Chapter 3.113, Verses 60–67

Yoga Vashishtha 3.113.60–67

(Sriram's expression of amazement)

श्रीराम उवाच।

सुदीनाचारधर्मिण्या नित्यं प्राकृतकान्तया।

अनारतास्तंगतया चित्रमन्धीकृतं जगत् ॥ ६०॥

अनन्तदुःखाकुलया सदैव मृतयानया।

संबोधहीनया यत्र चित्रमन्धीकृतं जगत् ॥ ६१॥

कामकोपघनाङ्गिन्या तमःप्रसरवक्रया।

अचिरेणाशरीरिण्या चित्रमन्धीकृतं जगत् ॥ ६२॥

स्वात्मान्धरूपास्पदया जडया जाड्यजीर्णया।

दुःखदीर्घप्रलापिन्या चित्रमन्धीकृतं जगत् ॥ ६३॥

पुरुषासङ्गसङ्गिन्या रागिण्या क्रिययानया।

विद्रवन्त्या विवक्षासु चित्रमन्धीकृतः पुमान् ॥ ६४॥

पुरुषस्य न या शक्ता सोढुमीक्षितुमप्यलम्।

तया स्त्रियावरणया चित्रमन्धीकृतः पुमान् ॥ ६५॥

न यस्याश्चेतनैवास्ति याप्यनष्टैव नश्यति।

तया स्त्रिया परुषया चित्रमन्धीकृतः पुमान् ॥ ६६॥

अनन्तदुष्प्रसरविलासकारिणी क्षयोदयोन्मुखसुखदुःखभागिनी।

इयं प्रभो विगलति केन वाऽसमा मनोगुहानिलयनिबद्धवासना ॥ ६७॥

Sriram continued:

3.113.60–63

> It is a wonder that the World has been blinded by this tendency which follows extremely low behaviour, remains always ordinary yet attractive, and keeps disappearing without stop.

> It is a wonder that the World has been blinded by this which is filled with endless sorrow, always moves along with death, and has no understanding at all.

> It is a wonder that the world has been blinded by this which has thick limbs of desire and anger, is twisted by the spread of darkness, and becomes without a body in a short time.

> It is a wonder that the World has been blinded by this which lives in the dark form of the self, is dull, worn out by dullness, and keeps making long complaints of suffering.

3.113.64–67

> The man has been wonderfully blinded by this woman-like force that clings to the company of people, is full of passion, moves through actions, and runs away when one tries to speak of it.

> The man has been wonderfully blinded by this covering woman who cannot even bear to be looked at by a man.

> The man has been wonderfully blinded by this harsh woman who has no awareness at all and who, though not truly destroyed, still keeps perishing.

> O Lord, this latent tendency that stays bound inside the cave of the mind, that creates endless difficult displays, and that shares in pleasure and pain while facing rise and fall — by what means does this unequal one finally dissolve?

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses continue Sriram's expression of amazement at how an empty mental tendency can completely darken the perception of the World. He describes it as something that behaves in a low and ordinary way, yet remains strangely attractive while constantly vanishing. It is filled with endless suffering, always accompanied by death, and completely lacking in true understanding.

The tendency is further shown as thick with desire and anger, twisted by darkness, and quick to lose any solid form. It dwells in the darkened sense of self, remains dull and exhausted by its own dullness, and continually complains of long-lasting pain. In this way it keeps the whole world under its blinding influence.

Rama then speaks of the same force in the image of a woman. This woman-like tendency attaches itself to human company, is driven by passion, works through actions, and flees the moment one tries to examine or speak about it. It acts as a covering that the man cannot even endure to look at directly.

Although this force has no real Consciousness and is never truly solid, it continues to perish and renew itself, keeping the individual trapped. It creates endless complicated displays and makes a person share in both pleasure and pain that continually rise and fall.

The final verse asks the essential question: how can this deeply rooted mental tendency, bound inside the cave of the mind, finally be dissolved? The teaching points toward the need for clear understanding and steady awareness that alone can loosen its grip and free the mind from its long-standing delusion.

Chapter 3.113, Verses 21–30

Yoga Vashishtha 3.133.21–30

(Craving or desire and the power of mental illusion)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

वक्रा विषमयी तन्वी मृद्वी संकटकर्कशा।

ललनाचञ्चला लुब्धा तृष्णा कृष्णेव भोगिनी ॥ २१॥

स्वयं दीपशिखेवाशु क्षीयते स्नेहसंक्षये।

सिन्दूरधूलिलेखेव विना रागं विराजते ॥ २२॥

क्षणप्रकाशतरला कृतसंस्था जडाशया।

मुग्धानां त्रासजननी वक्रा विद्युदिवोदिता ॥ २३॥

यत्नाद्गृहीत्वा दहति भूत्वा भूत्वा प्रलीयते।

लभ्यतेऽपि हि नान्विष्टा विद्युद्वदतिभङ्गुरा ॥ २४॥

अप्रार्थितैवोपनता रमणीयाप्यनर्थदा।

अकालपुष्पमालेव श्रेयसेनाभिनन्दिता ॥ २५॥

अत्यन्तविस्मृतैवातिसुखाय भ्रमदायिनी।

दुःस्वप्नकलनेवेयमनर्थायैव तर्किता ॥ २६॥

प्रतिभासवशादेषा त्रिजगन्ति महान्ति च।

मुहूर्तमात्रेणोत्पाद्य धत्ते ग्रासीकरोति च ॥ २७॥

मुहूर्तो वत्सरश्रेणी लवणस्यानया कृता।

रात्रिर्द्वादशवर्षाणि हरिश्चन्द्रस्य निर्मिता ॥ २८॥

वियोगिनामथान्येषां कान्ताविभवशालिनाम्।

रात्रिर्वत्सरवद्दीर्घा भवेत्तस्याः प्रसादतः ॥ २९॥

सुखितस्याल्पतामेति दुःखितस्यैति दीर्घताम्।

कालो यस्याः प्रसादेन विपर्यासैकशीलिनाम् ॥ ३०॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.113.21–25

> Craving is crooked, full of poison, thin and soft, yet becomes harsh in times of difficulty; restless and greedy like a fickle woman, it is like a dark, thirsty serpent.  

> Like the flame of a lamp, it quickly dies out when the oil runs dry; like a streak of vermilion powder, it appears bright even without any real colour or passion.  

> Flickering brightly for only a moment, looking fixed in form yet dull by nature, it frightens the simple-minded and rises crooked like a flash of lightning.  

> Even when grasped with effort it burns; it appears and vanishes again and again; though not sought after it is still obtained, extremely fragile and fleeting like lightning.  

> It arrives unasked; though charming it brings only harm; like a garland of flowers that bloom out of season, those who seek the highest good do not welcome it.  

3.113.26–30

> Even when completely forgotten it still produces great pleasure through delusion; like the imagining of a bad dream, it is understood to lead only to misfortune.  

> By the force of mere appearance, in a single moment it creates the vast three worlds, sustains them, and then swallows them up again.  

> By this power a mere moment was stretched into a long series of years for King Lavana, and a single night was turned into twelve years for King Harishchandra.  

> Through its favour, for those separated from their beloved and for others who enjoy prosperity with their beloved, a night can stretch out as long as a whole year.  

> Through its favour time becomes short for the happy and long for the sorrowful, for those whose nature is to turn things upside down.  

Detailed summary of the teachings: 

These verses continue the description of craving or desire (trishna) and the power of mental illusion. They show how desire is deceptive in every way: it looks gentle and attractive yet is poisonous and harsh, restless and greedy, and always ready to cause harm. Like a lamp flame that dies when the oil is gone or a streak of coloured powder that has no real substance, desire has no lasting power of its own and fades the moment its supporting conditions disappear.  

The verses use sharp images of lightning, untimely flowers and bad dreams to underline that desire is momentary, frightening to the naïve, and ultimately useless for anyone who seeks true welfare. It comes without being invited, burns those who try to hold it, and leads only to pain, even when it seems to offer pleasure.  

A striking teaching is the power of this illusion to distort time itself. What is only a moment can feel like years, and a single night can feel like a dozen years, depending on whether the mind is filled with longing, enjoyment or suffering. The stories of King Lavana and King Harishchandra are cited as examples of how mental projection alone can stretch or shrink the experience of time.  

The same power that creates the appearance of the three worlds in an instant can also dissolve them. Nothing that arises from this craving or mental construction has independent reality; it is sustained only by the force of appearance and vanishes when that force is withdrawn.  

In essence the teaching is that desire and the mental world it projects are empty of substance, harmful when clung to, and completely dependent on the mind’s momentary projections. Seeing this clearly removes their hold and frees the seeker from the distortions of pleasure, pain and Time.  

Chapter 3.113, Verses 11–20

Yoga Vashishtha 3.113.11–20

(Nature of ignorance or the latent mental impressions that give rise to the appearance of the World)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

संसारबीजकणिका यैषा विद्या रघूद्वह।

एषा ह्यविद्यमानैव सतीव स्फारतां गता ॥ ११॥

येयमाभोगिनिःसारा संसारारम्भचक्रिका।

विज्ञेया वासनैषा सा चेतसो मोहदायिनी ॥ १२॥

चारुवंशलतेवान्तःशून्या निस्सारकोटरा।

सरित्तरङ्गमालेव न व्युच्छिन्नापि नश्वरी ॥ १३॥

गृह्यमाणापि हस्तेन ग्रहीतुं नैव युज्यते।

मृद्वप्यत्यन्ततीक्ष्णाग्रा निर्झरोर्मिरिवोत्थिता ॥ १४॥

दृश्यते प्रकराभासा सदर्थे नोपयुज्यते।

तरङ्गिण्यतरङ्गाभा स्वाकारपरिनिष्ठिता ॥ १५॥

क्वचिद्वक्राः क्वचित्स्पष्टा दीर्घाः खर्वाः स्थिराश्चलाः।

यत्प्रसादोद्भवास्तस्माद्व्यतिरेकमुपागताः ॥ १६॥

अन्तःशून्यापि सर्वत्र दृश्यते सारसुन्दरी।

न क्वचित्संस्थितापीह सर्वत्रैवोपलक्ष्यते ॥ १७॥

जडैव चिन्मयीवासावन्यस्पन्दोपजीविनी।

निमेषमप्यतिष्ठन्ती स्थैर्याशङ्कां प्रयच्छति ॥ १८॥

ज्वालावच्छुद्धवर्णापि मषीमलिनकोटरा।

वल्गत्यन्यप्रसादेन दीयते तदवेक्षणात् ॥ १९॥

आलोके विमले म्लाना तमस्यपि विराजते।

मृगतृष्णेव शुष्काभा नानावर्णविलासिनी ॥ २०॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.113.11–14

> O descendant of Raghu, this tiny seed-particle of Worldly existence (called knowledge or ignorance) is in fact non-existent, yet it has expanded as if it were truly Real.  

> This extensive yet essence-less wheel that starts the cycle of Worldly existence should be known as the latent mental impression (vasana); it is what deludes the mind.  

> Like a beautiful bamboo creeper that is hollow inside and empty at the core, or like a continuous chain of river waves that never stops yet is still perishable.  

> Even when held in the hand it cannot really be grasped; though soft, its tip is extremely sharp, rising like a wave from a waterfall.  

3.113.15–20

> It appears as a bright, multi-formed glow, yet serves no real purpose; it is like a river without waves, fixed only in its own outer shape.  

> Sometimes crooked, sometimes clear, long or short, steady or moving—whatever arises by its favour becomes distinct and separate from it.  

> Though empty within, it looks beautiful and full of essence everywhere; though it is not fixed in any place, it is seen everywhere.  

> Though lifeless in itself, it appears as if made of Consciousness and lives by the movement of something else; it does not last even for a moment, yet it creates the fear (or doubt) of permanence.  

> Though pure in colour like a flame, its hollow core is blackened with soot; it dances only by another’s favour and is given (or withdrawn) by the mere act of looking at it.  

> In pure light it fades, yet it shines even in darkness; like a mirage it looks dry and empty, yet sports with many colours.  

Detailed Summary of the teachings: 

These verses describe the nature of ignorance (avidya) or the latent mental impressions (vasana) that give rise to the appearance of the world. They show that this ignorance is the tiny seed from which the entire cycle of birth and death seems to grow. Although it has no real existence, it spreads and looks solid and vast, creating the whole drama of worldly life.  

The verses use many everyday images to make the point clear. Like a hollow bamboo, a chain of waves, or a mirage, this ignorance looks full and continuous yet is empty, fleeting and without substance. It cannot be truly grasped, even when it seems near at hand. It appears soft yet sharp, bright yet useless for any lasting good, and it keeps changing form while remaining essentially nothing.  

What arises from this ignorance—our experiences, objects and events—seems separate and independent, yet all of it depends on the same empty root. Though the root is nowhere fixed and has no lasting presence, it is perceived everywhere and fools the mind into thinking the world is solid and permanent.  

The verses stress that this ignorance is inert by nature; any appearance of life or Consciousness in it comes only from something else. It does not stay even for a blink of an eye, yet it plants the false idea of stability. Looking closely at it, or withdrawing attention from it, makes it vanish, just as a flame or a mirage disappears under clear light.  

In short, the teaching is that the World of change and suffering is nothing but this non-existent yet powerful appearance of ignorance. By understanding its empty, dependent and momentary nature, one sees through the illusion and is free from its hold.  

Chapter 3.113, Verses 1–10

Yoga Vashishtha 3.113.1–10

(Ignorance are the deep mental impressions and desires that bind us are completely unreal from the beginning)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

एषा हि वासना नित्यमसत्यैव यदुत्थिता।

द्विचन्द्रभ्रान्तिवत्तेन त्यक्तुं राघव युज्यते ॥ १॥

अविद्या विद्यमानेव नष्टप्रज्ञेषु विद्यते।

नाम्नैवाङ्गीकृताभावात्सम्यक्प्रज्ञेषु सा कुतः ॥ २॥

मा भवाज्ञो भव प्राज्ञः सम्यग्राम विचारय।

नास्त्येवेन्दुर्द्वितीयः खे भ्रान्त्या संलक्ष्यते मुधा ॥ ३॥

नात्र तत्त्वादृते किंचिद्विद्यते वस्त्ववस्तु च।

ऊर्मिमालिनि विस्तीर्णे वारिपूरादृते यथा ॥ ४॥

स्वविकल्पादृते नैतान्भावाभावानसन्मयान्।

नित्येऽसिते तते शुद्धे मा समारोपयात्मनि ॥ ५॥

नासि कर्ता किमेतासु क्रियासु ममता तव।

एकस्मिन्विद्यमाने हि किं केन क्रियते कथम् ॥ ६॥

मा वाऽकर्ता भव प्राज्ञ किमकर्तृतयेहिते।

साध्यं साध्यमुपादेयं तस्मात्स्वस्थो भवानघ ॥ ७॥

कर्ता संस्त्वमसक्तत्वाद्भावाभावे रघूद्वह।

असक्तत्वादकर्तापि कर्तृवत्स्पन्दनं कुतः ॥ ८॥

सत्यं स्याच्चेदुपादेयं मिथ्या स्याद्धेयमेव चेत्।

उपादेयैकसक्तत्वाद्युक्ता सक्तिर्हि कर्मणि ॥ ९॥

यत्रेन्द्रजालमखिलं मायामयमवस्तुकम्।

तत्र कास्था कथं नाम हेयोपादेयदृष्टयः ॥ १०॥

Sage Vasishta said: 

3.113.1–5

> This mental impression always arises as unreal. Therefore, O Raghava, it is proper to abandon it, just like the illusion of seeing two moons.

> Ignorance appears to exist only among those whose understanding is lost. Among those with True Wisdom, how can it exist? Its non-existence is accepted, and it is only a name.

> Do not remain ignorant. Become wise. Reflect properly on the Supreme Reality. There is no second moon in the sky; it is seen only through vain illusion.

> Apart from the Ultimate Truth, nothing exists here—neither something nor nothing. It is just like a vast ocean full of waves, where nothing exists apart from the water itself.

> Do not superimpose these unreal ideas of existence and non-existence, which come only from your own mental imaginations, onto the eternal, Pure, all-pervading, and stainless Self.

3.113.6–10

> You are not the doer. Why then do you feel ownership over these actions? When only the One exists, what is done by whom, and how?

> O Wise One, do not try to become a non-doer either. What is the use of striving for non-doership? What needs to be done should be accepted. Therefore, O Pure One, remain established in your True Nature.

> O descendant of Raghu, even while acting, because of non-attachment to existence and non-existence, you are truly not the doer. And if you are non-doer through non-attachment, then how does movement happen as if from a doer?

> If something is True, it should be accepted. If it is false, it should be rejected. Attachment to action is proper only when it is directed solely toward what is truly worthy of acceptance.

> Where this entire World is only a magical illusion made of maya and without any Real substance, what firmness can there be? How can there be any views of what to accept or reject?

Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach that ignorance are the deep mental impressions and desires that bind us are completely unreal from the beginning. They arise only as false appearances, just as a person with defective vision may see two moons instead of one. Because they have no true existence, the wise person should simply drop them. Ignorance itself has no real standing; it seems present only to those whose clear understanding is clouded, but for those who Know the Truth, it is nothing more than an empty name.

The only Reality is the One Pure Self or Ultimate Truth. Everything else—objects, non-objects, existence, and non-existence—is superimposed by the mind’s own imaginations. Just as waves have no separate existence from the ocean water, the whole world of appearances has no separate existence from the Pure, Eternal, all-pervading Consciousness. One should never project these mental constructs onto the Pure Self.

The sense of being the doer of actions is also false. When only the One Self exists, there is no separate agent, no separate action, and no ownership possible. At the same time, one should not force oneself into a State of forced inactivity. The proper path is to remain established in one’s True Nature while allowing necessary actions to take place.

True Freedom comes through non-attachment. Even while actions continue, the person free of attachment to results, to existence, or to non-existence is not truly a doer. Activity may still appear, yet it does not bind. Attachment is appropriate only when directed toward what is Real and worthy; false things should simply be set aside.

Finally, the entire World is compared to a magic show—empty of substance and made only of illusion. In such a display there is no solid ground for firmly holding on to notions of acceptance or rejection. Realizing this dissolves the dualities of the mind and leads to rest in the Pure, non-dual Awareness that alone is Real.

Chapter 3.112, Verses 20–27

Yoga Vashishtha 3.112.20–27

(The mind itself is both the trap and the only means of escape from the endless cycle of birth and death)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

तृष्णाग्राहगृहीतानां संसारार्णवरंहसि।

आवर्तैरुह्यमानानां दूरे स्वं मन एव नौः ॥ २०॥

मनसैव मनश्छित्त्वा पाशं परमबन्धनम्।

उन्मोचितो न येनात्मा नासावन्येन मोक्ष्यते ॥ २१॥

या योदेति मनोनाम्नी वासना वासितान्तरा।

तां तां परिहरेत्प्राज्ञस्ततोऽविद्याक्षयो भवेत् ॥ २२॥

भोगौघवासनां त्यक्त्वा त्यज त्वं भेदवासनाम्।

भावाभावौ ततस्त्यक्त्वा निर्विकल्पःसुखीभव ॥ २३॥

अभावनं भावनायास्त्वेतावान्वासनाक्षयः।

एष एव मनोनाशस्त्वविद्यानाश उच्यते ॥ २४॥

यद्यत्संवेद्यते किंचित्तत्रासंवेदनं परम्।

असंवित्तिस्तु निर्वाणं दुःखं संवेदनाद्भवेत् ॥ २५॥

स्वेनैव तत्प्रयत्नेन पुंसः संवेद्यते क्षणात्।

भावस्याभावनं भूत्यै तत्तस्मान्नित्यमाहरेत् ॥ २६॥

रागादयो ये मनसीप्सितास्ते बुद्ध्वेह तांस्तांस्त्वमवस्तुभूतान्।

त्यक्त्वा तदास्याङ्कुरमस्तबीजं मा हर्षशोकं समुपैहि तृप्तः ॥ २७॥

Sage Vashishta further said: 

3.112.20–27

> For those seized by the crocodiles of craving and swept by whirlpools in the rushing Ocean of Worldly existence, their own mind alone is the far-off boat that can save them.

> By cutting the mind’s own noose—the greatest bondage—with the mind itself, if the Self is not freed, nothing else can free it.

> Whatever subtle desire arises under the name of mind and colours the Inner Being, the wise person should abandon it at once; then ignorance is destroyed.

> Give up the desire for streams of enjoyment; give up the desire for differences. Then abandon both existence and non-existence and become free of all mental constructs and be happy.

> Simply not thinking of things is the full end of desires. This very end of the mind is called the end of ignorance.

> Whatever is perceived, non-perception of it is the highest. Non-awareness is liberation; sorrow comes from awareness.

> By one’s own effort a person Realizes this in a moment. Not thinking of “being” brings true welfare; therefore practise it always.

> Know that the likes and dislikes desired by the mind are without real substance. Leave them, so their sprout has no seed left, and do not fall into joy or sorrow; remain content.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings: 

These verses teach that the mind itself is both the trap and the only means of escape from the endless cycle of birth and death. Craving acts like a crocodile and the World like a stormy Ocean; only the mind, when turned inward and controlled by itself, becomes the boat that carries one to safety. No outer force, teacher or ritual can liberate the Self if the mind does not first cut its own bonds of desire and attachment.

The wise are told to watch every subtle tendency the moment it rises and to drop it at once. Desires for pleasure and for seeing differences between things keep ignorance alive. When both the sense of “this exists” and “this does not exist” are set aside, the mind becomes still and free of all restless thinking, and lasting happiness appears.

Simply stopping the habit of mentally creating and holding on to ideas is the complete destruction of latent desires. That same quieting of the mind is the destruction of ignorance itself. Whatever the senses or thoughts present, the highest state is not to grasp or dwell on it; non-awareness of objects is true liberation, while continual awareness of them produces sorrow.

A person can reach this insight by personal effort in a single moment. Therefore the practice of refusing to give mental form to any “thing” or “being” must be kept up constantly, because that refusal itself brings real spiritual growth and prosperity of the soul.

Finally, all likes, dislikes and other mental longings must be seen as empty of substance. Once they are abandoned, the seed of further desire is burned and no new sprout can arise. One then remains calmly content, untouched by the swings of joy and grief that once ruled the mind.

Chapter 3.112, Verses 10–19

Yoga Vashishtha 3.112.10–19

(The restless mind is like a powerful demon that creates deep suffering when it is allowed to rise unchecked)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

दुःखमुत्पादयत्युच्चेरुत्थितश्चित्तराक्षसः।

सुखायानन्तभोगाय तं प्रयत्नेन पातय ॥ १०॥

तस्य चञ्चलता यैषा त्वविद्या राम सोच्यते।

वासनापदनाम्नीं तां विचारेण विनाशय ॥ ११॥

अविद्यया वासनया तयान्तश्चित्तसत्तया।

विलीनया त्यागवशात्परं श्रेयोऽधिगम्यते ॥ १२॥

यत्तत्सदसतोर्मध्यं यन्मध्यं चित्त्वजाड्ययोः।

तन्मनः प्रोच्यते राम द्वयोर्दोलायिताकृति ॥ १३॥

जाड्यानुसंधानहतं जाड्यात्मकतयेद्धया।

चेतो जडत्वमायाति दृढाभ्यासवशेन हि ॥ १४॥

विवेकैकानुसंधानाच्चिदंशात्मतया मनः।

चिदेकतामुपायाति दृढाभ्यासवशादिह ॥ १५॥

पौरुषेण प्रयत्नेन यस्मिन्नेव पदे मनः।

पात्यते तत्पदं प्राप्य भवत्यभ्यासतो हि तत् ॥ १६॥

पुनः पौरुषमाश्रित्य चित्तमाक्रम्य चेतसा।

विशोकं पदमाश्रित्य निराशङ्कः स्थिरो भव ॥ १७॥

भवभावनया मग्नं मनसैव न चेन्मनः।

बलादुत्तार्यते राम तदुपायोऽस्ति नेतरः ॥ १८॥

मन एव समर्थं वो मनसो दृढनिग्रहे।

अराजा कः समर्थः स्याद्राज्ञो राघव निग्रहे ॥ १९॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.112.10–14

> The mind-demon, when it rises strongly, produces great suffering. For the sake of happiness and endless enjoyment, bring it down with careful effort.

> O Rama, this restlessness of the mind is called ignorance. Destroy that which is known as latent impressions through proper inquiry.

> When that inner mental existence made of ignorance and latent impressions is dissolved by the power of renunciation, the highest good is attained.

> O Rama, that which stands in the middle between the Real and the unreal, and between Consciousness and dullness, is called the mind. Its form swings between the two.

> When the mind is struck by constant thought of dullness and is intensified by its dull nature, it becomes dull itself through firm practice.

3.112.15–19

> Through one-pointed inquiry with discrimination, the mind, by its nature as a part of Consciousness, attains Oneness with Pure Consciousness through firm practice here.

> By human effort, whichever State the mind is made to settle in, it reaches that State and becomes that through practice.

> Again, taking support of self-effort, conquer the mind with the mind itself, take refuge in the sorrow-free State, and become steady and free from doubt.

> O Rama, if the mind that is sunk in thoughts of worldly existence is not forcibly lifted out by the mind itself, there is no other means.

> Only the mind itself is capable of firmly restraining the mind. O Raghava, who but a King is able to restrain a King?

Detailed summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the restless mind is like a powerful demon that creates deep suffering when it is allowed to rise unchecked. The only way to gain lasting happiness and unlimited joy is to deliberately bring this mind under control through steady and determined effort. Without such effort the mind continues to produce pain.

The restlessness of the mind is itself ignorance. This ignorance appears in the form of latent tendencies or deep-seated desires that keep the mind moving. These tendencies must be completely destroyed by careful self-inquiry and clear thinking. When ignorance, the latent tendencies, and the sense of a separate mental existence dissolve through renunciation, a person reaches the highest good.

The mind occupies a middle position. It is neither fully Real nor fully unreal, and it stands between Pure Consciousness and pure dullness. Because of this middle nature it constantly swings between the two. If a person repeatedly dwells on dull and lifeless things, the mind itself becomes dull through long practice. On the other hand, if the mind is trained through discrimination and one-pointed attention to its own conscious nature, it merges completely into Pure Consciousness.

Whatever state a person deliberately places the mind in by firm personal effort, the mind eventually becomes that State through repeated practice. Therefore one must again and again use self-effort to seize and master the mind, settle it in the State that is free from sorrow, and remain steady and free from all fear or doubt.

Finally, the mind can be controlled only by the mind itself. There is no other power that can do this work. Just as only a King can properly restrain another King, only the mind, when it turns its own strength upon itself, can lift itself out of the deep immersion in worldly thoughts and establish lasting Freedom.

Chapter 3.112, Verses 1–9

Yoga Vashishtha 3.112.1–9

(The mind is by nature intensely restless and swift)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

यस्मिंस्तस्मिन्पदार्थे हि येन तेन यथा तथा।

तीव्रसंवेगसंपन्नं मनः पश्यति वाञ्छितम् ॥ १॥

जायते म्रियते चैषा मनसस्तीव्रवेगिता।

सौम्याम्बुबुद्बुदालीव निर्निमित्ता स्वभावतः ॥ २॥

शीतता तुहिनस्येव कज्जलस्येव कृष्णता।

लोलता मनसो रूपं तीव्रातीव्रैकरूपिणी ॥ ३॥

श्रीराम उवाच।

कथमस्यातिलोलस्य वेगो वेगैककारणम्।

चलता मनसो ब्रह्मन्बलतो विनिवार्यते ॥ ४॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

नेह चञ्चलताहीनं मनः क्वचन दृश्यते।

चञ्चलत्वं मनोधर्मो वह्णेर्धर्मो यथोष्णता ॥ ५॥

यैषा हि चञ्चला स्पन्दशक्तिश्चित्तत्वसंस्थिता।

तां विद्धि मानसीं शक्तिं जगदाडम्बरात्मिकाम् ॥ ६॥

स्पन्दास्पन्दादृते वायोर्यथा सत्तैव नोह्यते।

तथा न चित्तसत्तास्ति चञ्चलस्पन्दनादृते ॥ ७॥

यत्तु चञ्चलताहीनं तन्मनो मृतमुच्यते।

तदेव च तपःशास्त्रसिद्धान्तो मोक्ष उच्यते ॥ ८॥

मनोविलयमात्रेण दुःखशान्तिरवाप्यते।

मनोमननमात्रेण दुःखं परमवाप्यते ॥ ९॥

Sage Vasishtha said: 

3.112.1–3

> The mind, filled with intense swiftness, perceives the desired object in any substance, by any means, and in any manner whatsoever.

> This intense swiftness of the mind arises and perishes of its own nature without any cause, just like a succession of bubbles on calm water.

> Just as coldness is the nature of snow and blackness is the nature of collyrium, so restlessness is the very form of the mind, remaining one and the same in its intense and still more intense States.

Sriram said: 

3.112.4

> O Brahman, how can the movement of this extremely restless mind, whose sole cause is its own velocity, be forcibly restrained?

Sage Vasishtha said: 

3.112.5–9

> Nowhere is a mind found that is free from restlessness. Restlessness is the inherent nature of the mind, just as heat is the inherent nature of fire.

> Know that this restless vibrating power which resides in the essence of the mind is the mental energy that constitutes the entire display of the World.

> Just as the Existence of Air cannot be grasped apart from its vibration or non-vibration, so the mind has no existence apart from its restless vibration.

> That which is free from restlessness is like a dead mind. And that very State is declared to be liberation according to the settled conclusion of austerity and the scriptures.

> By the mere dissolution of the mind, the cessation of sorrow is attained. By the mere continued thinking of the mind, supreme sorrow is attained.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach that the mind is by nature intensely restless and swift. It instantly projects and perceives whatever it desires in any object, through any means, and in any way. This restless velocity is not produced by external causes; it arises and disappears spontaneously, like bubbles forming and vanishing on still water. Restlessness is therefore the essential form of the mind, just as coldness belongs to snow and blackness to collyrium.  

Rama asks how this restless movement, whose only cause is its own velocity, can be forcibly stopped. Vasishtha answers that a mind without restlessness is never found anywhere. Restlessness is the mind’s own nature, comparable to the heat that is inseparable from fire.  

The restless vibrating power that constitutes the mind is identified as the very energy that creates the entire spectacle of the World. Without this constant vibration the mind cannot be said to exist at all, just as air cannot be conceived without its motion or stillness.  

A mind that has become free from restlessness is therefore described as “dead.” This State of the mind’s Stillness is what the scriptures and the practice of austerity call liberation.  

Finally, the verses declare that the complete dissolution of the mind alone brings the end of sorrow, while continued mental activity produces the greatest suffering. Peace is therefore gained not by controlling an active mind but by allowing the mind itself to subside completely.

Chapter 3.111, Verses 39–46

Yoga Vashishtha 3.111.39–46

(All the fearsome difficulties and confusions of life arise solely from the mind’s own imaginings, just as a Mirage appears in a waterless desert)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

भीमाः संभ्रमदायिन्यः संकल्पकदनादिमाः।

विपदः संप्रसूयन्ते मृगतृष्णा मराविव ॥ ३९॥

कल्पान्तपवना वान्तु यान्तु चैकत्वमर्णवाः।

तपन्तु द्वादशादित्या नास्ति निर्मनसः क्षतिः ॥ ४०॥

मनोबीजात्समुद्यन्ति सुखदुःखे शुभाशुभे।

संसारखण्डका एते लोकसप्तकपल्लवाः ॥ ४१॥

असंकल्पनमात्रैकसाध्ये सकलसिद्धिदे।

असंकल्पनसाम्राज्ये तिष्ठावष्टब्धतत्पदः ॥ ४२॥

प्रयच्छत्युत्तमानन्दं क्षीयमाणं मनः क्रमात्।

काष्ठक्षीणाङ्गकाङ्गारो यथाङ्गारक्षयार्थिनः ॥ ४३॥

अपि ब्रह्मकुटीलक्षं मनसश्चेत्समीहितम्।

तदणोरन्तरे व्यक्तं विभक्तं परिदृश्यते ॥ ४४॥

संकल्पमात्रविभवेन कृतात्यनर्थं संकल्पमात्रविभवेन सुसाधितार्थम्।

संतोषमात्रविभवेन मनो विजित्य नित्योदितेन जयमेहि निरीप्सितेन ॥ ४५॥

परमपावनया विमनस्तया समतया मतयात्मविदामपि।

शमितया मितयान्तरहंतया यदवशिष्टमजं पदमस्तु तत् ॥ ४६॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.111.39–46

> Terrible troubles that cause confusion, arising first from mental imagining, spring up just as a mirage appears in the desert.

> Let the winds of the end of a world-cycle blow, let the oceans merge into one, let the twelve suns blaze – the one free of restless mind suffers no harm.

> From the seed of the mind arise pleasure and pain, good and bad; these are the fragments of worldly life, the sprouts of the seven worlds.

> Stand firm, holding fast to that State, in the empire of non-imagining, which is achieved solely by the absence of mental constructs and which grants every success.

> As the mind gradually fades away, it gives the Highest Bliss – just as a glowing ember from wood, its parts shrinking, gives the brightest light to one who wants the ember to burn out completely.

> Even if the mind’s desire reaches a hundred thousand worlds of Brahma, that is still seen clearly and separately inside a single atom.

> By the mere power of mental imagining great harm is done; by the mere power of mental imagining a goal is also well achieved. Having conquered the mind through the mere power of contentment, attain victory by means of that ever-present State free of craving.

> Through the most purifying freedom from mind, through evenness of understanding held even by Knowers of the Self, through a quieted and measured inner sense of “I” – may that unborn State which then remains be ours.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach that all the fearsome difficulties and confusions of life arise solely from the mind’s own imaginings, just as a mirage appears in a waterless desert. Once this is understood, the seeker realises that the root of suffering is not external events but the restless activity of thought itself.

A person whose mind has become still remains completely unharmed even if the most catastrophic cosmic events take place – the dissolving winds of world-end, the merging of all Oceans, or the blazing of the twelve Suns. Outer conditions lose their power to disturb one who is free of mental agitation.

Everything experienced as pleasure or pain, good or bad, and even the entire structure of the seven Worlds, sprouts from the single seed of the mind. Therefore the whole of Worldly existence is nothing but mental construction.

The only reliable means to complete success and the highest good is the simple absence of mental imagining. By remaining established in this “empire of non-thinking,” every goal is attained and the True State is securely held.

As the mind slowly diminishes it yields Supreme Joy, comparable to the final brilliant glow of a dying ember. Even the grandest objects of desire are seen to be contained within the tiniest particle of Consciousness. By the power of pure contentment the mind is conquered, and what finally remains is the Pure, Unborn, ever-present Reality free from all craving and sense of “I.”

Chapter 3.110, Verses 60–67

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.60–67

(A person is not the body; excitement, joy, and restlessness are all movements of the mind)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

प्रशाम्यत्युल्लसत्येति याति नन्दति वल्गति।

मनःशरीरसंकल्पे फलिते न शरीरकम् ॥ ६०॥

नानास्फारसमुल्लासैः स्वसंकल्पोपकल्पितैः।

मनो वल्गति देहेऽस्मिन्साध्वीवान्तःपुराजिरे ॥ ६१॥

चापले प्रसरस्तस्मादन्तर्येन नदीयते।

मनोविलयमादत्ते तस्यालान इव द्विपः ॥ ६२॥

न स्पन्दते मनो यस्य शस्त्रस्तम्भ इवोत्तमः।

सद्वस्तुतोऽसौ पुरुषः शिष्टाः कर्दमकीटकाः ॥ ६३॥

यस्याचपलतां यातं मन एकत्र संस्थितम्।

अनुत्तमपदेनासौ ध्यानेनानुगतोऽनघ ॥ ६४॥

संयमान्मनसः शान्तिमेति संसारविभ्रमः।

मन्दरेऽस्पन्दतां याते यथा क्षीरमहार्णवः ॥ ६५॥

मानस्यो वृत्तयो या या भोगसंकल्पविभ्रभैः।

संसारविषवृक्षस्य ता एवाङ्कुरयोनयः ॥ ६६॥

चित्तं चलत्कुवलयं वलयन्त एते मूढा महाजडजवे मदमोहमन्दाः।

आवर्तवर्तिनि विलूनविशीर्णचिन्ताचक्रभ्रमे पुरुषदुर्भ्रमराः पतन्ति ॥ ६७॥

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.110.60–67

> The mind grows quiet, then it rises again. It goes, it rejoices, and it leaps about. All of this happens when the mind’s idea of a body bears fruit. The body itself does none of it.

> With many wide bursts of excitement, all made by its own will, the mind dances inside this body, like a good woman moving in the inner courtyard of a palace.

> When the spread of that restlessness is not allowed inside, the mind settles and fades away, like an elephant held still by its tying-post.

> The person whose mind does not move, standing firm like a strong iron pillar, is truly a human Being. The rest are only worms in the mud.

> O faultless one, the person whose mind has stopped wandering and stays fixed in one place is carried, by that steady meditation, to the Highest State.

> When the mind is held in check, the whirl of Worldly life grows calm, just as the Ocean of milk grows still when Mount Mandara stops churning it.

> Whatever movements rise in the mind from the confusion of enjoyment and desire, those very movements are the seeds from which the poison-tree of worldly life sprouts.

> The mind is like a blue lotus tossing in a current. These fools, dull and slow with pride and delusion, circle around it. Like unlucky bees, they fall into the whirlpool where the broken, scattered wheel of thought keeps turning.

Detailed summary of the teachings: 

These verses teach that a person is not the body. Quiet, excitement, going, joy, and restlessness are all movements of the mind. The body only seems to do them because the mind has already pictured a body and then treated that picture as real. When that mental picture “bears fruit,” life appears to happen in the body, yet the body itself remains a lifeless thing. What people call their life is the mind playing inside an idea it has made.

The image of the woman in the inner courtyard makes this play look ordinary rather than mysterious. The mind does not need an outside stage. With ideas formed by its own will, it leaps about inside the body, inventing near and far, pleasure and pain, action and rest. Worldly life is therefore not something forced on the mind from outside. It is the mind amusing itself with its own creations, and then forgetting that it made them.

The way out is not more movement, but the stopping of restlessness at its source. If the spread of fickleness is not given room inside, the mind loosens its grip and settles, as an elephant is held by the post to which it is tied. The person whose mind no longer throbs, firm like an iron pillar, is called a real person. Others, however busy or learned they appear, are compared to worms in the mud, because they are carried along by every impulse. When the mind becomes steady and stays in one place, meditation naturally follows, and that steadiness leads to the Highest State.

Restraint of the mind brings peace to the whole confusion of Worldly life. The comparison is with the Ocean of milk: while Mount Mandara keeps turning, the ocean is thrown into waves; when the mountain stops, the Ocean is calm. In the same way, the World does not have to be destroyed piece by piece. When the mind that stirs it is restrained, the apparent turmoil subsides. The movements born of enjoyment and desire are the sprouts of a poison-tree. Cut off those movements, and the tree of repeated sorrow has nothing from which to grow.

The closing image is a warning. The restless mind is like a blue lotus spinning in a stream. People dulled by pride and delusion circle that lotus and, like bees caught in a bad whirl, fall into a wheel of torn and scattered thoughts. The teaching of these verses is therefore simple and strict: watch the mind’s movements, refuse to feed its restlessness, and let it stand still. From that Stillness the illusion of Worldly life loses its force.

Chapter 3.110, Verses 51–59

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.51–59

(The mind is not a fixed thing but a Pure Power of construction)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

यद्यत्संवेद्यते किंचित्तेन तेनाशु भूयते।

मनो मनननिर्माणं यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु ॥ ५१॥

नानापुरसरिच्छैलरूपतामेत्य देहिनाम्।

तनोत्यन्तःस्थमेवेदं जाग्रत्स्वप्नमयं मनः ॥ ५२॥

सुरत्वाद्दैत्यतामेत्य नागत्वान्नगतामपि।

प्रतिभासवशाच्चित्तमापन्नं लवणो यथा ॥ ५३॥

नरत्वादेति नारीत्वं पितृत्वात्पुत्रतां गतः।

यथा क्षिप्रं प्रति नरः स्वसंकल्पात्तथा मनः ॥ ५४॥

संकल्पतः प्रम्रियते संकल्पाज्जायते पुनः।

मनश्चिरन्तनाभ्यस्ताज्जीवतामेत्यनाकृति ॥ ५५॥

मनो मननसंमूढमूढवासनमाततम्।

संकल्पाद्योनिमायाति सुखदुःखे भयाभये ॥ ५६॥

सुखं दुःखं च मनसि तिले तैलमिव स्थितम्।

तद्देशकालवशतो घनं वा तनु वा भवेत् ॥ ५७॥

तैलं तिलस्य चाक्रान्त्या स्फुटतामेति शाश्वतीम्।

चेतसो मननासंगाद्घनीभूते सुखासुखे ॥ ५८॥

देशकालाभिधानेन राम संकल्प एव हि।

कथ्यते तद्वशाद्यस्माद्देशकालौ स्थितिं गतौ ॥ ५९॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.110.51–59

> Whatever the mind comes to know or perceive, it quickly becomes that very thing. The mind is built only by its own thinking; shape it however you wish.

> Taking on the forms of many cities, rivers and mountains, this mind that dwells inside embodied Beings spreads outward what is really only within itself—the stuff of waking and dream.

> From the State of a god it becomes a demon; from a serpent it becomes a mountain. Under the power of mere appearance the mind falls into such States, just as happened with King Lavana.

> From being a man it becomes a woman; from being a father it becomes a son. Just as a person quickly changes through his own intention, so does the mind.

> By its own intention the mind dies; by intention it is born again. Through long-practised habits this formless mind takes on the State of living Beings.

> The mind, deluded by its own thinking and stretched by foolish impressions, enters a new birth through intention—into pleasure and pain, fear and fearlessness.

> Pleasure and pain sit inside the mind the way oil sits inside a sesame seed. According to place and time they become thick or thin.

> Oil becomes fully visible only when the sesame seed is crushed. In the same way, pleasure and pain grow dense and clear when the mind keeps thinking about them.

> What we call place and time, O Rama, is really only this same intention, because place and time come into existence only under its power.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses teach that the mind is not a fixed thing but a pure power of construction. Whatever it knows or thinks about, it instantly becomes. The entire visible World of cities, rivers, mountains, gods, demons, men and women is nothing but the mind’s own thinking projected outward. Because the mind is made only of thought, a person can deliberately reshape it; the choice of what to dwell upon is free and decisive.

The mind’s changes of State are illustrated by the story of King Lavana and by ordinary human experience. Just as Lavana seemed to live an entire life as an outcaste through a momentary appearance, the mind moves from godhood to demonhood, from manhood to womanhood, from fatherhood to sonship, purely by the force of its own resolve. Birth and death themselves are only successive intentions of the same mind.

Long-continued habits and latent impressions give the formless mind the appearance of a living Being. Through these deep-seated tendencies the mind enters new births, experiencing pleasure and pain, fear and security. The root of every new existence is therefore the mind’s own intention, not any external force.

Pleasure and pain are not outside the mind; they reside within it exactly as oil resides inside a sesame seed. Their intensity—whether thick or thin—depends on the circumstances of place and time. Only when the mind repeatedly presses and dwells upon them do they become fully manifest and solid, just as oil appears only when the seed is crushed.

Finally, the verses declare that even the notions of Space and Time are only names for the mind’s intention. Space and Time exist and continue solely because the mind’s resolve sustains them. Understanding this brings the teaching full circle: the whole framework of Worldly experience is a projection of thought, and therefore it can be mastered by changing the direction of thought itself.

Chapter 3.110, Verses 38–50

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.38–50

(The mind alone creates and sustains every experience of the World)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

कुसुमोल्लासिधम्मिल्ला हेलाचलितलोचना।

काष्ठकुड्योपमाङ्गेषु लग्नाप्यमनसोऽङ्गना ॥ ३८॥

मनस्यन्यत्र संसक्ते वीतरागेण कानने।

क्रव्यादचर्वितोऽङ्कस्थः स्वकरोऽपि न लक्षितः ॥ ३९॥

सुखीकर्तुं सुदुःखानि दुःखीकर्तुं सुखानि च।

सुखेनैवाशु युज्यन्ते मनसोऽतिशया मुनेः ॥ ४०॥

मनस्यन्यत्र संसक्ते कथ्यमानापि यत्नतः।

लता परशुकृत्तेव कथा विच्छिद्यते बत ॥ ४१॥

मनस्यद्रितटारूढे गृहस्थेनापि जन्तुना।

शुभ्राभ्रकन्दरभ्रान्तिदुःखं समनुभूयते ॥ ४२॥

मनस्युल्लसिते स्वप्ने हृद्येव पुरपर्वताः।

आकाश इव विस्तीर्णे दृश्यन्ते निर्मिताः क्षमाः ॥ ४३॥

मनो विलुलिते स्वप्ने हृद्येवाद्रिपुरावलिम्।

तनोति चलिताम्भोधिर्वीचीचयमिवात्मनि ॥ ४४॥

अन्तरब्धिजलाद्यद्वत्तरङ्गापीडवीचयः।

देहान्तर्मनसस्तद्वत्स्वप्नाद्रिपुरराजयः ॥ ४५॥

अङ्कुरस्य यथा पत्रलतापुष्पफलश्रियः।

मनसोऽस्य तथा जाग्रत्स्वप्नविभ्रमभूमयः ॥ ४६॥

व्यतिरिक्ता यथा हेम्नो न हेमवनिता तथा।

जाग्रत्स्वप्नक्रियालक्ष्मीर्व्यतिरिक्ता न चेतसः ॥ ४७॥

धाराकणोर्मिफेनश्रीर्यथा संलक्ष्यतेऽम्भसः।

तथा विचित्रविभवा नानातेयं हि चेतसः ॥ ४८॥

स्वचित्तवृत्तिरेवेह जाग्रत्स्वप्नदृशोदितम्।

रसावेशादुपादत्ते शैलूष इव भूमिकाम् ॥ ४९॥

चण्डालत्वं हि लवणे प्रतिभासवशाद्यथा।

तथेदं जगदाभोगि मनो मननमात्रकम् ॥ ५०॥

Sage Vashishta continued:

3.110.38–44

> A woman with flowers blooming in her hair and eyes moving playfully remains like a wooden log or a wall to one whose mind is elsewhere, even if she clings to his body.

> When the mind of a passionless person is fixed elsewhere in the forest, even his own hand, chewed by a flesh-eating beast while resting on his lap, goes unnoticed.

> With ease and speed, the extraordinary mind of a Sage can turn sufferings into joys and joys into sufferings.

> When the mind is attached elsewhere, even a story carefully told is cut short and broken, like a creeper severed by an axe. Alas!

> When the mind of even a householder climbs a mountain slope, he experiences the misery of wandering in the caves of white clouds.

> When the mind is lively in a dream, cities and mountains appear built right inside the heart, as if in the vast sky.

> When the mind is restless in a dream, it spreads out rows of mountains and cities within the heart, just as a moving ocean spreads waves of foam within itself.

3.110.45–50

> Just as waves and rows of foam arise from the waters of the inner ocean, so rows of dream mountains and cities arise from the mind within the body.

> Just as leaves, creepers, flowers and the glory of fruits arise from a sprout, so the fields of waking and dream delusions arise from this mind.

> Just as a golden woman is not separate from gold, so the glory of waking and dream activities is not separate from the mind.

> Just as the glory of streams, drops, waves and foam is seen as belonging to water, so this manifold variety of wondrous powers belongs only to the mind.

> The movements of one’s own mind alone rise as the sights of waking and dream; under the force of emotion it takes on roles, like an actor on the stage.

> Just as the state of being an outcaste appears in salt through mere appearance, so this whole expanse of the world is only the mind’s mere thinking.

Summary of the Teachings: 

These verses teach that the mind alone creates and sustains every experience of the world. When attention is withdrawn or fixed elsewhere, even the most attractive or painful bodily contacts lose all power and become as lifeless as wood or stone. A controlled mind can instantly reverse feelings of pleasure and pain, while an uncontrolled mind breaks the flow of even careful teaching and projects distant dangers into ordinary life.  

Dreams show the mind’s creative power most clearly: cities, mountains and entire landscapes arise and spread within the heart itself, exactly as waves and foam arise within the ocean. The same power continues in the waking state. All the variety of life grows from the mind just as leaves, flowers and fruit grow from a single seed.  

Nothing that appears in waking or dream exists apart from the mind, any more than a golden image exists apart from gold, or foam and waves exist apart from water. The mind simply plays different parts, like an actor putting on costumes, and the entire world is only its own continuous thinking.  

The famous example of King Lavana shows how a mere idea can make a person experience a completely different identity and life. In the same way, the whole visible Universe is nothing but the mind’s temporary assumption of form through its own thought.  

Therefore the teaching is that freedom lies in recognising the mind as the sole source of every appearance. By withdrawing attention, mastering thought and seeing that waking and dream are of one nature, the Sage remains undisturbed by outer events and rests in Pure Awareness beyond the play of the mind.

Chapter 3.110, Verses 12–24

Yoga Vashishtha 3.110.12–24

(True nature of a person is the mind rather than the physical body)

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

येन च्छिन्ना विचारेण जीवस्य ज्ञेयवासना।

निरभ्रस्येव सूर्यस्य तस्यालोको विराजते ॥ १२॥

अतस्त्वं मन एवेदं नरं विद्धि न देहकम्।

जडो देहो मनश्चात्र न जडं नाजडं विदुः ॥ १३॥

यत्कृतं मनसा तात तत्कृतं विद्धि राघव।

यत्त्यक्तं मनसा तावत्तत्त्यक्तं विद्धि चानघ ॥ १४॥

मनोमात्रं जगत्कृत्स्नं मनः पर्यन्तमण्डलम्।

मनो व्योम मनो भूमिर्मनो वायुर्मनो महान् ॥ १५॥

मनो यदि पदार्थे तु तद्भावेन न योजयेत्।

ततः सूर्योदयेऽप्येते न प्रकाशाः कदाचन ॥ १६॥

मनो मोहमुपादत्ते यस्यासौ मूढ उच्यते।

शरीरे मोहमापन्ने न शवो मूढ उच्यते ॥ १७॥

मनः पश्य भवत्यक्षि श्रृण्वच्छ्रवणतां गतम्।

त्वग्भावं स्पर्शनादेति घ्राणतामेति जिघ्रणात् ॥ १८॥

रसनाद्रसतामेति विचित्रास्तत्र वृत्तिषु।

नाटके नूटवद्देहे मन एवानुवर्तते ॥ १९॥

लघु दीर्घं करोत्येव सत्येऽसत्तां प्रयच्छति।

कटुतां नयति स्वादु रिपुं नयति मित्रताम् ॥ २०॥

य एव प्रतिभासोऽस्य चेतसो वृत्तिवर्तिनः।

ततस्तदेव प्रत्यक्षं तथात्रानुभवादिह ॥ २१॥

प्रतिभासवशादेव स्वप्नाकुलितचेतसः।

हरिश्चन्द्रस्य संपन्ना रात्रिर्द्वादशवार्षिकी ॥ २२॥

चित्तानुभाववशतो मुहूर्तत्वे गतं युगम्।

इन्द्रद्युम्नस्य वैरिञ्च्यपुराभ्यन्तरवर्तिनः ॥ २३॥

मनोज्ञया मनोवृत्त्या सुखतां याति रौरवम्।

प्रातःप्राप्तव्यराज्यस्य सुबद्धस्येव बन्धनम् ॥ २४॥

Sage Vashishtha continued:

3.110.12–17

> When discriminative inquiry cuts off the living being’s craving for knowable objects, that person’s light shines forth like the sun in a cloudless sky.

> Therefore know that a human Being is the mind itself, not merely the body. The body is inert, but the mind is neither purely inert nor purely conscious.

> Dear Rama, know that whatever is done by the mind is truly done; and, O sinless one, whatever is abandoned by the mind is truly abandoned.

> The entire World is nothing but the mind; the whole circle of existence is bounded by the mind. The mind is Space, the mind is Earth, the mind is Air, and the mind is the great principle.

> If the mind does not connect with an object through its own nature, then even at sunrise those objects never shine forth at all.

> The one whose mind takes on delusion is called deluded. When the body is overcome by insensibility, a corpse is not called deluded.

3.110.18–24

> The mind, when seeing, becomes the eye; when hearing, it becomes the ear. Through touching it becomes the skin; through smelling it becomes the nose.

> Through tasting it becomes the sense of taste. In all these varied activities the mind alone acts in the body, just as an actor performs in a play.

> It makes the short appear long and turns the Real into the unreal. It turns the sweet into the bitter and turns an enemy into a friend.

> Whatever appears in this mind that functions through its modifications, that alone becomes direct perception, as is known from experience in this World.

> Simply by the force of appearance, King Harishchandra, whose mind was disturbed as in a dream, experienced a single night as lasting twelve years.

> Through the power of mental experience, for King Indradyumna who dwelt inside Brahma’s city, an entire age passed as if it were a mere moment.

> Through a pleasing activity of the mind, even the hell called Raurava becomes happiness, just as the bonds of one tightly bound do not feel heavy when a kingdom is to be received in the morning.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses teach that the true nature of a person is the mind rather than the physical body. Discriminative inquiry severs the deep-seated tendencies that bind the individual soul to objects of Knowledge. When those tendencies are cut away, the light of Awareness shines clearly, free from obstruction, like the sun in a sky without clouds. The body is merely inert matter; the mind is the living principle that experiences, acts, and suffers. Therefore the human being is essentially the mind.

Everything that is done or left undone is truly accomplished only by the mind. The whole visible World, including Space, Earth, Air, and the great elements, is nothing other than the mind itself. Objects appear and become luminous only when the mind joins itself to them. Without that mental connection even the brightest light fails to reveal anything. Delusion belongs exclusively to the mind; a lifeless body cannot be called deluded.

The mind alone takes the form of every sense organ. It becomes the eye when seeing, the ear when hearing, the skin when touching, the nose when smelling, and the tongue when tasting. In all these varied functions the mind is the sole actor within the body, performing like an actor on a stage. The mind also has the power to distort Reality at will: it can make the short seem long, the Real seem unreal, the sweet seem bitter, and an enemy seem a friend.

Whatever arises as an appearance within the active mind is immediately taken as direct, concrete experience. Time itself is elastic under the influence of mental perception. King Harishchandra experienced one night as twelve long years because his mind was agitated by dream-like appearances. King Indradyumna, dwelling in Brahma’s city, saw an entire Cosmic age pass as a single moment solely through the force of mental experience.

Finally, the quality of mental activity determines the quality of experience. A pleasant movement of the mind can turn even the torment of Raurava hell into happiness, just as a tightly bound prisoner feels no weight from his bonds when he knows that a kingdom awaits him at dawn. The mind, therefore, is the sole creator, sustainer, and transformer of every joy and sorrow. Mastery over the mind is the key to freedom from all limitation.

Chapter 3.109, Verses 20–31

Yoga Vashishtha 3.109.20–31

(The King’s long ordeal come to a sudden end)

राजोवाच।

तस्यां तु यावदात्मानं चितायां निक्षिपाम्यहम्।

चलितोऽस्मि जवात्तावदस्मात्सिंहासनान्नृपः ॥ २०॥

ततस्तूर्यनिनादेन जयशब्देन बोधितः।

इति शाम्बरिकेणायं मोह उत्पादितो मम ॥ २१॥

अज्ञानेनेव जीवस्य दशाशतसमन्वितः।

इत्युक्तवति राजेन्द्रे लवणे भूरितेजसि ॥ २२॥

अन्तर्धानं जगामाशु तत्र शाम्बरिकः क्षणात्।

अथेदमूचुस्ते सभ्या विस्मयोत्फुल्ललोचनाः ॥ २३॥

नायं शाम्बरिको देव यस्य नास्ति धनैषणा।

दैवी काचन मायेयं संसारस्थितिबोधिनी ॥ २४॥

मनोविलासः संसार इति यस्यां प्रतीयते।

सर्वशक्तेरनन्तस्य विलासो हि मनोजगत् ॥ २५॥

सर्वशक्तेर्विचित्रा हि शक्तयः शतशो विधेः।

यद्विवेकि मनोऽप्येष विमोहयति मायया ॥ २६॥

विज्ञातलोकवृत्तान्तः क्व नामायं महीपतिः।

क्व सामान्यमनोवृत्तियोग्यो विपुलसंभ्रमः ॥ २७॥

न च शाम्बरिकेच्छेयं माया मनसि मोहिनी।

अर्थस्य सिद्ध्यै चेहन्ते नित्यं शाम्बरिकाः किल ॥ २८॥

यत्नेन प्रार्थयन्तेऽर्थं नान्तर्धानं व्रजन्ति भो।

इति संदेहवेलायां संस्थिता लुलिता वयम् ॥ २९॥

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच।

सभायामवसं तस्यामहं राम तदा किल।

तेन प्रत्यक्षतो दृष्टं मयैतन्नान्यतः श्रुतम् ॥ ३०॥

इति बहुकलनाविवर्धिताङ्गं जयति चिरं विततं मनो महात्मन्।

शममुपगमिते परस्वभावे परममुपैष्यसि पावनं पदं यत् ॥ ३१॥

The King said: 

3.109.20–29

> But just as I was about to throw myself into that pyre, at that very moment I, the King, suddenly moved from this throne.

> Then, awakened by the sound of musical instruments and the cry of “Victory!”, I realised: “This delusion has been produced in me by the conjurer.”

> As if through ignorance, the living Being is endowed with a hundred states. When the radiant King Lavana had spoken thus,

> the conjurer instantly vanished from that place. Then the courtiers, with eyes wide open in wonder, said this:

> “This is no ordinary conjurer, O Lord, for he has no desire for wealth. This is some Divine illusion that teaches the nature of Worldly Existence.

> In it the World appears as the play of the mind. Indeed the World of the mind is the play of the Infinite all-powerful One.

> The powers of the all-powerful Creator are manifold and number in hundreds; even a discriminating mind is deluded by this magic.

> How can this King, who knows the ways of the World, be fit for the vast confusion that belongs to ordinary mental activity?

> Nor is this mind-deluding magic the wish of a conjurer. Conjurers, after all, always strive for the attainment of wealth.

> They seek gain with effort and do not simply disappear. Thus we stand tossed about in a state of doubt.”

Sage Vasistha said: 

3.109.30–31

> O Rama, I was present in that assembly at that time. I saw this with my own eyes; I did not hear it from anyone else.

> Thus the great mind, expanded by many imaginings, long prevails, O high-souled one. When it is brought to rest in its True Nature, you will attain the Pure Supreme State.

Summary of the teachings:

These verses bring the king’s long ordeal to its sudden end. At the moment he is about to cast himself into the funeral pyre, the sound of royal music and victory shouts startles him back to his throne. He recognises that the entire lifetime of tribal hardship was only a conjurer’s illusion.

The courtiers then interpret the event. They declare that the visitor was no ordinary magician seeking money, because such people never vanish without reward. What occurred was a Divine demonstration meant to reveal the true character of worldly life.

The heart of the teaching is that the World itself is the play of the mind. This mental world is an expression of the infinite power of the Absolute. Even a discerning intellect can be caught in the web of this creative magic, so ordinary people are easily overwhelmed.

The assembly’s doubt about the conjurer’s identity underlines a further point: true illusion does not operate for personal gain. It arises spontaneously from the Nature of Consciousness itself and serves to instruct those who witness it.

Vasistha confirms that he was present and saw the whole episode with his own eyes. He concludes that the mind, swollen by countless imaginings, rules for a long time; yet when that same mind is quieted and restored to its essential nature, the Pure and Highest State is attained.

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 3.107, Verses 25~48

Yoga Vashishtha 3.107.25~48

(These verses deepen the picture of the King’s total immersion in a savage, forest existence)

राजोवाच।

रौरवापतितेनेव तत्कालस्निग्धतां गतः।

विन्ध्यकन्दरगुल्मानां बन्धुत्वमिव गच्छता ॥ २५॥

पुलिन्दवपुषा यत्र युक्तयोगैः समर्पिताः।

तर्पिता लगुडाघातजितकौलेयरंहसा ॥ २६॥

पुत्रदाराः कदन्नेन ग्रामकान्धोचितेन च।

धारासाररणत्पत्रशुष्कतालतले निशाः ॥ २७॥

नीता रणितदन्तेन सार्धं विपिनवानरैः।

रोमभिः कोटिमुद्रोद्यैः शीतेनाध्युषितस्य मे ॥ २८॥

वर्षासु मुक्ताकणवद्धृता वानलविन्दवः।

अजाजीमूतखण्डार्थं क्षुत्क्षुण्णक्षीणकुक्षिणा ॥ २९॥

कलत्रेण सहाटव्यां कृतः कलह आकुलः।

वने रणितदन्तेन शीतकेकरचक्षुषा ॥ ३०॥

(३.१०७.३१–४४)

ग्रीष्मे सोढा चलद्भूता वराहेण यथोर्वरा।

बहुशोऽहं वनोत्थाग्निनिर्दग्धप्राणिमण्डलः ॥ ४५॥

कल्पाग्निभुक्तजगतः कालस्यानुगतिं गतः ।

लोभिलिङ्गो यथा रोगमनर्थानिव दुर्ग्रहः।

प्रसूतास्तत्र मे दारा दुःखान्यथ सुखान्यपि ॥ ४६॥

नृपालपुत्रकेनैकतनयेन तदा मया।

नीता नीरन्ध्रदोषेण षष्टिः कल्पसमाः समाः ॥ ४७॥

आक्रुष्टमुद्धुरतरं रुदितं विपत्सु भुक्तं कदन्नमुषितं हतपक्कणेषु।

कालान्तरं बहु मयोपहतेन तत्र दुर्वासनानिगडबन्धगतेन सभ्याः ॥ ४८॥

The King continued: 

3.107.25–30

> As if fallen into the Raurava hell, I then became sticky and unclean, growing almost into a relative of the thickets in the Vindhya caves.

> There, with the body of a forest tribesman, offerings were made according to tribal rites, and hunger was satisfied by the force of club-blows that overcame the speed of dogs.

> Sons and wife lived on coarse food fit only for blind village folk; nights were spent under dry palm trees whose leaves rattled in the pouring rain.

> Those nights passed with chattering teeth in the company of forest monkeys, while cold made the hairs of my body stand on end in countless pores.

> In the rainy season, water-drops were held like pearls; for the sake of a mere scrap of food I, whose belly was crushed and thin with hunger, wandered on.

> In the forest I quarrelled in confusion with my wife, teeth chattering and eyes rolling from the cold.

3.107.31–44

> In these intervening verses the King continues to describe the endless hardships of his tribal life: further struggles for food, exposure to every kind of weather, deepening family discord, the gradual loss of all remaining softness of heart, and the complete acceptance of a brutal, animal-like existence in the wilds.

3.107.45–48

> In the summer I endured the trembling Earth as a boar endures the fertile field; many times the circle of living beings around me was burnt by forest fires.

> I followed the path of Time that has already consumed the World in the fire of Cosmic dissolution. Like a greedy mark or an evil planet that brings misfortunes as diseases, my wives there gave birth both to sorrows and to fleeting pleasures.

> I, who was once the single son of a King’s son, spent sixty years that felt equal to Cosmic ages, filled with unbroken faults.

> I cried out loudly, wept in calamities, ate coarse food, and slept in ruined outcaste settlements. For a long time, O noble ones, I remained there, ruined and bound in the iron chains of evil tendencies.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses deepen the picture of the king’s total immersion in a savage, forest existence. Living like a relative of the Vindhya thickets, eating what is obtained by club and force, and spending nights under rattling palm leaves, he shows how completely the royal identity has been erased. The teaching is that once the mind accepts degradation, even the most brutal surroundings become the only reality it knows.

Family life continues, yet it brings no comfort. Coarse food, constant cold, chattering teeth, and confused quarrels with the wife turn every day into a struggle. The verses illustrate that attachment to wife and children, when rooted in delusion, multiplies suffering instead of relieving it. What should have been sources of support become additional sources of friction and pain.

Exposure to every season—rain, cold, and the scorching summer that sets the forest ablaze—reveals the body’s complete subjection to nature’s harshness. The King endures the trembling Earth like a boar and watches living beings perish in fire. This shows how the loss of discrimination leaves a person defenceless against both outer elements and inner impulses.

The comparison of his life to the path of Time that has already burned the world, and of his own nature to an evil planet bringing disease, teaches that prolonged evil tendencies act like a chronic illness. Even the birth of children is described as the birth of both sorrow and fleeting pleasure, underscoring that nothing arising from a deluded state can bring lasting good.

Finally, the King confesses that sixty years felt like Cosmic ages spent in unbroken fault, bound by the iron chains of wrong tendencies. The passage as a whole warns that a single fall, if not arrested, hardens into a complete way of life. Only the recovery of true discrimination can break those chains; otherwise the soul remains imprisoned in the very existence it has created for itself.

Chapter 3.107, Verses 1~24

Yoga Vashishtha 3.107.1–12

(Continuing the King’s account of his complete descent into the life of an outcaste)

राजोवाच।

बहुनात्र किमुक्तेन सोत्सवावर्जिताशयः।

तदाप्रभृति तत्राहं संपन्नः पुष्टपुल्कसः ॥ १॥

सप्तरात्रोत्सवस्यान्ते क्रमान्मासाष्टके गते।

पुष्पिता सास्य संपन्ना स्थिता गर्भवती ततः ॥ २॥

प्रसूता दुःखदां कन्यां विपद्दुःखक्रियामिव।

सा कन्या ववृधे शीघ्रं मूर्खचिन्तेव पीवरी ॥ ३॥

पुनः प्रसूता सा वर्षैस्त्रिभिः पुत्रमशोभनम्।

अनर्थमिव दुर्बुद्धिराशापाशविधायकम् ॥ ४॥

(३.१०७.५–२०)

अस्पृष्टेन जनैर्भुक्तं कुकलत्रवता मया।

गृहीततेजःक्षतये बहुवक्रविकारिणा ॥ २१॥

मार्गाविकमिवात्मीयं विक्रीतं पण्यमन्यतः।

प्राण्यङ्गवपुषस्तस्य प्रोत्कृत्त्योत्कृत्त्य पेशलः ॥ २२॥

आयसंपरि विक्रीता विन्ध्यपक्कणभूमिषु।

जन्मान्तरसहस्रोत्थं स्वपापमिव वृद्धये ॥ २३॥

अविकीर्णमसत्कीर्णं चण्डालारामभूमिषु।

दृष्टः कुद्दालको दृष्ट्या संध्यास्नेहविमुक्तया ॥ २४॥

The King said: 

3.107.1–4

> What more need be said here? From that time onward, my mind drawn by the festivities, I became a well-nourished Pulkasa (outcaste) there.

> At the end of the seven-night festival, after eight months had passed in due course, she became pregnant and remained with a swollen belly.

> She gave birth to a daughter who brings sorrow, like the very deeds that cause calamity and pain. That girl grew quickly, like the fattening thought of a fool.

> Again, after three years, she gave birth to an ugly son, like a misfortune produced by a dull mind that creates the noose of hope.

3.107.5–20

> In these intervening verses the King continues to describe his prolonged life among the outcastes: the daily hardships, the further birth of children, the gradual hardening of his mind to that degraded existence, the loss of his former royal dignity, the acceptance of menial work and impure food, and the deepening of delusion that made the lowly life seem normal to him.

3.107.21–24

> Food untouched by others was eaten by me, who now possessed a lowly wife—food that damaged my former radiance, eaten by one whose face had become distorted in many ways.

> Like goods sold on the roadside, what was my own was sold elsewhere; the soft flesh of that living body was cut off piece by piece.

> Iron tools were sold in the Vindhya outcaste settlements, like my own sins accumulated over thousands of past births, sold only to increase them further.

> Scattered and mixed with the impure, in the garden grounds of the Chandalas, Kuddalaka was seen with a gaze free from the affection of twilight (or evening attachment).

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses continue the king’s account of his complete descent into the life of an outcaste. After the initial marriage and festivities, he reports that he fully became one of them—well-fed yet degraded. The teaching here is that once a person crosses the boundary of social and moral order under the sway of desire or circumstance, the mind quickly adapts and begins to identify with the new, lower condition. What was once unthinkable becomes ordinary.

The birth of children—first a daughter described as a source of sorrow, then an ugly son compared to a misfortune—illustrates how actions performed in delusion produce further bonds. Offspring that arise from an impure union are portrayed not as blessings but as extensions of suffering and attachment. The rapid growth of the daughter is likened to the swelling of foolish thoughts, showing how ignorance multiplies itself when left unchecked.

The omitted middle section, together with the later verses, deepens the picture of progressive degradation. The King eats food that others avoid, loses his former bodily radiance, and engages in the buying and selling of iron tools and even the cutting of flesh. These acts symbolize the piecemeal destruction of his Higher Nature. The text teaches that repeated association with impurity does not remain external; it enters the body, the mind, and the sense of self, steadily eroding discrimination.

A further lesson concerns the accumulation of karma. The sale of iron implements in the outcaste settlements is compared to the increase of sins carried from thousands of previous births. Every action performed in this degraded state is shown to strengthen the very chains that bind the soul. The verses warn that once one has entered a path of impurity, even ordinary livelihood activities become means of further entanglement rather than neutral work.

Finally, the closing image of Kuddalaka seen with a gaze free from soft evening attachment suggests a moment of stark clarity amid the surrounding impurity. The overall teaching of the passage is that delusion, once accepted, leads step by step from a single transgression to a complete transformation of identity, family, livelihood, and inner vision. Only the recovery of true discrimination can reverse this descent; otherwise the soul continues to multiply its own suffering through the very life it has chosen.

Chapter 3.106, Verses 52~72

Yoga Vashishtha 3.106.52~72

(Under the pressure of extreme circumstances, all considerations of family tradition and social duty are abandoned)

राजोवाच।

अथोक्ता सा मया भर्ता भवामि तव सुव्रते।

केनापदि विचार्यन्ते वर्णधर्मकुलक्रमाः ॥ ५२॥

ततस्तयौदनादर्धं मह्यमेकं समर्पितम्।

माधव्येवामृतादर्धमिन्द्रायार्तिमहत्पुरा ॥ ५३॥

जम्बूफलरसः पीतः स भुक्तः पक्कणौदनः।

विश्रान्तं च मया तत्र मोहापहृतचेतसा ॥ ५४॥

मां तत्रार्कमिवापूर्य सा प्रावृट् श्यामला गता।

हस्तेन समुपादाय प्राणं बहिरिव स्थितम् ॥ ५५॥

दुराकृतिं दुरारम्भमाससाद भयप्रदम्।

पितरं पीवराकारमवीचिमिव यातना ॥ ५६॥

तया मदनुषङ्गिण्या स्वार्थस्तस्मै निवेदितः।

मातङ्गाय भ्रमर्येव निःस्वनेनालिलग्नया ॥ ५७॥

(३.१०६.५८–६७)

अथ विश्रम्य चण्डालभोजनान्यजिनासने।

संचितान्युपभुक्तानि दुष्कृतानीव भूरिशः ॥ ६८॥

अनन्तदुःखबीजानि न मनोज्ञतराण्यपि।

तानि प्रणयवाक्यानि श्रुतान्यसुभगान्यलम् ॥ ६९॥

निरभ्राम्बरनक्षत्रे कस्मिंश्चिद्दिवसे ततः।

तैस्तैरारम्भसंरम्भैस्तैर्वस्त्रविभवार्पणैः ॥ ७०॥

दत्ताप्यनेन सा मह्यं कुमारी भयदायिनी।

सुकृष्णा कृष्णवर्णेन दुष्कृतेनेव यातना ॥ ७१॥

सरभसमभितो विनेदुरत्र प्रसृतमहामदिरासवाः श्वपाकाः।

हतपटुपटहा विलासवन्तः स्वयमिव दुष्कृतराशयो महान्तः ॥ ७२॥

The King said: 

3.106.52–57

> Then I told her, “O virtuous one, I shall become your husband. In times of crisis, who bothers about caste rules, family customs or social order?”

> Then she offered me half of her cooked rice, just as Madhavi once offered half of the nectar to Indra when he was in great distress.

> I drank the juice of the jambu fruit and ate the rice of the outcaste settlement. There I rested, my mind overcome by delusion.

> Like a dark monsoon cloud that fills the sky around the sun, she took hold of me as if seizing my very life-breath that stood outside, and then left.

> She went to her father—a frightful, ill-formed man of massive body who looked like the torments of the lowest hell—and approached that terrifying figure of evil deeds.

> Accompanied by me, she announced her personal wish to that Chandala, just as a female bee clinging with a soft hum announces itself to an elephant.

3.106.58–67

> In these intervening verses the narrative continues with the king’s further experiences in the Chandala settlement: the father’s response, the arrangements made for the union, the living conditions among the outcastes, the food and daily life, the gradual acceptance of that degraded existence, and the growing sense of degradation and delusion that settled upon the king’s mind as he remained there.

3.106.68–72

> After resting, I partook of the Chandala meals served on animal-skin seats—meals that had been collected in abundance, like heaps of sinful deeds.

> Those words of affection I heard were seeds of endless sorrow; they were not at all pleasing, and they were thoroughly unpleasant.

> Then, on a certain day when the sky was clear and the stars were visible, amid all those excited preparations and the offerings of clothes and wealth,

> That girl, who inspired fear, was given to me by him. She was very dark, black in complexion, like the torment that follows an evil deed.

> All around, the dog-eaters shouted loudly in great excitement, reeking of strong liquor; with beaten drums and joyful display they seemed like great heaps of sin themselves.

Detailed Summary of the Teachings:

These verses form part of a larger story in which a king recounts how, under the pressure of extreme circumstances, he abandoned all consideration of caste, family tradition and social duty. The teaching begins by showing that when survival or intense desire is at stake, the ordinary rules of varna and kula are quickly set aside. The king’s ready agreement to marry an outcaste woman illustrates how fragile social conventions become once personal need overrides them.

The episode next describes the king’s complete immersion in a life he would normally regard as impure and degrading. He accepts food from a Chandala household, rests in that environment, and allows his mind to be overtaken by delusion. The text thereby demonstrates how quickly the discriminating intellect can be clouded when one repeatedly associates with what is considered low or impure. The senses and the mind gradually accept what was once repulsive.

A further teaching concerns the power of attachment and the company one keeps. The woman, described as dark and fearful, draws the king deeper into that world; her words of affection become seeds of endless sorrow. The verses warn that even pleasant-sounding expressions of love, when rooted in a base or deluded context, plant the causes of future suffering. Attachment born of ignorance does not liberate; it binds more tightly.

The narrative then moves to the formalization of the union amid the noisy celebrations of the Chandala community. The atmosphere of liquor, drums and wild excitement is presented as the outer reflection of inner disorder. The king’s participation in this scene underscores that once one has crossed certain moral and social boundaries, the surrounding environment itself reinforces and multiplies the original error. Sinful associations tend to grow into larger heaps of misconduct.

Finally, the entire passage serves as a cautionary illustration within the larger philosophical framework of Yoga Vasistha. It shows how a single decision made under delusion can lead a person of high status into progressive degradation, how the mind loses its clarity step by step, and how the consequences of such choices appear as both inner torment and outer chaos. The teaching is that true discrimination must be maintained even in crisis; otherwise the soul sinks into conditions that multiply sorrow rather than remove it.