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Yoga Vashishtha 3.34.12–24
(These verses describe vivid scenes from a fierce battlefield, portraying the chaos, horror, and futility of war through the cries and observations of warriors and onlookers)
श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
आपादशृङ्खलाप्रोतभ्रमत्स्थूलोपलद्वयम् ।
भ्रामयंश्चित्रदण्डाख्यं चक्रमूर्ध्वभुजो जवात् ॥ १२ ॥
योधो यम इवाभाति याम्यादायाति दिक्तटात् ।
सर्वतः संहरन्सेनामेहि यामो यथागतम् ॥ १३ ॥
सद्यश्छिन्नशिरश्वभ्रमज्जत्कङ्ककुलाकुलाः ।
कबन्धाः परिनृत्यन्ति तालोत्ताला रणाङ्गणे ॥ १४ ॥
गीर्वाणगणगोष्ठीषु प्रवृत्ताः संकथा मिथः ।
कदा लोकान्तरं धीराः कथं यास्यन्ति के कुतः ॥ १५ ॥
निगिरत्यागताः सेनाः स्रवन्तीरिव सागरः ।
समत्स्यमकरव्यूहा अहो नु विषमो भटः ॥ १६ ॥
कटेषु करिणां कीर्णा धारानाराचराजयः।
पतिता इव संपूर्णाः शृङ्गसंघेषु वृष्टयः ॥ १७ ॥
हा कुन्तेन शिरो नीतं ममेत्येव विवक्षतः।
शिरसाऽजीवमित्येवं खे खगेनेव वाशितम् ॥ १८ ॥
यन्त्रपाषाणवर्षेण यैषास्मान्परिषिञ्चति।
सेनानुशृङ्खलाजालवलना क्रियतां बलात् ॥ १९ ॥
वलीपलितनिर्मुक्तं पूर्वभार्याप्सराः सती ।
अङ्गीकरोति भर्तारं परिज्ञाय रणे हतम् ॥ २० ॥
आदिवं रचिताकाराः कुन्तकाननकान्तयः ।
वीराणां स्वर्गमारोढुमिव सोपानपङ्क्तयः ॥ २१ ॥
कान्तकाञ्चनकान्ताङ्गे भटस्योरसि कामिनी ।
दृष्टा देवपुरन्ध्रीयं भर्तुरन्वेषणान्विता ॥ २२ ॥
हा हतं सैन्यमस्माकं भटैऽरुद्धतमुष्टिभिः ।
महाप्रलयकल्लोलैः सुरशैलस्थलं यथा ॥ २३ ॥
युध्यध्वमग्रतो मूढा नयतार्धमृतान्नरान्।
निजान्पादप्रहारेण मैतान्दारयताधमाः ॥ २४ ॥
Maharishi Vashishta continued:
3.34.12–17
>A warrior whirls a heavy club overhead with both arms swiftly, like two large stones tied to chains, spinning the weapon called "Chitradanda" rapidly.
> He appears like Yama (the God of death) himself, coming from the southern direction, swiftly destroying armies on all sides, just as death arrives and takes everything away.
> Severed heads roll around, and headless bodies (kabandhas) dance wildly on the battlefield amid flocks of vultures, with loud rhythmic clapping sounds.
> In gatherings of Gods in heaven, conversations arise among them: "When will these brave souls go to the other world? How will they reach there, and from where?"
> The armies are swallowed up as they come, like rivers flowing into the ocean filled with fish and crocodiles. Ah, what a terrible warrior this is!
> Sharp arrows fall thickly on the elephants' sides, like heavy rains pouring completely over mountain peaks.
3.34.18–24
> As a head is cut off by a spear, the dying warrior tries to say "Alas, my head is taken!" but only a lifeless cry echoes in the sky like a bird's call.
> "Capture forcefully that enemy who showers us with a rain of stones and machines, binding our army in chains of shackles!"
> Apsara wives from earlier lives, now free from old age and wrinkles, recognize and embrace their slain husbands as true companions in the battle.
> The shining spears and arrows, arranged like forests, appear as stairways of light for the brave warriors to ascend to heaven.
> On the chest of a warrior adorned with golden ornaments, a loving woman is seen, like a divine lady from the gods' city searching for her husband.
> "Alas, our army is destroyed by these warriors with clenched fists, just as the peaks of divine mountains are swept away by huge waves of the great dissolution."
> "Fight forward, you fools! Carry the half-dead men to the rear. Do not trample your own fallen comrades with your feet, you lowly ones!"
Summary of the Teachings:
These verses form part of a graphic depiction of battlefield carnage in the Yoga Vasishta, where Sage Vasishta illustrates the transient and illusory nature of the world through the lens of war. The intense imagery of whirling weapons, severed heads, dancing corpses, and devouring armies serves as a metaphor for the relentless cycle of birth, death, and destruction driven by ignorance and desire. War here symbolizes the inner conflict and external chaos arising from attachment to the body and ego, reminding the seeker that what appears real and glorious is ultimately fleeting and painful.
The verses highlight the inevitability of death (personified as Yama-like warriors) and the futility of physical strength or bravery in the face of time and karma.
Scenes of vultures circling, headless bodies dancing, and cries echoing in vain underscore how the body, once proud and powerful, becomes food for birds and mere spectacle. This vivid portrayal teaches detachment from the physical form, showing that clinging to it leads only to horror and loss, while true liberation lies beyond identification with the perishable.
Conversations among Gods and the ascent of warriors via "stairways" of arrows point to the cultural belief in martyrdom leading to heaven, yet the text subtly critiques this by framing it within illusion (maya). Even celestial rewards or reunion with divine spouses are presented amid gore, suggesting that such hopes are still part of the dream-like world. The teaching urges discernment: what seems heroic or divine is transient, and true wisdom involves seeing through these appearances to the unchanging Self.
The horror of destruction—armies swallowed like rivers into the sea, rains of arrows, and pleas amid chaos—illustrates the destructive power of uncontrolled passions and ignorance. War becomes an allegory for samsara (worldly existence), where beings are trapped in cycles of action and reaction, suffering endlessly. Vasishta uses this to awaken Rama (and the reader) to the absurdity of pursuing worldly victories or sensory pleasures, which end in ruin.
Ultimately, these verses teach vairagya (dispassion) and the recognition of the world's dream-like quality. By immersing in such terrifying yet poetic descriptions, the mind is shocked out of complacency, leading toward inquiry into the real nature of existence. The battlefield is not just external but mirrors the mind's turmoil; transcending it through Knowledge of the Self brings peace beyond all conflict.
