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Yoga Vashishtha 3.109.1~19
(The depth of human suffering under extreme misfortune)
राजोवाच।
तस्मिंस्तदा वर्तमाने कष्टे विधिविपर्यये।
अकालोल्वणकल्पान्ते नितान्तं तापदायिनि ॥ १॥
जनाः केचन निष्क्रम्य सकलत्रसुहृज्जनाः।
गता देशान्तरं व्योम्नः शरदीव पयोधराः ॥ २॥
देहावयवसंलीनपुत्रदाराग्र्यबन्धवः।
शीर्णाः केचन तत्रैव च्छिन्ना इव वने द्रुमाः ॥ ३॥
भक्ताः केचन च व्याघ्रैर्निर्गतास्तु स्वमन्दिरात्।
अजातपक्षकाः श्येनैः खगा नीडोद्गता इव ॥ ४॥
प्रविष्टाः केचिदनलं ज्वलितं शलभा इव।
केचिच्श्वभ्रेषु पतिताः शिला शैलच्युता इव ॥ ५॥
(3.109.6–14)
अथ वात्सल्यमूढेन मया दुःखातिभारिणा।
तस्योक्तं पुत्र मन्मांसं पक्वं संभुज्यतामिति ॥ १५॥
तदप्यङ्गीकृतं तेन देहीति वदता पुनः।
मन्मांसभक्षणं क्षीणवृत्तिनाऽऽश्लेषवृत्तिना ॥ १६॥
सर्वदुःखापनोदाय स्नेहकारुण्यमोहिना।
तस्य तामार्तिमालोक्य मया दुःखातिभारिणा ॥ १७॥
सोढुं तामापदं तीव्रामशक्तेन हतात्मना।
मरणायातिमित्राय कृतोऽन्तर्निश्चयो मया ॥ १८॥
तत्र काष्ठानि संचित्य चितां रचितवानहम्।
चिता चटचटास्फोटैः स्थिता मदभिकाङ्क्षिणी ॥ १९॥
The King continued:
3.109.1–5
> At that time, while that severe misfortune of reversed destiny was going on—like an untimely and fierce end of the World, causing extreme suffering—
> Some people, taking their wives and friends, left and went to other lands, just as clouds disappear from the sky in autumn.
> Some stayed right there, with their sons, wives and close relatives clinging to their bodies, withering away like trees cut down in the forest.
> Some who went out of their homes were eaten by tigers, like young birds without feathers taken by hawks as they leave the nest.
> Some entered the blazing fire like moths. Some fell into pits like rocks broken from a mountain.
3.109.6–14
> The King escaped from that ruined land with his wife and children after parting from his in-laws; they crossed dangers of pits, storms, wild animals and snakes and reached the edge of the forest. There, under the shade of palm trees, he set down his children, rested from the long hardship as if free from hell, and his wife and two sons slept. Then the younger son woke, stood before him weeping and begged again and again for meat and drink, saying he was dying of hunger. The father had nothing to give, yet the boy kept pleading in his extreme need.
3.109.15–19
> Then, overcome by fatherly love and crushed by heavy sorrow, I told him, “Son, cook and eat my own flesh.”
> He accepted even that, saying “Give it,” for his means of living were gone and he clung only to the hope of food.
> To remove all suffering, and moved by affection and pity at seeing his pain, I, already burdened with sorrow,
> Unable to bear that sharp distress and with my spirit broken, made an inner resolve to die, regarding death as my closest friend.
> There I gathered sticks and built a funeral pyre. The pyre stood ready with its crackling flames, waiting for me.
Summary of the teachings:
These verses show the depth of human suffering under extreme misfortune. When destiny turns against people, some flee to new lands while others remain and perish, some are killed by wild beasts, and some choose fire or fall to their deaths. The scenes of drought, famine and death reveal how fragile ordinary life is when outer supports fail.
The king’s personal story continues with his narrow escape and the final crisis of a starving child. Parental love drives him to offer his own flesh, showing how deep attachment can push a person beyond all normal limits. This extreme act arises from compassion mixed with helplessness.
Unable to watch his son’s pain any longer, the King decides on suicide. He builds a pyre, ready to end his life. The decision marks the complete collapse of hope under unbearable sorrow.
The whole narrative illustrates the power of the mind. What the King experiences as years of tribal life, famine and despair is later revealed as a short magical illusion. The mind can create an entire lifetime of joy and suffering in a brief span.
The deeper teaching is that the World of experience is shaped by thought and imagination. Seeing this clearly helps one understand the illusory nature of both pleasure and pain and points toward freedom from the restless creations of the mind.
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