्याः पीवरं वपुः।
महामरणमप्यस्या राक्षस्याः सुसुखं स्थितम् ॥ २०॥
Sage Vasistha said:
3.70.1–5
> Then that huge black demoness, who looked like the peak of a mountain and like a dark line of cloud made of collyrium, prepared herself to become very thin.
> She first took the form of a cloud, then changed into the shape of a tree. After that she became the size of a man, and then reduced to the size of a hand.
> Next she became the size of a span, then took the form of a finger. Then she became equal to a bean or sesame seed, and finally turned into a needle.
> Then she took the form of a fine silken needle, beautiful like the soft fibers of a lotus. She who once looked like a mountain peak now became as tiny as a thought.
> The black needle shone brightly. It was very subtle, like iron but not made of iron. She moved with her subtle body, wandered in the sky and lived in the sky.
3.70.6–14
> In these verses the demoness keeps making her body smaller and smaller with great effort. She reduces herself to an extremely fine form using the power of her mind and desire. She tries hard to achieve this tiny state so she can satisfy her hunger, but she starts facing the problems of such small size and begins to think about her actions.
3.70.15–20
> With the nature of subtle measurement and consisting only of mental impression, she became like the sharp but imperceptible tip of a fading lamp's ray.
> She took the needle form to satisfy her hunger, but that state was not useful at all. She thought about it and said, “Oh, what a display of foolishness this is!”
> With full attention she reflected and did not see the insignificance of the needle form. Seeing only the single desire of the mind, everything seemed useless.
> Without proper thinking, this foolish-minded one accepted the needle state. For one who does not understand the harm, there is no consideration of what comes before and after.
> By the strong power of acting for self-interest, one’s State changes to another through imagination. An object filled with desired parts becomes covered, just as a mirror is fogged by breath.
> Even after attaining the needle form and leaving her huge fat body, even great death felt very comfortable to this demoness due to her mental state.
Summary of the Teachings:
The story shows how the demoness uses her strong will to change her huge body into a very tiny needle form step by step. It teaches that the mind has great power to change the body and its shape through imagination and determination. Even a big and powerful being can become extremely small if the mind focuses strongly on that goal. She changes her form to eat but soon realizes that this tiny needle body is not useful for her purpose. The verses teach that without proper thinking, our desires can lead us to foolish actions. One must think about the results before acting, otherwise the effort becomes wasted and brings no real benefit.
The demoness acted with deluded understanding and did not consider the good and bad sides of her choice. This teaches the importance of clear thinking and understanding consequences. Without careful thought, even a powerful person can make mistakes that lead to discomfort or failure.
The teachings explain that strong desire and imagination can quickly change our state and experience. Just like breath can fog a mirror, our thoughts can cover or change how we see things. The mind creates our reality and can shift us from one condition to another based on what we focus on.
Finally, the verses say that even leaving her big body and taking a tiny form, and even facing death, felt comfortable to her because of her mental state. This shows that true comfort or discomfort comes from the mind, not from the body size or outer conditions. Right understanding brings Peace even in difficult situations.
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