The
Yoga Vasishtha
Maharamayana
of Valmiki
The only complete English translation is
by Vihari Lala Mitra (1891).
CHAPTER LXXXVI.
THE PRODUCTION OF THE POT (OR THE EMBRYONIC CELL).
Argument.--The birth of the Brahman boy from the seed of
N疵ada,
preserved in a pot whereby he was call the pot-born, and
his education.
Chud疝a continues. It is the nature of everything in
the extensive world to be born in its own kind, (i. e.
the
similar only springs from the similar and nothing of a
dissimilar
kind); All persons and things continue to go on
in[**spaces added] it by
their
desires and tendencies, whether it be in the directions
of virtue
or vice or good or evil. (Nature is the invariable
quiddity of
a thing; but its desire or inclination is a variable
property or
quality of it).
2. When this desire or want of the mind of a man is
either
diminished or brought under his control, he is no longer
subject
to the acts of goodness or vice but becomes exempt both
from merit and demerit; and their consequences of
reiterated
births and deaths by the utter indifference. (Neutrality
in
action is the way to once[**one's] immanity[**inanity] in
both worlds.
This is
not a right rule since the commission of a good action is
as
commendable, as an omission in the discharge of duty is
held
culpable in law and morality).
3. Sikhidhwaja rejoined--O eloquent speaker! your words
are as full of sense as they are of great import to me,
they bespeak
your great penetration into the depths of wisdom.
4. My audience of the sweet exultance of your speech has
given me a satisfaction, equal to that of my draught of a
large
dose of the ambrosial water.
5. Now be pleased to give me a brief narration of the
story
of your birth and pedigree, and I will hear with all my
attention
your words of sound sense and wisdom.
6. Please sir to relate unto me, what the son of
lotus-Brahm・-the
venerable sage N疵ada; did with the seminal
strength, which unconsciously fell from him on the
ground.
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7. Chud疝・related--The muni then curbed back the
infurate[**infuriate]
elephant of his beastly mind by the strong bridle of
prudence;
and bound it fast in the iron chain of the great
intelligence.
8. His virile strength which was as hot as fire,
resembled
the molten moon melted down by the flame of the final
conflagration;
and as liquified as the fluid quick-silver or other
metallic solution.
9. The sage who had a water-pot of crystal stone fast by
his side, laid hold of the same and put the fluid semen
in it, in
the manner of his depositing the liquid moon-beams in the
disc
of the moon.
10. There was on one side of the mount of Meru, a
projected
rock with a deep cavern in it; the passage of which was
not
obstructed by the heaps of stones which lay before it.
11. The muni placed the pot inside that cave as the
embryo
is situated in the belly, and he filled the pot with milk
which
he produced by his will; as the lord of creation has
filled the
milky ocean with its watery milk. (The sages are said to
have
miraculous powers by force of their yoga).
12. The muni neglected his sacred offering and brooded
over the pot, as a bird hatches over its egg; and it was
in a course
of a month that the foetus grew up in the pot of milk, as
the
reflexion of the cresent[**crescent] moon increases in
the bosom of the
milky ocean.
13. At the end of the month the pot bore a full formed
foetus, as the orb of the moon becomes full in the course
of a
month; and as the season of spring produces the lotus bud
with
its blushing petals.
14. The foetus came out in the fullness of its time, and
with
the full possession of all the members of its body; as
the full
moon rises from the milky ocean without diminution of any
of its digits.
15. The body became fully developed in time, and the
limbs
were as beautiful as the horns of the moon;[**delete ';']
shine brightly in
the lighted fort-night.
16. After performance of the initiatory ceremonies, (of
tonsure
and investiture of the sacred thread); and the sage ins-*
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*tructed him in whatever he knew, as one pours out the
contents
of one vessel into another.
17. In course of a short time the boy became acquainted
with all the oral instructions (Vangmaya) of his father,
and
became an exact ectype of the venerable sage. (The best
son
likens his father).
18. The old sage became as illustrious with his brilliant
boy,
as the orb of the moon shines brightly with its train of
resplendent
stars.
19. Once on a time the sage N疵ada went to the
empyrian[**empyrean]
of his father Brahm・accompanied by his young progeny, and
there made his obeisance to the prime
proginetor[**progenitor] of
mankind.
20. The boy also bowed down before his grandsire, who
knowing him to be versed in the vedas and sciences; took
him
up and set him on his lap.
21. The lord Brahm・pronounced his blessings on the boy,
and knowing him to be born of the pot and acquainted with
the vedas; gave him the name of Kumbha or the pot.
22. Know me O hermit! to be the son of the sage N疵ada,
and grand son of the great lotus-born Brahm・himself; and
know[**known] by the appellation of Kumbha from my birth
into
the pot.
23. I have the four vedas for my companions and
playmates,
and I always delighted with their company; in the
heavenly
abode of my lotus-born grandsire the Divine Brahm・
24. Know the Goddess Sarasvat・to be my mother, and the
G痒atr・hymn as my maternal aunt; my habitation is in the
heaven of Brahm・where I dwell as the grand-child of the
lord
of creatures.
25. I wonder[**wander] at my pleasure, throughout[**space
removed] the
wide extended
world; I rove about with a soul full of felicity, and not
on any
errand or business whatever.
26. I walk over the earth without touching it with my feet,
and its flying dust do not approach my person; nor is my
body
ever fatigued in all its rambles. (The spiritual body is
intangible
and unwearied).
27. It happened this day, that I came to behold thy
hermi-*
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tage in the course of my etherial journey; and so
directed my
course this way, to see thee in this place. (This is the
substance
of my life, as I have now related unto thee).
28. Thus O forester! I have given you the whole account
of
my life as you have heard just now; because it is a
pleasure
to good people, to hold conversation with the good and
wise.
29. Valm勛i[**V疝m勛i] said:--As they were talking in this
manner
the day past away to its evening service, and the sun set
down
below the horizon; the court broke and every one repaired
to
his evening ablution, and met again with the rising sun
on the
next morning.
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CHAPTER LXXXVII.
CONTINUATION OF THE SAME AND ENLIGHTEMENT[** typo for
enlightenment] OF SIKHIDHWAJA.
Argument:--Sikhidhwaja's praise of Kumbha and expression
of his
sorrow, he turns to be a desciple of the same and
professes his faith in
the vedanta doctrines.
SIKHIDHWAJA said:--Sir[** ,] it appears to me that the
hoarded
merits of all my former lives, have brought you
today to my presence here; as an unforeseen hurricane drives
the waters of the sea on the dry mountain tops. (i.e. thy
speech is as cooling draught to my perished soul).
2. I reckon myself as highly blest among the blessed
today to be thus favoured by your presence, and cooled by
your speech distilling as ambrosial dews from your lips.
3. Never did a more sensible speech, touch and cool my
soul to such a degree as your's ere this; wherefore I
deem
your holy presence as more precious to me, than the
gaining
of a kingdom.
4. The unrestrained delight which is felt in general
(from
the words of the wise), which are free from self-interest
and
selfish motives; is far superior to the self-restricted
pleasure of
sovereignty, which is delightful once in imagination
only: (and
not in its actual possession).
5. Vasishtha said:--As the prince was uttering these
encomiums,
the Brahman boy Kumbha passed over them in
silence; and enterrupted him by saying:--
6. Chud疝・said:--Please put a stop, sir, to these words of
yours, and give me an account of yourself as I have given
mine
to you; and tell me who you are, and what you do in this
lonely mountain.
7. How long is it that you have passed in this forester's
life of yours, and what is your main object in view. Tell
me
the bare truth, because it is beyond the probity of an
ascetic,
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to utter anything but the plain troth. (The ascetics are
names
of satyabrata or vowed to truth).
8. Sikhidhwaja replied--Lord as you are the offspring of
a
God, everything must be well known to you; and as the
Gods are full well acquainted with the secrets and
circumstances
of all people, I have very little to relate to you about
me.
9. It is from my fear of the world (and its temptations),
that I have abandoned it and taken my abode amidst this
forest; and this though you well know, will I now briefly
state unto you.
10. I am sikhidhwaja the ruler of a country, which I have
long relinquished for a seat in the forest; and know O
knower
of all truths, that it is my fear of the trap-doors of
the world
and future transmigration in it, that has driven me to
this
retired wilderness.
11. It is no more than the reiteration of pain and
pleasure,
and of life and death in this accursed world; and it is
to evade
all these, that I have betaken myself to my austerities
in these
solitary woods.
12. I wander about on all sides, and perform my rigorous
austerities without any respite; and I give no rest to
myself,
but keep my vigils like a miser over his little stock.
13. I am without any effort or attempt, and so without
any
fruit and fruction also; I am lonely, and so helpless
likewise;
I am poor and therefore friendless also, and know me
Divine
personage! to be pining in this forest like a withered
tree
perforated by worms.
14. I observe strictly all my sacred rites without any
fail or falure, and yet I fall from one sorrow into a sea
of
sorrows; and have grown too pensive, that even the
ambrosial
draught is unpleasant to me.
15. Chud疝・said:--It was once on a time that I had my
great proginitor (Brahm・ to tell me which of the two, the
observance of duties or their non-observance for the sake
of
knowledge (i.e. whether practice or theoretical
knowledge); is
the more useful to and preferable by mankind.
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16. Brahm・replied:--Knowledge is no doubt the supreme
Good, as it leads to ones acquaintance with the unity of
the
Deity and the oneness of himself; but action is
inculcated to
man at the duty of his life, both for the pleasure and
passing of
his life time.
17. Let them that have not acquired their intellectual
light
and the sight of the soul, be employed in their duties by
their
offsprings and fellow creatures; for who that is devoid
of a silken
robe, will go about naked and not wrap himself with a
blanket
or coarse cloth.
18. The ignorant that are actuated by their desires and
live upon their hopes, meet with their objects as the
reward of
their action; but the knowing and speculative theorist,
having
neither any desire in his mind nor action of his body,
meets
with no reward of either.
19. An action without its object goes to naught and for
nothing, as the fruit bearing plants becomes fruitless
and die
away without being properly watered in their time. (There
it
is doubtful whether the comparison of watering refers to
the
desire or action. The gloss refers it to the action
without
which no desire is successful).
20. As the effect of a certain season on plants &c.,
is displaced
by that of the succeeding one; so the fruit of an action,
is frustated[**frustrated] by its want of its desire (of
the object).
21. As it is the nature of kusa-grass never to fructify,
though they bear the flowers in time; so my son, no
action can
produce any fruit without the desire of the main object
(as its
final cause). (Here chud疝・addresses her husband as her
son).
22. As the boy possest the idea of a ghost in his mind,
sees
the apparition of a devil before him; and as a sick man
having hypochondria of his malady, is soon attacked by
it: (so
everyone meets with what he has in his mind).
23. As the kusa grass presents the fair flowers to view,
without ever bearing their fruits; so does the
speculative theorist
mediate on the beauty of his theory, without producing
its
results by its practice.
24. Sikhidhwaja said.--But it is said that all human
desire
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is vain, and its accompanying egoism is a fallacy; and
that
they are the creatures of our ignorance, like our error
of a sea
in the burning sands of a desert.
25. So it is to the gnostic[** typo-is it
"agnostic"?] theist, whose ignorance
is altogether
removed by his knowledge of all things as the Divine
spirit; such a man of course has no desire rising in his
mind, as
there is no appearance of the sea in the sands before the
eyes
o｣ the wise.
26. It is by forsaking his desires, that a person is
freed
from his bonds of his disease and death; and his internal
soul
arriving to the perfection of the Deity, is exempted from
future
birth.
27. But know the human mind to be fraught with desires,
from which the learned few are only exempt; it is by
their
transcendental knowledge of the knowable one, that the
Divinely
wise alone are exempted from their regeneration in this
mortal
world.
28. Chud疝a replied--It is true, O princely sage! that
knowledge is said to be the chief good (summum bonum), by
the Gods Brahma and others and also by all sapient sages;
and
notwithstanding thy knowing of this, why is it that thou
remainest in this state of thy gross ignorance?
29. What mean these pots and staffs, these wooden stools
and those seats of kusa-grass; and why is it, O royal
prince! that
you delight in these false playings of fools?
30. Why is it that you do not employ your mind to inquire
into the questions as to what thou art, and how has this
world
came to existence, and how and when will cease to exist
(in your
consciousness of reality). Instead of making inquiries in
these
solemn truths, you are passing your time like the
ignorant in
your fooleries only?
31. Why dont you discuss about the natures of bondage
and liberation in the company of the learned, and pay
your
homage at their venerable feet?
32. Do you want, O prince to pass your life in the
discharge
of your painful austerities, as some insects finish their
days in
perforating the stones in which they live?
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33. You can easily obtain the delight you seek, if you
will
but betake yourself to the service of holy man; and keep
company with the tolerant and wise souls, arguing with
them
on spiritual subjects.
34. Or you may continue to remain in your grotto, in this
forest living on the simple food of holy men; and by
forsaking
the evil propensities of your mind, abide here as an
insect in a
hole under the ground.
35. Vasishtha related--Being thus awakened to sense by
his wife--the Divine boy--sikhidhwaja, melted into tears;
and
with his face baathed[** typo for bathed] in water, spoke
to the lad as
follows:--
36. Sikhidhwaja said:--O Divine child! it is after a long
time, that I am awakened by thee to my senses; and I
perceive
now that it was my weak-headedness, which drove me
from the society of respectable to this lonely forest.
37. Ah! I find now that my mind is purged to-day of its
endless sins, which has brought thee to my presence here,
and
remonstrate with me on my past misconduct.
38. O beautious boy! I deem thee henceforward as my
monitor and father and my best friend forever, and
acknowledge
myself as thy pupil; wherefore I bow down at thy feet and
pray thee to take piety[** typo for "pity"?] on
me.
39. Please admonish me now on the subject of Divine
knowledge,
as you are best acquainted with it; and whereby I may
be freed from all my sorrows, and be settled with perfect
peace
and bliss of my mind.
40. You said at first, that knowledge is the supreme
bliss or
summum bonum of mankind; now tell me, which is that
knowledge
which saves us from misery; whether it is the knowledge
of particulars which lead us to the acquaintance of
specials, or
that of the general which brings as to the trancendental.
(The
former is the inductive knowledge of ascenting[** typo
for "ascending"
from particulars
to the universal, and the latter is deductive knowledge
of deducing
everything from the primitive one).
41. Chud疝a replied:--I will tell thee prince as far as I
know about it, and what may be best acceptable to thee;
and
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not throw away my words in vain, like crowing ravens
about a
headless trunk.
42. Because the words that are uttered to the impertinent
questions of a person and not heeded by him, are thrown
in
vain; and become as useless to him, as her eye sight in
the dark.
43. Sikhidhwaja said:--Sir, your words are as acceptable
to
me as the ordinances[** typo corrected] of veda (gospel
truth); and though
you
utter them without previous meditation (extempore), yet I
have
full faith in them.
44. Chud疝a replied--As a boy[**
typo-"boys"-corrected] obeys the words
of his
father, knowing it to be pronounced for his certain good;
so
must you receive my words, (knowing them to tend to your
best welfare).
45. Think my advices to be all good for you, after you
hear them with proper attention; and hear unto my words,
as
you hear music without inquiring into their reason or
rhyme.
46. Hear me now relate to you an interesting story of a
certain person, whose conduct and character resembled in
every
way to thine; and who was brought back to his sense after
his
long aberration. This is a tale to dispel the worldly
cares and
fears of the intelligent.
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CHAPTER LXXXVIII.
THE TALE OF THE CRYSTAL GEM.
Argument:--The slipping of a precious stone in ignorance,
and picking
of a glossy glass in view of it.
CHUDﾁLA related:--There lived once a rich man, combined
with opposite qualities (of charity and penury) in his
character; as the sea contains the water and the
submarine fire
in its depth.
2. He was as skilled in arts, as he was practiced in
arms;
and was trained up in all dealings, as he was expert in
business.
But his great ambition in all his persuits[**spl.?], kept
him from
the knowledge of the most high. (His excess of
worldliness,
was a preventive to spiritual knowledge).
3. He employed all his endeavours to obtain the imaginary
gem of the philosopher's stone chinta mani, (by means of
his
pujas and prayers and other sacred rites); as the submarine
fire wants to devour the waters, and dries up the bed of
the sea.
4. His great avidity and persevering patience, succeeded
after a lapse of a long time to obtain the precious gem
at last;
because their is nothing which may not be effected by the
ardent zeal of man. (Omnia vincit labor).
5. He succeeded in his attempts by his unwearied labour,
joined with his firm resolution and well directed plan;
as the
meanest man is favoured with a fortune, by his employment
of
these means. (Fortune crowns all strenuous efforts with
success).
6. He saw the stone as lying before him, and ready to be
grasped in his hand; as a hermit sitting on the peak of a
mountain, thinks the rising moon as easy to be grasped by
his
hand. (Too ardent desire presents the shadow of the
object to
one's view).
7. He saw the brilliant gem before him, but became
mistrustful
of his sight and the reality of the object before it;
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as a poor man hearing of his sudden elevation to royalty,
mistrusts
the report and doubts its being meant for him.
8. He was then immerged in himself to think with
amazement
for a long time, he overlooked and neglected to lay hold
on his great gain, and kept dubitating[** ?] in his mind
in the following
manner.
9. Whether this stone is gem or not, and if so, whether
it be
the philosopher's stone or any other; shall I touch it or
not,
for I fear lest it fly away from my touch or be soiled by
it.
10. No one hath untill[** spl.?] this time obtained the
long sought
philosopher's stone, and if ever it was obtained by any
one, it
was, says the sastra, in his next life.
11. It is no doubt that my miserliness only, that makes
me
view aslant this brilliant gem before me with my eyes; as
a
purblind man sees a flashing fire-brand and deep-laid
moon in
the sky.
12. How could the tide of my fortune run so high at once,
that I should succeed so soon to obtain the precious
stone, that
is the pink and acme of perfection and productive of all
treasure.
13. There must be few and very few indeed of those
fortunate
men, who can expect their good fortune to court and wait
on them; at a little pains in a short time.
14. I am but a poor and honest man, and one possest[**
typo ?] of
very little qualification nor of any worth and account
among
mankind; and it is impossible that so miserable a wretch,
could
ever be blessed with these master piece of perfection.
15. The incredulous man hang for a long time in a state
of
[** duplicate "of" deleted]suspense, between
his certainty and uncertainty;
and was
infatuated by his mental blindness, that he did not even
stretch out[** space added] his hand to lay hold on the
jewel lying open
before
him.
16. Hence whatever is obtainable by anyone at any time,
is often missed and lost sight of by either his ignorance
or
negligence of it; as the precious gem in the parable,
which was
preferred and lay palpable in full view:[** typo for
"."?]
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17. As the undetermined man hang in the balance of his
suspicion, the precious gem flew away and vanished from
his
sight; as the merited man avoids his slighter, and as the
shaft
files[** typo for "flies"?] from its string or
the stone from its sling. (Fly
from the
fool as the arrow flies from the bow-string).
18. When prosperity appears to one, she confers on him
her
blessings of wisdom and prudence &c.; but as she
forsakes her
foolish votary, she deprives him of all his discretion.
(Such is
the case with this once wise and afterwards foolish
devotee
of prosperity).
19. The man tried again to invoke and recal[** typo for
"recall"?] the
precious
gem to his presence, because the persevering spirit is
never tired
to try again and again for his expected success.
20. He came to behold before him a brittle piece of
glass,
shining with its false glare as the former gem; and this
was
placed in his presence by the invisible hands of the
siddha that
had come to tempt him and deride his folly.
21. The fool thought this brittle thing to be the real
gem
now lying before him, as the ignorant sot believes the
sparkling
sands to be the dusts of the purest gold.
22. Such is the case with the deluded mind, that it
mistakes
the eight for six and a foe for a friend; it sees the
serpent in
the rope and views the desert land as the watery
expance[** spl.?], it
drinks the poison for the nectar and spies another moon
in the
sky in the reflexion of the true one.
23. He took up that sham trumpery for a real gem, and
thought it as the philosopher's stone that would confer
on him
whatever he desired; with this belief he gave up in
charity all
he had, as they were no more of any use to him.
24. He thought his country to be devoid of all, that was
delightsome[** typo-space-deleted] to him and its people
as debasing to
his society;
be thought his lost house was no use of him, and his
relatives
and friends to be averse to his happiness.
25. Thus thinking in his mind, he determined to remove
himself to a distant country and enjoy his rest there;
and then
taking his false gem with him, he went out and entered an
uninhabited forest.
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26. There his deceptive gem proving of no use to him
loaded
him all imaginable calamities, likening to the gloomy
shadow of the black mountain and the horrid gloom of deep
ignorance.
27. The affections which are brought to one by his own
ignorance, are by far greater than those which are caused
by
his old age and the torments of death. The calamity of
ignorance
supercedes all other earthly affections, as the black
hairs
rise on the top of the body and cover the crown of the
head.
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CHAPTER LXXXIX.
THE PARABLE OF AN ELEPHANT.
Argument.--Freedom of the Incarcerated Elephant; and his
falling
again into the Pit.
Chud疝a said.--Hear O holy hermit; another very
interesting
story of mine, which well applies to your case; as the
ruelr[** typo for ruler] of a land and to serve to awaken
your
understandings:
(from its[**space added] present theory).
2. There lived a large elephant in the vindhya[**Vindhya]
mountain,
which was the head and leader of a great number of
elephants;
and had as clear an understanding in its big and elevated
head,
as the lofty summit of the mountain was humbled down at
the
bidding of Agastya--the sage. (Agastya is recorded as the
first
Aryan emigrant, who crossed the vindhya[**Vindhya] and
settled in
southern
India, and civilized the wild mountainous and rude people
of
Deccan by his wise law and instructions).
3. His two tusks were as strong as the thunderbolts of
heaven, and as long and stunning as the far reaching
flashes of
lightning; they were as destructive as the flames of
final desolation
(kalp疣ta), and as piercing as to bore and uproot a
mountain.
4. He came to be caught by an iron trap laid by elephant
catchers in his way, and was fast held in it as the
vindhya[**Vindhya] by
the muni's charm; and as the giant Bali was Bound in the
chains
of India. (Vindhya and its people were spell bound by the
Agastya sage).
5. The captive and patient elephant was tormented by the
iron goad in his proboscis, and suffered the excruciating
pains of
his torture; like the Tripura giant under the burning
fire of
Hara. (Siva is called Tripura-hara for his quelling that
giant by
his fire arms).
6. The elephant lay in this sad plight in the net for
three
days together, and was thus watched over by his hunter
for a
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distance. (See the paper of elephant catching in the
Asiatic
Researches).
7. The great suffering of the elephant made him open his
mouth widely, and utter a loud scream that growled about
like
the loud noise of roaring clouds.
8. Then he exerted the force of both his tusks, and
succeeded
thereby to break asunder the iron bar; as the Titan of
old, broke
open the bolts at the gate of heaven.
9. The hunter saw the breaking of his hard fetters by the
infuriate beast from a distance, as Hara beheld the
breaking
of the demon Bali (Belos) from his subterranean cell
beneath the
mountain, in order to invade his heaven on high.
10. The elephant catcher then mounted a tall t疝a (palm)
tree, and leaped from its top in order[**space added] to
fall down on its
head;
but haplessly he fell down on the ground, as the demon
was
hurled down to hell by victorious Hara.
11. The hunter missed the head of the huge animal, and
fell
headlong upon his legs on the ground; as a ripe fruit, is
dropped
down by the hurrying winds.
12. The great elephant took pity in seeing him falling,
and
lying prostrate before him; as the mind of the noble, is
compassionate
on others even in their own piteous state.
13. The noble animal thought in his mind, that it was no
valour on his part to trample over the self-fallen; and
had thus
the magnanimity of sparing the life of his own enemy.
14. He broke only the chains in two pieces, and took his
way before him; leaving away all obstacles and barriers,
as the
rushing waters bear down the strongest bridge.
15. His strength broke the strong net, but his piety
spared
the life of the weak man; he went off as the sun sets, after
dispelling the evening clouds.
16. The hunter rose up from the ground after he saw the
elephant had gone away, and he found himself to be as
same
and sound after his fall as he had been before it; and as
the
elephant was relieved from his pains, after his
liberation from
the chains.
17. Notwithstanding with great shock which the man had
-----File:
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felt by his fall from the tall palm tree, he felt no hurt
with any
part of his body; whence I ween, the the[**delete] bodies
of scoundrels
are fortified against every harm.
18. The wicked gain greater strength by execution of
their
repeated crimes, as the rainy clouds gather the more by
their
frequent showers. Thus the hunter went after his fresh excursion.
19. The elephant catcher felt very sorry, at the escape
of
the elephant and unsuccessfulness of his attempt; as one
in
dejected mind, is to loose[**lose] a treasure that has
fallen into his hand.
20. He sought about and beat the forest, to find out the
hiding elephant amidst the thickets; as the ascending
node
of Rahu rises in the sky, to lay hold on the moon covered
under
the clouds.
21. After a long search, he came in sight of the elephant
halting under a tree; as when a warrior returns from the
battlefield,
and breathes the air under a shady arbour.
22. The cunning huntsmen collecting a great many tools,
capable to entrap the elephant at his resting place.
23. He dug a circular ditch round about that place in the
forest, as the great creater[**creator] of the world had
stretched the
ocean encircling this earth.
24. He then covered the great pit, with green branches
and
soft leaves of trees; as the season of autumn covers the
face of
the empty sky with fleecy and flimsy clouds.
25. The elephant roaming at large in the forest, happened
to fall down into the pit one day; as the fragment of a
rock on
the coast, falls headlong on the dried bed of the sea.
26. The big elephant was thus caught in the circular pit,
which was as deep as the dreadful deapth[**depth] of the
sea; and lay
confined in it, as some treasure is shut up in the hollow
womb
of a chest.
27. Being thus confined at the bottom of that far
extending
pit, still passes his time in endless trouble and
anxiety; like the
demon Bali in his dark cave under the grounds.
28. This is the effect of the silly elephants, letting
unhurt
his cruel hunter who had fallen ere long before him;
or-*[**delete hyphen]
-----File:
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else he would not be thus pent up in the pit, if he made
an end
of him in time.
29. Hence all foolish people that had not foresight to
prevent their future mishaps, and provide against their
coming
mischances by their precutions[**precautions] at present,
are sorely to be
exposed like the calamity as the vindhyan elephant.
(Hence
all unforeseeing men are designated as gaja murkha or
elephantine
fools).
30. The elephant was glad with the thought of his freedom
from the hunter's chains, and thought no more of any
future
mishah[** typo for mishap??]; which was the sole cause of
his being by
another mischance,
which lay at a long distance from him.
31. Know, O great soul! that there is no bondage of man
except
his own ignorance; and the jail prisoners are not under
such
thraldom, as the intellectual servitude of freemen under
their
errors and prejudice. The enlightenment of the soul and
the
knowledge of the cosmos as one universal soul, is the
greatest
freedom of man; while the ignorance of this truth, is the
root of
the slavery of mankind to the errors of this world.
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CHAPTER LXXXX.
WAY TO OBTAIN THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE.
Argument.--Chud疝a's Interpretation of the Parable of the
Precious
stone and the glassy gewgaw.
Sikhidhwaja said--Please explain unto me, O Divine
boy; the purport of the parables of the true and false
gems; and the unfettered and paint up elephant, which you
have
spoken before to me.
2. Chud疝a replied--Hear me now expound to you the
meaning of my stories, and the purport of the words and
their
senses; which I have stored in your heart and mind, for
the enlightenment
of your understanding.
3. That searcher after the philosopher's stone, was
undoubtedly
acquainted with science, but had no knowledge of the
truth (tatwajnana); he searched the gem but knew not what
it was, and the same man is thyself.
4. You are versed in the sciences as he, and shinest
above
others as the shining sun on the mountain tops; but you
have
not that rest and quiet, which is derived from the
knowledge of
truth; and are immerged in your errors, as a block of
stone in
the water.
5. Know O holy man! that it is relinquishing of errors,
which is said to be the philosopher's stone; (because
they are
the only men that have set themselves above the reach of
error).
Try to get that O holy man! in your possession, and set
yourself
thereby above the reach of misery.
6. It is the relinquishment of gross objects, that
produces
the pure joy of holiness; it is the abandonment of the
world, [**that]
gives one the sovereignty over his soul, and which is
reckoned
as the true philosopher's stone.
7. Abandonment of all is the highest perfection, which
you
must practice betimes; because it is contemning of
worldly
grandeur, that shows the greatest magnanimity of the
soul.
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8. You have O prince! forsaken your princedom together
with your princess, riches, relatives and friends, and
have rested
in your resignation; as Brahm・the lord of creatures,
rested at
the night of cessation of the act of his creation.
9. You have come out too far from your country, to this
distant hermitage of mine; as the bird of heaven the
great
Garuda lighted with his prey of the tortoise, on the
farthest
mount of the earth. (The legend of Gaja-kachchhapa borne
by garuda[**Garuda], is narrated at length in the
purana).
10. You have relinquished your egotism, with your
abandonment
of all worldly goods; and you purged your nature from
every stain, as autumnal winds desperse[**disperse] the
clouds from the
sky.
11. Know that it is only by driving away the egoism of
the mind as well as all desires from the heart, that one
gets
his perfection and has the fulness of the world or perfect
bliss
in himself. But you have been labouring under the
ignorance
of what is to be abandoned and what is to be retained, as
the
sky labours under the clouds. (It is not the abandonment
of
the world, but the greedy desires of the mind, that is
attended
with true felicity).
12. It is not your abandonment of the world, which can
give you that highest felicity the summum bonum that you
seek; it is something else that must be yet sought after
by
you. (True happiness is a thing of heavenly growth, and
is to
be obtained by the grace of God only).
13. When the mind is overflown by its thoughts, and the
heart is corroded by the canker of its desire; all its
resignation
flies from it, as the stillness of a forest flies before
the
tempest.
14. Of what avail is the abandonment of the world to one,
whose mind is ever infested by his troublesome thoughts;
it is
impossible for a tree to be at rest, that is exposed to
the tempests
of the sky. (Inward passions disturb the breast, as
tempests
rend the sky).
15. The thoughts constitute the mind, which is but
another
name for will or desire; and so long as these are found
to be
raging in one, it is in vain to talk of the subjection of
the mind.
-----File:
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16. The mind being occupied by its busy thoughts, finds
the three worlds to present themselves before it in an
instant;
of what avail therefore is the abandonment of this world
to
one, when the infinite worlds of the universe are present
before
his mind.
17. Resignation flies on its swift penions[**pinions],
soon as it sees a
desire to be entertained in it; as a bird puts on its
wings, no
sooner it hears a noise below.
18. It is insouciance and want of care, which is the main
object of the abandonment of the world; but when you
allow a
care to rankle in your breast, you bid a fair
adew[**adieu] to your
resignation;
as one bid farewell to his honoured and invited guest.
19. After you have let slip the precious gem of
resignation
from your hand, you have chosen the false glossy gewgaw
of
austerity for some fond wish in your view. (All outward
observances of rites and austerities proceed from some
favourite
object fostered in the mind, while the pure bliss of
holiness
is obtained from the purity of the heart only, and
without any
need of outward acts).
20. I see thy mind is fixed in wilful pains of thy
austerities,
as the sight of a deluded man is settled on the
reflextion[**reflexion]
of the moon in the waters; (from his error of its being
the true
moon).
21. Forsaking the indifference of your mind, you have
become a follower of the prurience of your heat[**heart];
and chosen
for yourself the mortification of an anchorite, which is
full of [**word
missing]
from its first to last.
22. He who forsakes the easy task of his devotion to
god, which is fraught with infinite bliss; and betakes
himself
to the difficult duties of painful austerity, is said to
make a
suicide of his own soul. (The sruti calls them
self-suicides
(atmaghanoj疣ah); who neglect the felicity of their
souls).
23. You betook yourself to the vow of self-resignation,
by
your relinquishment of all earthly possessions; but
instead of
observing the forbearance of resignation, you are bound
to the
painful austerities of your asceticism in this dreary
wilderness.
-----File:
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24. You broke the bonds of your princedom, and decamped
from the bounds of your realm thinking them as too
painful to
you; but say are you not constrained here to the faster
and far
more irksome toils of your asceticism, and the unbearable
chains of its rigid incarceration.
25. I think you are involved in much more care to defend
yourself from heat and cold in the defenceless forest,
and have
come to find yourself to be more fast bound to your
rigours
than you had any idea of this before.
26. You thought in vain to have obtained the
philosopher's
stone before, but must have come to find at last[**space
added]; that your
gain
is not worth even a grain of glassy bauble.
27. Now sir, I have given you a full
enterpretation[**interpretation] of the
avidity of a man to pocket the invaluable gem; you have
no doubt comprehended its right meaning in your mind, and
now store its purport in the casket of your breast.
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CHAPTER LXXXXI.
INTERPRETATION OF THE PARABLE OF THE ELEPHANT.
Argument:--Ignorance which is the cause of worldly
desire, flies with
loss of wishes.
Chud疝a continued:--Hear me, O great prince! now
explain to you the meaning of the story of the vindhyan
elephant, which will be as useful as it will appear
wonderful to
you.
2. That elephant of the vindhyan range, is thy very
self[**space added] in
this forest; and his two strong tusks are no other than
the two
virtues of reasoning and resignation, on which you lay
your
strength. (Viveka and vairgya[**vairagya] i.e. reason and
resignation are
the most potent arms of men).
3. The hunter that was the enemy of the elephant and
way laid him in his free rambles, is the personification
of that
great ignorance, which hath laid hold of thee for thy
misery
only.
4. Even the strong is foiled by weak, and lead from one
danger to another and from woe to woe; as the strong elephant
was led to by the weak huntsman, and as you O mighty
prince!
are exposed by your imbecile ignorance in this forest.
5. As the mighty elephant was caught in the strong iron
chain, so are you held fast in the snare of your desire
(of a
future reward); which has brought all this calamity on
you.
6. The expectation of man is the iron chain, that is
stronger
and harder and more durable than the other; the iron
rusts and
wastes away in time, but our expectations rise high and
hold
us faster.
7. As it was in the hostility of the huntsman, that he
marked the elephant by his remaining unseen in his hiding
place, so thy ignorance which larks[**lurks] after thee,
marks thee for
his pray[**prey] from a distance.
-----File: 531.png---------------------------------------------------------
8. As the elephant broke the bonds of the iron chains of
his
enemy, so have you broken asunder the ties of your
peaceful
reign and the bonds of your royalty and enjoyments.
9. It is sometimes possible, O pious prince! to break
down
the bonds of iron fetters; but is impossible, O holy
prince, to put
a stop to our growing desires and fond expectations.
10. As the huntsman that had caught the elephant in the
trap, fell down himself from on high to the ground; so
was
thy ignorance also levelled to the ground, seeing thee
deprived
of thy royalty and all thy former dignity. (The pride and
ignorance of a man sinks down with his misfortune).
11. When the man who is disgusted with the world, wants
to relinquish his desire of enjoyment, he makes his
ignorance
tremble in himself, as the demon that dwells on a tree,
quakes
with fear when the tree is felled.
12. When the self-resigned man, remains devoid of his
desire
for temporal enjoyments; he bids fare well to his
ignorance,
which quits him as the demon departs from the fallen
tree.
13. A man getting rid of his animal gratifications,
demolishes
the abode of his ignorance from the mind; as a
wood-*cutter
destroyes[**destroys] the bird-nests of the tree, which
he has sawn
or cut down on the ground.
14. You have no doubt put down your ignorance, by your
resignation of royalty and resorting to this forest; your
mind
is of course cast down by it, but it is not yet destroyed
by the
sword of your resignation. (A cast down or sunken spirit
or mind is not really killed, but revives and lives again
in
time).
15. It rises again and gains renewed strength and minding
its former defeat, it has at last over powered on you by
confining
you in this wilderness; and restraining you in the
painful
dungeon of your false asceticism.
16. If you can but now kill your fallen ignorance in any
way, it will not be able to destroy you at once in your
rigorous
penance; though it has reduced you to this plight by your
abdication of royalty.
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[** page compared to print]
17. The ditch that the huntsman had dug to circumvent
the elephant, is verily this painful pit of austerity,
which thy
ignorance has scooped to enthral you in.
18. The many provisions and supplies with which the
huntsman had filled the hollow, in order to entice the
elephant;
are the very many expectations of future reward, which
your
ignorance presents before you, as the recompense of your
penitence.
19. O prince, though you are not the witless elephant
(gaja-*murkha);
yet you are not unlike the same, by your being cast
in this forest by your incorrigible ignorance.
20. The ditch of the elephant, was verily filled with the
tender plants and leaves for the fodder of the elephant;
but
your cave is full of rigorous austerities, which no
humanity can
bear or tolerate.
21. You are still encaged in this prison house of the
ascetic's
cell, and doomed to undergo all the imaginative torments
of your penance and martyrdom. You verily resemble the
fallen Bali, that is confined in his subterranean cell.
22. You are no doubt the empty headed elephant, that art
fast bound in the chain of false rigours, and
incarcerated in
this cave of your ignorance; thus I have given the full
exposition
of the parable of the elephant of vindhyan mountain, and
now glean the best lesson for thyself from this.
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CHAPTER LXXXXII.
THE PRINCE'S ABJURATION OF HIS ASCETICISM.
Argument.--The prince coming to his sense, took all his
relics of
asceticism and set them on fire.
CHUDﾁLA continued.--Tell me prince, what made you decline
to accept the advice of the princess chud疝a, who is
equally skilled in morality, as well as in Divine
knowledge.
2. She is an adept among the knowers of truth, and
actually
practices all what she preaches to others; her words are
the
dictates of truth, and deserved to be received with due
defference.
3. If you rejected her advice, by your over confidence in
your own judgment; yet let me know, why she prevented you
not, from parting with your all to others. (There is a
proverb
that men should rely on their own judgment and that of
their
elders; but never on those of other people and women).
4. Sikhidwaja[** Sikhidhwaja?] replied.--But I ask you
another question,
and hope you will reply to it, i. e. how do you say that
I have
not relinquished my all, when I have resigned my realm,
my
habitation and my country all together; and when I left
my
wife and all my wealth behind.
5. Chud疝a replied.--You say truly O prince! that you
have forsaken your kingdom and habitation, and your lands
and
relatives, and even your wife and wealth, but that does
not
make your relinquishment of all, since none of these
truly
belong to thee; they come of themselves and go away from
man; it is your egoism only which is your's, and which
you
have not yet got rid of.
6. You have not yet abandoned your egoism, which is
the greatest delight of your soul; you cannot get rid of
your sorrows, until you are quite freed from your
egoistic
feelings.
7. Sikhidhwaja said.--If you say that my kingdom and
-----File:
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[** png 434-437 compared to print]
possession, were not my all, and that this forest which I
have
resorted to forms my all at present; and these rocks and
trees
and shrubs form my present possessions, then I am willing
to
quit all these even, if that would constitute resignation
of all.
8. Vasishtha said.[**:]--Hearing these words of the
Brahman
boy-kumbha[**boy--Kumbha], the cold blooded prince
sikhidhwaja[**Sikhidhwaja] held silence
for a while, and returned no answer.
9. He wiped off his attachment to the forest from his
heart,
and made up his mind to slide away from it; as the
current of
a stream in the rainy weather, glides along and carries
down
the dust and dirt of the beach.
10. Sikhidhwaja said.[**:]--Now sir, I am resolved to
leave this
forest, and bid adiew[**adieu] to all its caves and
arbours; say now does
not this relinguishment[**relinquishment] of all, form my
absolute
abnegation of
all things.
11. Kumbha replied.[**:]--The foot of this mountain with
all
its wood-lands, arbours and caverns are no properties of
your's[**yours],
but the common fells and dales of all; how then can your
forsaking
of them, form your self-abnegation at all?
12. The best boon of your egoism which has fallen to your
lot, is still unforsaken by you; you must get rid of
this, inorder[**in order]
to be freed from the cares and sorrows of this sublunary
world
of woes.
13. If none of these things is mine, then my hermit's
cell
and grove, which I own as mine are what I am willing to
resign,
if that would make my total abnegation.
14. Vasishtha said.---The self-governed sikhidhwaja being
awaked to his sense, by these admonitions of Kumbha-the
Brahman boy; he remained silent for a moment, with the
light
that shone within him.
15. His pure conscience returned to his mind, and the
blaze of
his right knowledge, burnt away the dross of his
attachment to
the hermitage; as a gust of wind drives the dusts from
the ground.
16. Sikhidhaja[**Sikhidhwaja] said.[**:]--Know me sir, to
have now taken
away
my heart from this hermitage, and forsaken my attachment
to
all its sacred bowers and arbours; now therefore consider
me to
have resigned my all and every thing in world.
-----File:
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17. Kumbha replied.[**:]--How can I consider you as fully
resigned, by your resigning these groves and arbours and
everything
appertaining to them; none of which belong to you, nor
are you their master or deserter in anyway. (Know there
is but
one being, who is the sole master of all).
18. Thou hast another thing to be forsaken by thee, and
that
is the greatest and best thing that has fallen to thy lot
in this
world; it must be by your resignation of that thing, that
you
can set yourself free from all. (The prince was so very
infatuated
with his knowledge of the gross sensibles, that he would
never come to know what egoism meant).
19. Sikhidhwaja said--If these[**this] oven be not the
all that
I have, and which you want me to resign; then take these
earthen pots and basins, these hides and skins and this
my cell
also, and know me to forgo all these forever and betake
myself elsewhere.
20. Vasishtha said--So saying the dispassionate prince
rose from his seat, with his composed and quiet mind; as
when an
autumnal cloud rises on the top of a mountain, and
disperses
elsewhere.
21. Kumbha saw from his seat, the motions and movements
of the prince, with her smiles and amazement, as when the
sun
laughs from above, to see the foolish attempts of men on
the
earth below.
22[**.] Kumbha looked steadfastly on Sikhidhwaja, and sat
silently with the thought, "Ah! let him do whatever
he likes for
his sanctification and renunciation of the temporal
articles of
this world, which do not serve for his spiritual
edification at all."
23. Sikhidhwaja then brought out all his sacred vessels
and
seats from his grotto, and collected them all in one
spot; as the
great ocean yielded up all her submerged treasures, after
the
diluvian flood was over.
24. Having collecting them in a pile, he set fire to them
with dries[**dried] fuel; as the sun-stone or sun-glass
burns down the
combustible by its fire.
25. The sacred vessels and chattles[**chattels] which
were set on fire
and burnt down by it, were left behind by the prince who
sat
-----File:
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on a seat beside Kumbha; as the sun sets on the mount
meru[**Meru], after he had burnt down in the world by the
fire of
dissolution.
26. He said to his rosary, you have been confident to me
your master, as long as I turn you on my fingers as my
counting
beads.
27. And though I have turned you over and over, with my
sacred mantras in this forests; yet you have been of no
service
to me at all.
28. And though I have travelled with you, Oh my
reliquary!
and seen many holy places in thy company; but as you
proved
of no good to me, I now resign you to the flames.
29. The burning fire rose in flames and flashes in the
sky,
and they appeared as stars glittering in it; he then cast
his
seat of the deer's skin on the fire, and said I[**:] have
borne you
about me so long on my back as an ignorant stag.
30. It was by my ignorance, that I held you so long with
me; and now you are at liberty to go your own way; where
may peace and bliss attend on you forever.
31. Ascend with the rising fire to heaven, and twinkle
there as the stars on high; so saying he took off his
hide garment
from his body with his hands, and committed it to the
flames.
32. The funeral pyre of the prince spread as a sea of
fire
and it was driven about as a conflagration by the winds
blowing
from the mountains; when the prince thought of throwing
his water pot also into the fire.
33. And said to it, you sir, that bore the sacred water
for all
my sacerdotal functions; O my good water pot, it is true
that I
have not the power of rendering the proper recompense of
your
past services.
34. You were the best model of true friendship, good
nature,
benevolence and constancy to me; and the best exemplar of
goodness and all good qualities in thy great bounty.
35. O thou! (my water pot), that wast the receptacle of
all goodness to me; now depart your own way, by your
purificatton[**purification]
in the same sacred fire, as thou wast at first found by
-----File:
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me (from the potter's fire). Be thy ways all blissful to
thee! so
saying he cast his water pot into the consecrated fire.
36. Because all good things, are to be given to the good
or to the fire; but all bad things are cast off, like the
dust of
the earth; and as foolish men fall to the ground, by
their secret
craft.
37. It is well for thee, my low mattresse[**mattress], to
be put to fire
and reduced to worthless ashes; so saying, he took up his
wet
matted seat, and cast it into the flaming fire.
38. The seat on which he used to sit in his pure
meditation
on God (i.e. his kus疽ana or his seat made of kusagrass),
he
soon committed to the flames; because it is better to
give up
a thing betimes, of which one must get rid shortly
afterwards.
39. This my alms-pot which contained the best articles of
food, which were presented to me by good people; I now
commit
to this flame with whatever it has in it.
40. The fire burns a thing but once, and the burnt
article
ceases to burn any more; hence I shun all the implements
to
my ceremonial rites, in order to set me free from the
bondage
of all actions for ever more.
41. Be ye not sorry therefore, that I forsake you thus;
for
who is there, that well[**will] bear about him things
that [**are ]unworthy
of
himself.
42. So saying, he throw[**threw] into the fire all his
cooking vessels,
and the plates and dishes of his kitchen; and all things
whatever
he had need of in his hermitage. And these began to
burn in a blaze, us the world was burnt down by the all
destructive
fire of the kalp疣ta.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to Brahmasri Sreemaan Vihari Lala Mitra ji for the collection)
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