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Yoga Vashishtha 3.108.1~30
(The King’s experience of old age and the passage of time)
राजोवाच।
अथ गच्छति कालेऽत्र जराजर्जरितायुषि।
तुषारपूर्णशष्पौघसमश्मश्रुभृते मयि ॥ १॥
कर्मवातापनुन्नेषु सरसेष्वरसेष्वपि।
पतत्सु वासरौघेषु शीर्णपर्णगणेष्विव ॥ २॥
आजाविव शरौघेषु सुखदुःखेष्वनारतम्।
कलहेष्वप्यकार्येषु चागच्छत्सु पतत्सु च ॥ ३॥
विकल्पकल्पनावर्तवर्तिनि द्विजगे जडे।
समुद्र इव कल्लोलभरे भ्रमितचेतसि ॥ ४॥
चलच्चिन्ताचितं चक्रमारूढे भ्रान्त आत्मनि।
प्रोह्यमाने तृण इव सावर्तं कालसागरे ॥ ५॥
(३.१०८.६–२५)
नीलपत्रलताशङ्कापीत धूमघनच्छवि।
भ्रमद्गृध्रनिगीर्णोग्रनभोभ्रान्तोल्मुकामिषम् ॥ २६॥
इतरेतरभिन्नाङ्गलोक विद्रवणाकुलम्।
ज्वलिताग्निटणत्कारविदीर्णहृदयोदरम् ॥ २७॥
गर्तमारुतक्राङ्कारभीमदावाग्निवल्गनम्।
भीताजगरफूत्कारपतदङ्गारपादपम् ॥ २८॥
सदकाण्डस्फुटद्देशं प्राप्य तच्छुष्ककोटरम्।
द्वादशार्काग्निदग्धस्य जगतोऽनुकृतिं ययौ ॥ २९॥
ज्वलदनलजटालवृक्षखण्ड प्रसरमरुत्प्रसरावनुन्नलोकः।
ज्वलनतपनभास्करात्मजानां रमणगृहानुकृतिं जगाम देशः ॥ ३०॥
The King said:
3.108.1–5
> Then as time passed here, with my life worn out by old age, and with me having a beard like a mass of grass covered with frost.
> As the multitudes of days, driven by the wind of karma, passed by—whether full of juice or without essence—falling like groups of withered leaves.
> Constantly in joys and sorrows, like a ram in showers of arrows, and also in quarrels and improper deeds that came and fell.
> In the dull mind of the twice-born, revolving in the whirlpool of doubts and imaginations, with Consciousness bewildered like an Ocean full of waves.
> With the deluded self mounted on the wheel filled with restless thoughts, being swept away like a blade of grass with its whirlpool in the ocean of time.
3.108.6–25
> In the omitted verses the King continues that over the years he wasted away like a forest worm or a two-legged beast whose only concern was finding food; he completely forgot his former kingship and came to regard himself as a fixed outcast of the Vindhya hills. The land then suffered a sudden and total drought: no rain fell, hot winds carried sparks of fire, every tree and blade of grass withered, and fierce wildfires swept through the empty forests, reducing everything to ash. Starving people and animals wandered in desperation, some tearing at bark or stones, others attacking one another; the air filled with smoke, the cries of the dying, and the crackle of burning wood, until the whole region became a picture of utter desolation and suffering.
3.108.26–30
> It was a place with dense yellow smoke looking like blue-leafed creepers, and where fierce whirling vultures swallowed firebrands as if they were pieces of meat spinning in the sky.
> Agitated by people whose limbs were torn from one another and who fled in panic, with hearts and bellies split by the crackling of blazing fire.
> With the roaring of winds in pits, the leaping of terrible forest fires, the hissing of frightened snakes, and trees falling as burning embers.
> Reaching that dry hollow where the land suddenly cracked open, it became a likeness of the world burned by the fire of the twelve suns.
> The region, from which people were driven by the spreading winds from blazing tangled pieces of trees, became like a pleasure-house for the children of blazing fire, the scorching sun, and the shining sun.
Summary of the teachings:
These verses describe the king’s experience of old age and the passage of time. Life is shown as fragile and quickly fading. The body grows weak, the days slip away under the force of past actions, and the mind is tossed about by changing joys, sorrows, and conflicts. Everything feels temporary and driven by forces beyond personal control.
The mind itself is pictured as restless and confused. It spins in endless doubts and imaginations like waves in a stormy sea or a blade of grass caught in a whirlpool. This restless thinking keeps a person trapped in the flow of time and unable to find lasting peace.
Later verses paint a vivid picture of a land ruined by drought and wildfire. Smoke, burning trees, fleeing people, and animals in panic create a scene of total destruction. The land becomes dry, cracked, and lifeless, resembling a world scorched by many suns.
This outer devastation mirrors the inner suffering caused by attachment and ignorance. Just as the forest is reduced to ash, human life filled with desire and fear ends in emptiness and pain. The images of fire and chaos serve as a reminder of how fragile and painful the world of appearances can be.
Overall the passage teaches that worldly life is marked by change, suffering, and delusion. By clearly seeing this nature of existence—through the examples of aging, restless thoughts, and natural disaster—one is encouraged to seek a deeper understanding beyond the temporary and the painful.
