The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
THE
YOGA-VASISHTHA
MAHARAMAYANA
OF
VALMIKI
Containing
The Nirvana-Prakarana, Uttaradha
Translated from the original Sanskrit
By
VIHARI-LALA MITRA
CHAPTER CVI.
INVALIDATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT.
Argument:--Arguments in proof of the intellectual vacuum,
and the
representation of the world therein.
Ráma said:--Tell me again, O Venerable sir, how is
intellectual
vacuity which you say to be the entity of
Brahma; because I am never satiate to hear the holy
words,
distilling as ambrosia from your lips.
2. Vasishtha replied:--I have fully explained to you that
the two states of sleeping and waking imply the
samething[**same thing];
as
the twin vertues[**virtues] of composure and
self-controul[**control] are
both the
same, though they are differentiated by two names.
3. There is in reality none difference of them, as there
is none
between two drops of water; they are both the one and
same
thing, as the vacuous essence of Brahma and the
Intellect.
4. As a man travelling from country to country, finds his
self consciousness to be every where the same; so and the
very
same is the Intellect, which dwells within himself in its
vacuous
form, and is styled the intellectual sphere.
5. This intellectual sphere is as clear, as the etherial
sky;
wherein the earthly arbours display their verdure, by
drawing
the moisture of the earth by their roots. (This passage
rests
on a text of the Sruti; and means that-the[**that the]
intellectual sphere
of men as the sky of trees is always clear, though they
live upon
the sap of earth).
6. Again the intellectual sphere is as calm and quiet, as
the
mind of a man, who is free from desires and is at rest in
himself;
and whose composure is never disturbed by anything.
7. Again the intellectual sphere is like the quiet state
of
am;[**a man?] who had got rid of his busy cares and
thoughts, reposes
himself at ease; before he is lulled to the insensibility
of his
sleep.
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[** unclear portions of the page compared to print]
8. Again as trees and plants growing in their season,
rise
in and fill the sky, without being attached to it; such
also is
intellectual sphere, which is filled by rising worlds
after worlds,
without being touched by or related to any.
9. Again the intellectual sphere, is as clear as the
cloudless
sky; and as vacant as the mind of the saintly man, which
is
wholly purified from the impressions of visibles, and its
thoughts
and desires are about any thing in the world.
10. The intellectual state is as steady as those of the
stable
rocks and trees; and when such is the state of the human
mind, it is then said to have attained its
intellectuality; (or else
its restless state is called the active mind and not the
intellect).
11. The intellectual chasm, which is void of the three
states
of the view, viewer and visibles, (or the subjective and
objective);
is said to be devoid also of all its modality and change.
(It means the imperceptibility of soul).
12. That is called the intellectual sphere, where the
thought
of the various kinds of things, rise and last and set by
turns,
without making any effect of change in its immutable
nature.
13. That is said to be the intellectual sphere, which
embraces
all things, and gives rise to and becomes everything
itself;
and which is permeated throughout all nature for ever.
14. That which shines resplendent in heaven and earth,
and
in the inside and outside of everybody with equal blaze;
is said
to be the vacuity of the intellect.
15. It extends and stretches through all, and bends
altogether,
connected by its lengthening chain to infinity; and the
vacuity of the intellect envelops the universe, whether
it rises
before us an entity or non-entity.
16. It is the intellectual vacuum which produces
everything,
and at last reduces all to itself; and the changes of
creation and dissolution, are all the working of this
vacuity.
(But how can the vacuous nothing produce any thing from
itself or reduce any into it; (Ex
nihilum[**nihilo][**space added] nihil fit,
et in
nihilo nihil reverti posse[**F1/F2: italics end here];
there the whole
universe is a void
nothing).[** last 2 lines supplied from printed copy]
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17. The vacuity of the intellect produces the world, as
the
sleeping state of the mind, presents its sights in our
dream;
and as the dream is dispersed in our deep sleep, so the
waking
dream of the world is vanished from view, upon
dispersipon[**dispersion]
of
its fallacy from the mind.
18. Know the intellectual vacuum to be possessed of its
intellection, and as quiet and composed in its nature;
and it
is by a thought of it, as by twinkling or winking of the
eye,
that the world comes to exist and disappear by turns.
(Manu
calls these the waking and sleeping states of the soul,
and as
causes of the existence and inexistence of the world).
19. The intellectual Vacuum is found in the
disquistions[**disquisitions]
of
all the sástras, to be what is neither this nor that nor
any thing
any where; and yet as all and everything in every place
and at
all times. (i. e. Nothing concrete, but every thing in
the
abstract).
20. As a man travelling from country to country, retains
his consciousness untravelled in himself; so the
intellect always
rests in its place in the interim, though the mind passes
far and
farther in an instant.
21. The world is full of the intellect, both as it is or
had
ever been before; and its outward sight being dependent
on
its ideas in the mind, gives it the form and figure as
they appear
unto us.
22. It is by a slight winking of its eye, that it assumes
and
appears in varied shapes; though the intellect never
changes
its form, nor alters the clearness of its vacuous sphere.
23. Look on and know all these objects of sense, with thy
external and internal organs, and without any desire of
thine
for them; be ever wakeful and vigilent[**vigilant] about
them, but remain
as quite sleepy over them.
24. Be undesirous of any thing and indifferent in your
mind,
when you speak to any one, take any thing or go any
where;
and remain as deadly cold and quiet, as long as you have
to
live.
25. But it is impossible for you to remain as such, so
long as
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you fix your eyes and mind on the visibles before you;
and continue
to view the mirage of the world, and look upon its
duality rising as two moon[**moons] in the sky.
26. Know the world to be no production from the
beginning;
because the want of its prior cause prevents its
sequence;
and there is no possibility of a material creation,
proceeding
from an immaterial causality.
27. Whatever appears as existent before you, is the
product
of a causeless cause; it is the appearance of the
transcendent
One, that appears visible to you. (The world is the
visible
form of the invisible One).
28. The world as it stands at present, is no other than
its
very original form; and the same undual[**non-dual] and
undivided pure
soul appears as a duality, as the disc of the moon and
its halo
present its two aspects to us.
29. Thus the strong bias, that we have contracted from
our
false notion of the duality; has at last involved us in
the error
of taking the false fortune, as to believe the shadow of
a dream
for reality.
30. Therefore the phenomenal world is no real production,
nor does it actually exist or is likely ever to come to
existence;
it is likewise never annihilated, because it is
impossible for a
nihility to be nil again.
31. Hence that thing which is but a form of the serene
vacuum, must be quiet calm and serene also; and this
being
exhibited in the form of the world, is of its own nature
quite
clear and steady, and imperishable to all eternity. (The
Beovyom
or vacuum being a void, cannot be annulled to a nullity
again).
32. It is nothing what is seen before us, nor ought that
is
visible, is ever reliable as real; neither also is there
ever a
viewer for want of visible, nor the vision of a thing
without
its view.
33. Ráma rejoined:--If it is such, then please to explain
moreover, O most eloquent sir, the nature of the
visibles, their
view, and viewer; and what are these that thus appear to
our
view.
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34. Vasishtha replied:--There being no assignable cause,
for the appearance of the unreal visibles; their vision
is but a
deception, and yet it[**is] maintained as true by the
dogmatism of
opponents.
35. Whatever there appears as visible to the vision of
the
viewer, is all fallacy and offspring of the great
delusion of
Máyá only. But the world in its recondite sense, is but a
reflexion of the Divine mind.
36. The intellect is awake in our sleeping state, and shows
us the shapes in our dream, as the sky exhibits the
various in
its ample garden; thus the intellect manifests itself in
the
form of the world in itself.
37. Hence there is no formal cause or self evolving
element,
since the first creation of the world; and that sparkles
any
where before us, is only the great Brahma Himself (not in
his
person or formless form, but in his spirit or
intellectuality).
38. It is the sunshine of the Intellect within its own
hollow
sphere, that manifests this world as a reflexion of his
own
person.
39. The world is an exhibition of the quality, of the
unqualified vacuity of the Intellect; as existence is the
quality
of existent beings, and as vacuity is the property of
vacuum,
and as form is the attribute of a material substance.
40. Know the world as the concrete counterpart, of the
discrete attribute of the transcendent glory of god; and
as
the very reflexion of it, thus visibly exposed to the
view of its
beholders.
41. But there being in reality no duality whatever, in
the
unity of the Divinity; He is neither the reflector nor
the
reflexion himself; say who can ascertain what he is, or
tell
whether he is a being or not being, or a something or
nothing.
42. Ráma rejoined:--If so it be as you say, that the Lord
is neither the reflector nor reflexion, and neither the
viewer
nor the view (i. e. if he is neither the prototype nor
its likeness,
and neither the subjective nor objective); then say what
is
the difference between the cause and effect, what is the
source
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of all these, and if they are unreal why do they appear
as
realities.
43. Vasishtha replied:--Whenever the Lord thinks on the
manifestation of his intellect, He beholds the same at
the
very moment, and then becomes the subjective beholder of
the
objects of his own thought.
44. The intellectual vacuum itself assumes the form of
the
world, as the earth becomes a hill &c[**.] by itself;
but it never
forgets itself for that form, as men do in their dream.
Moreover
there is no other cause to move it to action, except its
own
free will.
45. As a person changing his former state to a new one,
retains his self consciousness in the interim, so the
Divine Intellect
retains its identity, in its transition from prior vacuum
to its subsequent state of the plenum.
46. The thought of cause and effect, and the sense of the
visible and invisible, proceed from errors of the mind
and defects
of vision; it is the erroneous imagination that frames
these worlds, and nobody questions or upbraids himself
for his
error. The states of cause and effect, and those of the
visible
and invisible &c[**.], are mere phantoms of error,
rising before the
sight of the living soul and proceeding from its
ignorance, and
then its imagination paints these as the world, and there
is
nobody that finds his error or blame himself for his
blunder.
47. If there be another person, that is the cause,
beholder
and enjoyer of these; (other than the supreme one) then
say
what is that person, and what is the phenomenal, that is
the
point in question; or it is liable to reproof.
48. As the state of our sleep presents us only, an
indiscernible
vacuity of the Intellect, (which watches alone over the
sleeping world); how then is it possible to represent the
One
soul as many, without being blamed for it.
49. It is the self-existent soul alone, which presents
the
appearance of the world in the intellect; and it is the
ignorance
of this truth, which has led to the general belief of the
creation of the world by Brahmá.
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50. It is ignorance of this intellectual phenomenon,
which
has led mankind to many errors, under the different names
of
illusion or máyá, of ignorance or avidyá, of the phenomenal
or
drisya, and finally of the world or jagat.
51. The manifestation in the intellectual vacuum, takes
possession of the mind like a phantom; which represents
the
unreal world as a reality before it, as the false phantom
of
[**add: a] ghost, takes a firm hold on the mind of an
infant.
52. Although the world is an unreality, yet we have a
notion
of it as somthing[**something] real in our empty
intellect; and this is
no other than the embodiment of a dream, which shows us
the
forms of hills and cities in empty air.
53. The intellect represents itself as a hill or a Rudra,
or as
a sea or as the God Viráj himself; just [**add: as] a man
thanks[**thinks]
in his
dream, that he sees the hills and towns in his empty
mind.
54. Northing[**Nothing] formal that has any form, can be
the result
of a formless cause (as god); hence the impossibility of
the
existence of the solid world, and of its formal causes of
atomic
elements, at the great annihilation both prior to
creation,
as also after its dissolution. It is therefore evident,
that
the world is ever existent in its ideal form only in the
Divine Mind,[**typo .]
55. It is a mere uncaused existence, inherent in its
vacuous
state in the vacuous Mind: and what is called the world,
is no more than an emptiness appertaining to the empty
Intellect.
56. The minds of ignorant people are as glassy mirrors,
receiving the dim and dull images of things set before
their
senses; but those of reasoning men are as clear
microscopes,
that spy the vivid light of the the Divine Mind that
shines
through all. (This light is called Pratyagnánátma or the
nooscopic[**noospheric?]
appearance of Divine soul).
57. Therefore they are the best of men, who shun the
sight
of visible forms; and view the world in the light of
intellectual
vacuity; and remain as firm as rocks in the meditation of
the
steady Intellect, and place no faith or reliance on
anything else.
58. The Intellect shows the revolution of the world in
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itself by its incessant act of airy intellection; as the
sea displays
its circuition throughout the watery world, by the
continual
rotation of its whirlpools.
59. As the figurative tree of our desire, produces and
yields our wished for fruits in a moment, so the intellect
presents
every thing before us, that is thought of in an instant.
(It is the subjective mind, that shows the objects of its
thought
within itself).
60. As the mind finds in itself, its wished for gem and
the fruit of its desire; in the same manner doth the
internal
soul, meet with its desired objects in its vacuous self
in a
minute.
61. As a man passing from one place to another, rests
calmly in the interim; such is the state of the mind in
the
interval of its thoughts, when it sees neither the one nor
another thing.
62. It is the reflection of the Intellect only, which
shines
clearly in variegated colours, within the cavity of its
own
sphere; and though devoid of any shape or colour, yet it
exhibits itself like the vacuity of the sky, in the
blueness of
the firmament.
63. Nothing unlike can result from the vacuous Intellect,
other than what is alike inane as itself; a material
production requires a material cause, which is wanting in
the
Intellect; and therefore the created world is but a
display of
the Divine Mind, like the appearance of dreams before our
sleeping minds.
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[** unclear portions of the page compared to print]
CHAPTER CVII.
THE NATURE OF IGNORANCE OR ILLUSION OF THE MIND.
Argument:--Proof of the cosmos as the
reflextion[**reflexion] of the gem
of the
Intellect, and the Immateriality of the objective
material world.
Vasishtha continued:--The world is the subjective
Intellect and inborn in it, and not the objective which
is perceived from without. It is the empty space of the
Intellect
which displays the noumenals in itself, and here the
tripate[**tripart/tripartite]
or the triple state of the Intellect, its intellection
and the
chetya or intellectual combine together. (i. e. The
thinking
principle, its thinking and thoughts all unite together).
2. Here in its ample exhibition, all living beings are
displayed
as dead bodies; and I and you, he and it, are all
represented
as lifeless figures in a picture.
3. All persons engaged in active life, appear here as
motionless
blocks of wood, or as cold and silent bodies of the dead;
and all moving and unmoving beings, appear to be seeing
here as in the empty air.
4. The sights of all things are exposed here, like the
glare
of the chrystaline[**chrystalline] surface of the sky;
and they are to be
considered
as nothing, for nothing substantial can be contained in
the hollow mind.
5. The bright sun-beams and the splashing waves, and the
gathering vapours in the air; present us with forms of
shining
pearls and gems in them, but never does any one rely on
their reality[**=print].
6. So this phenomenon of the world, which appears in the
vacuum of the Intellect; and seems to be true to the
apprehension
of every body, yet it is never relied on by any one.
7. The Intellect is entangled in its false fancies, as a
boy
is caught in his own hobby; and dwells on the errors of
unreal
material things rising as smoke before it.
8. Say ye boys, what reliance can you place on your
egoism
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and meity, so as to say "this is I and that is
mine." Ah, well
do I perceive it now, that it is the pleasure of boys, to
indulge
themselves in their visionary flights.
9. Knowing the unreality of the earth and other things,
men are yet prone to pass their lives in those vanities
and in
their ignorance of truth, they resemble the miners, who
instead
of digging the earth in search of gold, expect it to fall
upon
them from heaven.
10. When the want of prior and co-ordinate causes, proves
a priori the impossibility of the effect; so the want of
any
created thing, proves a posteriori the inexistence of a
causal
agent. (i. e. there is no creation nor its creator
likewise).
11. They, who deal in this uncreated world, with all the
unreal
shadows of its persons and things; are as ignorant as
madman[**madmen], who take a hobby to nourish their
unborn or dead
offspring.
12. Whence is this earth and all other things, by whom
are they made, and how did they spring to sight; it is
the
representation of the Intellectual vacuum, which shines
in
itself, and is quite calm and serene.
13. The minds of those that are addicted to fancy to
themselves,
a causality and its effect, and their time and place; are
thus inclined to believe in the existence of the earth,
but we
have nothing to do with their puerile reasoning.
14. The world whether it is considered as material or
immaterial,
is but a display of the intellectual vacuum; which
presents all these images like dreams to our minds, and
as the
empty sky shows its hues and figures to our eyes.
15. The form of the vacuous intellect is without a form,
and it is only by our percipience that we have our
knowledge of
it; it is the same which shows itself in the form of the
earth &c[**.], and the subjective soul appears as the
subjective
world to our sight.
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CHAPTER CVIII.
DESCRIPTION OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND IGNORANCE OF
THE SOUL.
Argument:--The Knowledge of the objective continuing with
ignorance of the subjective and the story of the wise
prince
vipaschit[**V-],
attacked by his rude enemies.
Ráma rejoined:--He whose mind is bound by his ignorance,
to the bright vividness of visible phenomenal;
views the palpable scenes of the nonmenal[**noumenal], as
mere his
idle dreams[**space added], and as visionary as empty
air.
2. Now, O sage, please to tell me again, the nature and
manner of this ignorance of the noumenal; and to what
extent
and how long, does this ignorance of the spiritual bind
fast a
man.
3. Vasishtha replied:--Know Ráma, those that are besotted
by their ignorance, think this earth and the elementary
bodies, to be as everlasting as the[**they] believe
Brahma to be. Now
O Ráma! hear a tale on this subject.
4. There is in some corner of the infinite space, another
world with its three locas[**lokas] of the upper and
lower regions, in
the manner of this terrestial[**terrestrial] world.
5. There is a piece of land therein, as beautiful as this
land
of ours; and is called the sama bhumi or level land,
where all
beings had there[**their] free range.
6. In a city of that place, there reigned a prince well
known for his learning, and who passed his time in the
company
of the learned man of his court.
7. He shone as handsome as a swan in a lake of lotuses,
and as bright as the moon among the stars; he was as
dignified
as the mount
Meru or polar pinnacle
among mountains, and
he presided over his council as its president.
8. The strain of bards, fell short in the recital of his
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praises, and he was a firm patron of poets and bards, as
a
mountain is the support of its refugees.
9. The prosperity of his valour flourished day by day,
and
streatched[**stretched] its lustre to all sides of the
earth; as the blooming
beauty of lotus blossoms, under the early beams of the
rising
sun, fills the landscape with delight every morning.
10. That respectable prince of Brahmanic faith, adored
fire as the lord of gods, with his full faith; and did
not recognize
any other god as equal to him; (Because agni is said to
be the Brahma or father of the gods).
11. He was beset by conquering forces, consisting of
horse,
elephants and foot soldiers; and was surrounded by his
councillors,
as the sea is girt by his whirlpools and rolling waters.
12. His vast and unfinching[**unflinching] forces, were
employed in the
protection of the four bounderies[**boundaries] of his
realm; as the four
seas serve to gird the earth on all its four sides.
13. His capital was as the nave of a wheel, the central
point of the whole circle of his kindgom[**kingdom]; and
he was as
invincible
a victor of his foes, as the irresistible discus of
Vishnu.
14. There appeared to him once a shrewd herold[**herald],
from the
eastern borders of his state; who approached to him in
haste,
and delivered a secret message that was not pleasing unto
him.
15. Lord! may thy realm be never detached, which is
bound fastly by thy arms, as a cow is tied to a tree or
post;
but hear me relate to you something, which requires your
consideration.
(The word go-Gr. ge.-Pers. gao-cow, means both
the earth and a cow and hence their mutual simile).
16. Thy chieftain in the east is snatched away from his
post, by the relentless hand of a fever where upon he
seems to
have gone to the regions of death, to conquer as it were,
the
god Yoma[**Yama] at thy behest.
17. Then as thy chief on the south, proceeded to quell
the[**=print]
borderers there abouts; he was attacked by hostile forces
who
poured upon him from the east and west, and killed by the
enemy.
18. Upon his death as the chieftain of the west,
proceeded
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with his army to wrest those provinces (from the hands of
the
enemy).
19. He was met on his way, by the combined forces of the
inimical princes of the east and south, who put him to
death
in his half way journey to the spot.
20. Vasishtha [**changed from Visishta] continued:--As he
was relating in
this wise,
another emissary driven by his haste, entered the
court-hall
with as great a rush, as a current of the deluging flood.
21. He represented saying:--O lord, the general of thy
forces on the north, is overpowered by a stronger
ememy[**enemy], and
is routed from his post, like an embankment broken down
and
borne away by the rushing waters.
22. Hearing so, the king thought it useless to waste
time,
and issuing out of his royal apartment, he bade as
follows.
23. Summon the princes and chiefs and the generals and
ministers, to appear here forth with in their full
armour; and
lay open the arsenal, and get out the horrible weapons
(of destruction).
24. Put on your bodies your armours of mail, and set the
infantry on foot; number the regiments, and select the
best
warriors.
25. Appoint the leaders of the forces, and send the
heralds
all around; thus said the king in haste, and such was the
royal behest.
26. When the warder appeared before him, and lowly
bending
down his head, he sorrowfully expressed;[**:] "Lord,
the chieftain
of the north is waiting at the gate, and expects like the
lotus to come to thy sunlike sight[**"].
27. The king answered:--Go thou quickly there, and get
him to my presence; that I may learn from his report the
sterling events of that quarter.
28. Thus ordered, the warder introduced the northern
chief to the royal presence; where he bent himself down
before
his royal lord, who beheld the chieftain in the following
plight.
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29. His whole body and every part and member of it, was
full of wounds and scars; it breathed hard and spouted
out
blood, and supported itself with difficulty.
30. While he with due obeisance, and faltering breath and
voice, and contortion of his limbs, delivered this hasty
message
to his sovereign.
31. The chieftain said;[**:]--My lord, the three other
chiefs
of the three quarters, with numerous forces under them,
have
already gone to the realms of yama[**Yama]
(pluto[**Pluto]), in their
attempt
to conquer death at thy behest: (i. e. to encounter the
enemies
on every side).
32. Then the clansmen finding my weakness, to defend thy
realms alone on this side, assembled in large numbers,
and
poured upon me with all their strength.
33. I have with great difficulty, very narrowly escaped
from them to this palace, all gory and gasping for life
as you
see; and pray you to punish the rebels, that are not
invincible
before your might.
34. Vasishtha continued:--As the yet alive and wounded
chieftain, had been telling his painful story in this
manner to
the king; there appeared on a sudden another person
entering
the palace after him, and speaking to the king in the
following
manner.
35. O sovereign of men, the hostile armies of your
enemies,
likening the shaking leaves of trees, have all beset in
great
numbers, the skirts of your kingdom, on all its four
sides.
36. The enemy has surrounded our lands, like a chain of
rocks all around; and they are blazing all about with
their
brandishing swords and spears, and with the flashing of
their
forest like maces and lances.
37. The bodies of their soldiers, with the flying flags
and
shaking weapons on them, appear as moving chariots upon
the
ground; while their rollig[**rolling] war cars, seem as
sweeping cities all
about.
38. Their uplifted arms in the air, appear as rising
forests
of fleshy arbours in the sky; and the resounding phalanx
of big
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elephants, seem as huge bodies of rainy clouds roaring on
high.
39. The grounds seeming to rise and sink, with the
bounding
and bending of their snoring horses; give the land an
appearance of the sea, sounding hoarsely under the
lashing
winds.
40. The land is moistened and whitened around, by the
thickening froth fallen from the mouths of horses; and
bears
its resemblance to the foaming main, fell with its salt
spray
all over.
41. The groups of armed armaments in the field, resemble
the warlike array of clouds in the sky; and likens to the
huge
surges, rising upon the surface of the sea, troubled by
the gusts
of the deluge.
42. The weapons on their bodies, and their armours and
coronets, are shining forth with a flash that equals the
flame
and fire of thy valour.
43. Their battle array, in the forms of circling
crocodiles and
long stretching whales; resemble the waves of the sea,
that
toss about these marine animals upon the shore.
44. Their lines of the lancers &c[**.], are advancing
with one
accord against us; and flashing with their furious rage
and fire,
are uttering and muttering their invectives to us.
45. It is for this purpose, that I have come to report
these
thing[**things] to my lord, so that you will deign to
proceed in battle
array to the borders, and drive these insurgents as weeds
from
the skirts.
46. Now my lord, I take leave of you, with my bow and
arrows and club and sword as I came, and leave the rest
to your
best discretion.
47. Vasishtha added:--Saying so, and binding lowly to his
lord, the emissary went out forthwith; as the undulation
of
the sea disappears, after making a gurgling noise.
48. Upon this the king with his honorable ministers, his
knights and attendants and servants; together with his
cavalry
and charioteers, the men and women and all the citizens
at large
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were struck with terror; and the sentinels of the palace,
trembled
with fear, as they shouldered their arms and
weilded[**wielded] their
weapons, which resembled a forest of trees shaken by a
hurricane.
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CHAPTER CIX.
FIGHTING WITH THE INVADING ARMIES AT THE GATE
OF THE CITY.
Argument:--Adopting ways and means to quell the
disturbances of the
hostile enemies.
Vasishtha continued:--In the mean while, the assembled
ministers advanced before the king, as the sages of
yore resorted to the celestial Indra, being invaded by
the
Daityas-[**--]Titans around.
2. The ministers addessed[**addressed]:--Lord! We have
consulted and
ascertained, that as the enemy is irresistible by any of
the three
means (of peace, dissension and bribe or concession);
they must
be quelled by force or due punishment.
3. When the proffer of amity is of no avail, and the
offer of
hostages doth also fail; it is useless to propose to
them, any
other term for a reconciliation.
4. Vile enemies that are base and barbarous, that are of
different countries and races, that are great in number
and
opulence; and those that are acquainted with our weakness
and weak parts; are hardly conciliated by terms of peace
or
subsidy.
5. Now there is no remedy against this insurrection, save
by showing our valour to the enemy; wherefore let all our
efforts be directed, towards the strengthening of our
gates and
ramparts.
6. Give orders to our bravos to sally out to the field,
and
command the people to worship and implore the protection
of
the gods; and let the generals give the war alarm with
loud
sounding drums and trumpets.
7. Let the warriors be well armed, and let them rush to
the
field; and order the soldiers to pour upon the plains in
all directions,
as the dark deluging clouds inundate the land.
8. Let the out stretched bows rattle in the air, and the
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bowstrings twang and clang all around; and let the
shadows
of curved bows, obscure the skies as by the clouds.
9. Let the thrilling bow strings, flash as flickering
lightnings
in the air, and the loud war whoop of the soldiers, sound
as the growling clouds above; let the flying darts and
arrows
fall as showers of rain, and make the combatants glare,
with
the sparkling gold rings in their ear.
10. The king said:--Do you all proceed to the battle, and
do promptly all what is necessary on this occasion; and I
will
follow you straight way to the battle field, after
finishing my
ablution and the adoration of Agni-[**--]the fiery god.
11. Notwithstanding the important affairs, which waited
on the king; yet he found a moments[**moment's] respite
to bathe, by
pouring potfuls of pure gangá[**Gangá] water upon him, in
the manner
of a grove watered by a showering of rain water.
12. Then having entered his fire temple, he worshipped
the holy fire with as much reverence, as it is enjoined
in the
sástras; and then began to reflect in himself, in the
following
manner.
13. I have led an untroubled and easy life, passing in
pleasure
and prosperity; and have kept in security all the
subjects
of my realm streching[**stretching] to the sea.
14. I have subdued the surface of the earth, and reduced
my enemies under my foot; and have filled the smiling
land
with plenty, under the bending skies on all sides.
15. My fair fame shines in the sphere of heaven, like the
clear and cooling beams of the lunar orb; and the plant
of
my renown, stretches to the three worlds, like the three
branches
of gangá[**Gangá].
16. I have lavished my wealth, to my friends and
relatives,
and to respectable Brahmans; in the manner, as I have
amassed my treasures for myself; and I quenched my thirst
with the beverage of the cocoanut fruits, growing on
edges of
the four oceans. (That is to say:--his realms were
[Sanskrit:
chaturábdisimá]
or bounded by the four oceans on all sides).
17. My enemies trembled before me for fear of their
lives,
and they groaned before me as croaking frogs with their
dis-*
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tended pouches, and my rule extended over and marked the
mountains, situated in the islands amidst the distant
seas.
18. I have roved with bodies of siddhas, over the nine
regions
beyond the visible horizon; and I have rested on the tops
of bordering mountains, like the flying clouds that rest
on
mountain tops.
19. With my full knowing mind, and my perfection in
Divine meditation; I have acquired my dominions entire
and
unimpared[**unimpaired], by cause of my good will for the
public weal.
(It
means the prince's high attainments in spiritual,
intellectual
as well as territorial concerns).
20. I have manacled the lawless Rákshas[**Rákshasas], in
strong chains
and fetters; and kept my cares of religious duties, and
those
of my treasures and personal enjoyments within proper
bounds,
and without telling them clash with one another.
21. I have passed my life time, in the uninterrupted
discharge
of those triple duties of mine; and have relished my
life with great joy and renown. But now hoary old age
hath
come upon me, like the snow and frost fallen upon the
withered
leaf and dried straw.
22. Now hath old age come, and blasted all my pleasures
and
efforts; and after all, these furious enemies have
overpowered
upon me, and are eager for warfare.
23. They have poured upon me in vast numbers on all
sides,
and the victory is doubtful; it is therefore better for
me to
offer myself as a sacrifice, to the god of this burning
fire, which
is known to crown its worshipper with victory.
24. I will pluck this head of mine, and make an offering
of
it to the Fire-god (as a fit fruit to shrine; and
say;[**:]--O Igneous
god, I make here an offering of my head to thee).
25. I give this offering, as I have ever before given my
oblations to fire; therefore accept of this also, O god,
if thou
art pleased with my former offerings.
26. Let the four urns of thy fiery furnace, yield four
forms
of mine, with brilliant and strong bodies, like that of
Náráyana,
with his mighty arms.
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27. Thus will I be enabled, with those four bodies of
mine,
to met[**meet] my enemies on all the four sides; and be
invulnerable
like thyself, by keeping my thought and sight, ever fixed
in
thee.
28. Vasishtna[**Vasishtha] replied:--So saying, the king
took hold of
a dagger in his hand; and separated the head from his
body
with one blow of it, as boys tear off a lotus bud from
the
stalk with their nails. (In many instances, the head is
mentioned
to be torn off by the nails)[**.]
29. As the head became an oblation, to the fire of dusky
fumes; the headless trunk of the self-immolated[**hyphen
added]
soverign[**sovereign],
sprang and flew also upon the burning furnace.
30. The sacred fire, being fed with the fat and flesh of
the royal carcass; yielded forth with four such living
bodies,
from amidst its burning flames; as it is the nature of
the good
and great, to make an instantaneous of four fold, of what
they
receive in earnest.
31. The king sprang from amidst the fire, in his fourfold
forms of his kingly appearance, and these were as
luminous
with their effulgence, as the radiant body of Náráyana,
when
it rose at first from the formless deep. (The spirit of
god rising
over the surface of the deep).
32. These four bodies of the king, shone forth with their
resplendent lustre; and were adorned with their inborn
decorations
of the royal crown and other ornaments and weapons.
(The fire born form allude to the Agniculas or fiery
races of
men)[**.]
33. They had their armours and coronets on, together with
helmets, bracelets and fittings for all and every part of
the
body; and necklaces and ear-rings hang[**hung] upon them
as they
moved along.
34. All the four princes were of equal forms, and of
similar
shapes and sizes in all the member of their bodies; and
were
all seated on horse back, like so many Indras riding on
their
Uchai-srava horses: (having their ears pricked up, as in
the
plight of their heavenward flight).
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35. They had their long and capacious quivers, full with
arrows of golden shafts; and their ponderous bows and
bowstrings,
were equally long and strong with the god of war.
36. They rode also on elephants and steeds, and mounted
on their war-cars and other vehicles in their warfare;
and were
alike impregnable by the arms of the enemy, both
themselves
as well as the vehicles they rode upon.
37. They sprang from the bosom of the sacred fire, as the
flames of the submarine fire, rise from amidst the ocean,
by
being nourished with the oblations that were offered upon
it.
38. Their flowery bodies on jewelled horses, made
resplendant[**resplendent]
on all sides as four smiling faces of the moon; and
their good figures looked lik[**like] Hara-Hari, as if
they have come
out from fire and water.
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CHAPTER CX.
BATTLE OF THE WISE PRINCES, WITH THE IGNORANT
BARBARIAN.
Argument:--Description of the warfare before the city
gates, betwixt
the Royal armies and the Rude Invaders of the Realm.
Vasishtha continued:--In the mean time the battle
was raging in its full fury, between the royal forces,
and
the hostile bands that had advanced before the city
gates.
2. Here the enemies were plundering the city and
villages,
and there they set fire to the houses and hamlets; the
sky
was obscured by clouds of smoke and dust, and the air was
filled by loud cries of havoc and wailing on every side.
3. The sun was obscured by the thickening shadow, of the
network of arrows spread over the skies; and the disk of
the
sun now appeared to view: and was then lost to sight the
next
moment.
4. The burning fire of the incendiaries, set to flame the
leaves of the forest trees; and the fire brands of
burning wood,
were falling as loosely all around, as the iron sleets of
arrow
breast were hurling through the air.
5. The flame of the blazing fire, added a double lustre,
to
the burnished and brandishing weapons; and the souls of
the
great combatants falling in battle, are borne aloft to
the regions
of Indra, where they were ministered by the heavenly
nymphs.
6. The Thundering peals of fierce elephants, excited the
bravery of bravados: and missile weapons of various
kinds,
were flung about in showers.
7. The loud shouts and cries of the combatants, depressed
the spirits of dastardly cowards; and the hoary clouds of
dust flying in the air, appeared as elephants
intercepting
the paths of the midway skies.
8. Chieftains eager to die in the field, were roving
about
-----File:
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with loud shouts; and men were falling in numbers here
and
there, as if stricken by lightnings in the battle field.
9. Burning houses were falling below, and fiery clouds
dropt from above; flying arrows in the form of rocks,
were
rolling on high; and descending upon and dispatching to
death, numbers of soldiers that were ready to die.
10. The gallopping[**galloping] horses in the field gave
it the appearance
of wavy ocean afar; and the crashing of the tusks of
fighting elephants, crackled like the clashing clouds in
air.
11. The shafts of the arrows of the combatants, filled
the
forts and its bastion; and the flashing of the same on
the top
of it, made a glare of fire around.
12. The dashing of one another in passing to and fro,
torn[**tore]
their garments into pieces, and the furling of flags in
open air
and the clashing of shield between combatants made a
pat-pat
noise all around.
13. The flash of the tusks of elephant, and the crash of
weapons dashing on stony rocks, and the loud uproar and
clangour of the battlefield, invited the elephants of
heaven to
join in the fray.
14. The flights of arrows, ran as rivers into the ocean
of
the sky; and the flying lances, swords and discuses,
which
were flung into the air, resembled the sharks and
alligators,
swimming in the etherial sea.
15. The concussion of the armours of the clamorous
combatants,
and the clashing of the arms in commingled warfare,
represented the sounding main beset by islands.
16. The ground was trodden down to a muddy pool, under
the feet of the foot soldiers; and the blood issuing out
of
their bodies from the wounds of the arrows, ran as river
carrying down the broken chariots and slain elephants in
its
rapid course.
17. The flight of the winged shafts, and the falling of
the
battle axes, resembled the waves of the arrowy sea in the
air;
and the broken arms of the vanquished, floated as aquatic
animals upon it,[**.]
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[** unclear portions of the page compared to print]
18. The sky was set on fire, by the flames issuing forth
from the clashing arms; and the celestial regions were
filled
with the deified souls of departed heroes, now released
from the fetters of their wrinkled and decaying frames of
earth.
19. Clouds of dingy dust and ashes filled the firmament,
with flashes of lightnings flaming as arches amidst them;
the
missile weapons filled the air, as the tractile arms
occupied
the surface of the earth.
20. The contending combatants hooted at one another,
and broke and cut their weapons in mutual contest; the
cars were cleft by clashing at each other, and the
chariots
were reft by dashing together.
21. Here the headless trunks of the kabandhas
(anthropophagi),
mingled with the gigantic bodies of the vetála demons,
were disastrous on every side; and there the demoniac
vetala
plucking their hearts for their hearty meal.
22. The bravos were tearing the arteries of the slain,
and
breaking asunder their arms, heads and thighs; while the
uplifted
and shaking arms of the Kabandhas, made a moving
forest in the air.
23. The demons moving about with their open and jeering
mouths, made their maws and jaws as caskets for carrions;
and
the soldiers passing with their helmets and coronets on,
looked
fiercely on all around.
24. To kill or die, to slay or to be slain, was the
soldier's
final glory in the field; as it was their greatest
infamy, to be
backward in their giving or receiving of wounds.
25. He is the gladdener of death, who dries up the boast
of
soldiers and chieftains, and drains the flowing ichor of
ferocious
elephants; (i. e. puts an end to them): and one who is
entirely
bent on destruction.
26. There were loud applauses given to the victory, of
unboasting
and unrenowned heroes; as there were the great
censures, which were poured upon the nameless and
dastardly
cowards.
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27. The rousing of the sleeping virtues of prowess and
others, is as glorious to the great and strong; as the
laying out
of their treasures, for the protection of their
proteges[**protégés].
28. The proboscides of the elephants, were broken in the
conflict of elephant riders and charioteers; and oozing
of the
fragrant fluid of ichor from their front, was altogether
at a stop.
29. Elephants left loose by their flying leaders, fell
into the
lakes, and cried like shrill storks in them; and here
they were
pursued and overcome by men who inflicted terrible wounds
upon them with their hands.
30. In some place the unprotected as well as the
uninvaded
people, being down trodden and half dead in their mutual
scuffle; fled to and fell at the feet of their king, as
the daytime
takes its shelter under the shining sun.
31. They being maddened by pride with the force of
giddiness,
became subject to death; (i. e. they called death, to be
re-born); as millionares[**millionaires] and traders seek
a better place in
dread
of their life.
32. The red coats of soldiers, and the red flags lifted
upon
their arms as a wood of trees; spread a rubicund colour
all
around, like the adoration of the three worlds.
33. White umbrellas, resembling the waves of the Milky
ocean, when churned by the Mandara mountain; covered the
weapons of the soldiers under them, and made the sky
appear
as a garden of flowers.
34. The eulogies of sung[**song] by the bards and
Gandharvas, added
to the valour of the warriors; and profluent liquor of
the tall
palma trees (i. e. the toddy juice), infused a vigour to their
veins, as that of Baladeva (who faught[**fought] dead
drunk in battle).
35. There was the clashing of arms of the Rákshasas, who
faught[**fought] together in bodies; who were as big as
lofty trees, and
fed on carcasses, with which they filled their abodes in
the
caverns of mountains.
36. There was a forest of spears rising to the sky on one
side, with the detached heads and arms of the slain
attached to
them; and there were the flying stones on another, which
were
-----File:
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flung from the slings of the combatants, and which
covered the
ground below.
37. There was the clapping of the arms and hands of the
champions, resembling the splitting and bursting of great
trees;
and there was heard also the loud wailings of women,
echoing
amidst the lofty edifices of the city.
38. The flight of fiery weapons in the air, resembled the
flying fire brands on high, with a hissing and whistling
sound;
and the people betook themselves to flight from these,
leaving
their homes and treasures all behind.
39. The lookers were flying away, from the flying darts
all
about, in order[**space added] to save their heads; just
as the timid snakes
hide themselves, for fear of the devouring phoenix,
darting
upon them from the sky.
40. Daring soldiers were grinded under tusks of
elephants,
as if they were pounded under the jaws of death, or as
the
grapes are crushed in their pressing mills.
41. The weapons flying in the air, were repelled and
broken
by the stones, flung by the ballistics; and the shouts of
the
chapions[**champions], resounded as the
reechoing[**re-echoing] yells of
elephants, issuing
out of the ragged coverns[**caverns].
42. The hollow sounding caves of mountains, resounded to
the loud shouts of warriors; who were ready to expose
their
dear lives and dearly earned vigour in the battle field.
43. The burning fire of firearms, and the flames of
incendiarism
flashed on all sides; these and mutual conflicts and
chariot fightings, went on unceasingly all around.
44. The battle field was surrounded by the surviving
soldiers, who were as stanch hearted as the mount Kailasa[**Kailása],
with
the strong god Siva seated therein.
45. The brave men[**space added] that boldly expose their
lives in battle,
enjoy a lasting life by their death in warfare, and die
in
their living state, by their flight from the field. (The
text is
very curt and says:--The brave live by dying, and die by
their living)[**.]
46. Big elephants being killed in the battle field, like
lotus
flowers immerging into the waters of lakes; great
champions
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were seen to stalk over the plains, as towering storks
strutted
on the banks of lakes.
47. Here showers of stones were falling in torrents, with
a
whizzing sound; and the showers of arrows, were running
with
a wistling[**whistling] noise around; and the uproar of
warriors were
growling
in the skies. The flying weapons were hurtling through
the air, and the neighing of horses, the cries of
elephants and
the whirling of chariot wheels, together with the hurling
of
stones from the height of hills, deafened the ears of men
all
about.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the
collection)
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