Chapter 3.109, Verses 1~19

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.

Chapter 3.108, Verses 1~30

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.