Sarga 2¶

Vairāgya Prakaraṇa · Who this teaching is for, and how it came to be written (31 verses)

Who is speaking? Sarga 2 at a glance

Vālmīki is still answering King Ariṣṭanemi (the frame from Sarga 1).

A new invocation, and who is fit for this teaching (1.2.1–1.2.3).
Vālmīki tells the king how he taught Bharadvāja, how Brahmā granted Bharadvāja a boon, and how Brahmā came to ask Vālmīki to complete the work (1.2.4–1.2.19).
Bharadvāja asks how Rāma and his household lived and became free from sorrow (1.2.20–1.2.23).
Vālmīki begins his answer to Bharadvāja: live as Rāma and his household lived, unattached and happy (1.2.24–1.2.30).
A closing verse in a longer metre (1.2.31).

Verse 1.2.1¶

दिवि भूमौ तथाकाशे बहिरन्तश्च मे विभुः ।
यो विभात्यवभासात्मा तस्मै सर्वात्मने नमः ॥ १.२.१ ॥

यः विभुः (that all-pervading one who) दिवि (in heaven) भूमौ (on earth) तथा आकाशे (and in space), मे बहिः अन्तः च (outside me and within me) अवभास-आत्मा (as the very nature of light) विभाति (shines), तस्मै सर्व-आत्मने (to that Self of all) नमः (salutation).

Translation: Salutations to the Self of all, the all-pervading one, who shines as light itself in heaven, on earth and in space, outside me and within me.

Pointers for Reflection:

बहिरन्तश्च — Gītā 13.15:
- बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च । सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं दूरस्थं चान्तिके च तत् ॥
- Outside and inside all beings, unmoving and moving; too subtle to be known; far away and yet near.
- The same words, बहिः अन्तः च. The Gītā says it of all beings; the verse says it of मे, "me" — the reader is invited to find the Self within as well as without.
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 2.2.10:
- तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति ॥
- Everything shines only after That which shines; by its light all this shines.
- विभाति and अवभासात्मा in our verse echo विभाति and भासा here: the Self is the light by which everything appears. Compare प्रतिभान्ति in 1.1.1.
Īśa Upaniṣad 5: तदन्तरस्य सर्वस्य तदु सर्वस्यास्य बाह्यतः — That is within all this, and That is outside all this.
A second opening. Sarga 2 begins with its own invocation. Sarga 1 saluted सत्, चित्, आनन्द; this verse salutes the सर्वात्मा, the Self of all, as pure light.

Verse 1.2.2¶

वाल्मीकिरुवाच ।
अहं बद्धो विमुक्तः स्यामिति यस्यास्ति निश्चयः ।
नात्यन्तमज्ञो नोत ज्ञः सोऽस्मिञ्छास्त्रेऽधिकारवान् ॥ १.२.२ ॥

अहं बद्धः (I am bound), विमुक्तः स्याम् (may I be free) इति (thus) यस्य निश्चयः अस्ति (whoever has this firm conviction), न अत्यन्तम् अज्ञः (not completely ignorant) न उत ज्ञः (nor yet a knower), सः (that one) अस्मिन् शास्त्रे (in this teaching) अधिकारवान् (is qualified).

Translation: Vālmīki said: One who is firmly convinced, "I am bound; may I be free", who is neither wholly ignorant nor already a knower — that one is fit for this teaching.

Pointers for Reflection:

Who is this book for? Not for everyone. The reader must (1) feel bound, (2) want to be free, and (3) stand between ignorance and knowledge. This is the अधिकारी, the qualified student.
Too ignorant or too knowing. The wholly ignorant do not feel bound; the knower is already free. The teaching is for the one in between — which is where Śrī Rāma stands in Sarga 3 onward.
Gītā 7.3:
- मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये ।
- Among thousands of people, one strives for perfection.
The theme of questions worth asking, again. "I am bound; may I be free" is the first real question. Many never ask it. This verse makes asking it the qualification for study.
A question to sit with. Do I truly feel bound? By what?
Reading note. The online editions vary in the last line (नोत ज्ञः / नो तज्ज्ञः). The sense is the same: "nor yet a knower". Check your printed edition.

Verse 1.2.3¶

कथोपायान्विचार्यादौ मोक्षोपायानिमानथ ।
यो विचारयति प्राज्ञो न स भूयोऽभिजायते ॥ १.२.३ ॥

यः प्राज्ञः (the wise one who) आदौ (first) कथा-उपायान् (the means given as stories) विचार्य (having reflected on), अथ (then) इमान् मोक्ष-उपायान् (these means to liberation) विचारयति (reflects on), सः (he) भूयः न अभिजायते (is not born again).

Translation: The wise one who first reflects on the stories, and then on these teachings on the means to liberation, is not born again.

Pointers for Reflection:

Gītā 13.23, word for word:
- य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैः सह । सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते ॥
- One who knows the Self and nature with its qualities in this way, however he may live, is not born again.
- न स भूयोऽभिजायते closes both verses. And the Gītā adds सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि, "however he lives" — freedom is not tied to any outward form of life, which is exactly the Yoga Vasiṣṭha's claim about Śrī Rāma.
विचार — the method of the whole text. Not belief, not ritual, but inquiry. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha will call विचार the chief means to freedom again and again.
Stories first, then teachings. The order matters: stories prepare the heart; teachings clarify the mind. That is how this text is built.

Verse 1.2.4¶

अस्मिन्रामायणे रामकथोपायान्महाबलान् ।
एतांस्तु प्रथमं कृत्वा पुराहमरिमर्दन ॥ १.२.४ ॥

अरिमर्दन (O subduer of enemies), पुरा (long ago) अहम् (I), अस्मिन् रामायणे (in this Rāmāyaṇa) एतान् महा-बलान् राम-कथा-उपायान् (these powerful means in the form of Rāma's story) प्रथमं कृत्वा तु (having first composed) …

Translation: "Long ago, O subduer of enemies, I first composed these powerful teachings in the form of Rāma's story, in this Rāmāyaṇa …"

Pointers for Reflection:

Vālmīki is still speaking to King Ariṣṭanemi (अरिमर्दन, "subduer of enemies"). He now tells the king how this teaching was first passed on.
The sentence continues into the next verse.

Verse 1.2.5¶

शिष्यायास्मि विनीताय भरद्वाजाय धीमते ।
एकाग्रो दत्तवांस्तस्मै मणिमब्धिरिवार्थिने ॥ १.२.५ ॥

[अहम्] एकाग्रः (I, with focused mind) विनीताय (to the humble) धीमते (wise) शिष्याय भरद्वाजाय (disciple Bharadvāja) तस्मै (to him) दत्तवान् अस्मि (gave [them]), अब्धिः अर्थिने मणिम् इव (as the ocean gives a jewel to one who seeks it).

Translation: "… and I, with undivided attention, handed it on to Bharadvāja, my disciple, modest and intelligent — as the sea yields up a gem to the one who asks for it."

Pointers for Reflection:

The jewel and the ocean. The ocean does not lose by giving a jewel; the teacher does not lose by teaching. And the ocean gives only to one who dives — अर्थिने, to the seeker.
विनीत again. Bharadvāja, like Ariṣṭanemi (1.1.46), is विनीत, humble. Humility is the one quality every student in this text shares.
Gītā 18.67 — the fit student:
- इदं ते नातपस्काय नाभक्ताय कदाचन । न चाशुश्रूषवे वाच्यं न च मां योऽभ्यसूयति ॥
- Never speak this to one without discipline, without devotion, without the wish to listen, or who finds fault with me.

Verse 1.2.6¶

तत एते कथोपाया भरद्वाजेन धीमता ।
कस्मिंश्चिन्मेरुगहने ब्रह्मणोऽग्र उदाहृताः ॥ १.२.६ ॥

ततः (then) एते कथा-उपायाः (these teachings in story form) धीमता भरद्वाजेन (by the wise Bharadvāja) कस्मिंश्चित् मेरु-गहने (in some deep place on Mount Meru) ब्रह्मणः अग्रे (before Brahmā) उदाहृताः (were recited).

Translation: "Then the wise Bharadvāja recited these teachings, in their story form, before Brahmā, somewhere in the depths of Mount Meru."

Pointers for Reflection:

The student becomes a teacher. Bharadvāja does not keep what he received; he recites it, and before the Creator himself.
Meru, the cosmic mountain at the centre of the world in Purāṇic geography: the teaching travels from an earthly ashram to the axis of the cosmos.

Verse 1.2.7¶

अथास्य तुष्टो भगवान्ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः ।
वरं पुत्र गृहाणेति तमुवाच महाशयः ॥ १.२.७ ॥

अथ (then) अस्य तुष्टः (pleased with him) भगवान् लोक-पितामहः ब्रह्मा (the revered Brahmā, grandfather of the worlds), महा-आशयः (great-hearted), पुत्र, वरं गृहाण (son, choose a boon) इति तम् उवाच (said to him).

Translation: "Pleased with him, the revered Brahmā, grandfather of the worlds, great-hearted, said to him: 'Son, choose a boon.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.1.9 — Yama's boons:
- तिस्रो रात्रीर्यदवात्सीर्गृहे मे … वरांस्त्रीन्वृणीष्व ॥
- Since you have stayed three nights in my house … choose three boons.
- In both texts a god offers a boon to a seeker. What the seeker chooses reveals who he is. Watch Bharadvāja's choice in the next verse.

Verse 1.2.8¶

भरद्वाज उवाच ।
भगवन्भूतभव्येश वरोऽयं मेऽद्य रोचते ।
येनेयं जनता दुःखान्मुच्यते तदुदाहर ॥ १.२.८ ॥

भगवन् भूत-भव्य-ईश (revered lord of past and future), अद्य मे अयं वरः रोचते (today this boon pleases me): येन (by which) इयं जनता (these people) दुःखात् मुच्यते (are freed from suffering), तत् उदाहर (tell that).

Translation: "Bharadvāja said: 'Revered lord of what was and what will be, this is the boon I want today: tell me that by which these people may be freed from suffering.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

A boon for others. Offered anything by the Creator, Bharadvāja asks not for himself but for जनता, all people. Naciketas asked to know the Self; Bharadvāja asks that everyone be freed from sorrow.
Gītā 5.25:
- लभन्ते ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृषयः क्षीणकल्मषाः । छिन्नद्वैधा यतात्मानः सर्वभूतहिते रताः ॥
- Those sages attain the peace of Brahman whose faults are gone, whose doubts are cut, who are self-controlled and devoted to the good of all beings.
A question to sit with. If I were offered one boon, would I ask for myself or for others?

Verse 1.2.9¶

श्रीब्रह्मोवाच ।
गुरुं वाल्मीकिमत्राशु प्रार्थयस्व प्रयत्नतः ।
तेनेदं यत्समारब्धं रामायणमनिन्दितम् ॥ १.२.९ ॥

अत्र (for this) गुरुं वाल्मीकिम् (your teacher Vālmīki) आशु प्रयत्नतः प्रार्थयस्व (quickly and earnestly entreat); तेन (by him) यत् इदम् अनिन्दितं रामायणं समारब्धम् (this faultless Rāmāyaṇa that has been begun) …

Translation: "Brahmā said: 'For this, go quickly and earnestly entreat your teacher Vālmīki. The faultless Rāmāyaṇa he has begun …'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Brahmā sends the student back to his own teacher. The Creator does not teach Bharadvāja directly. He honours the guru–disciple line and points to the human teacher.
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12 (quoted at 1.1.35): गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत् — one must go to the teacher. Even Brahmā confirms it.
The sentence continues into the next verse.

Verse 1.2.10¶

तस्मिञ्छ्रुते नरो मोहात्समग्रात्संतरिष्यति ।
सेतुनेवाम्बुधेः पारमपारगुणशालिना ॥ १.२.१० ॥

तस्मिन् श्रुते (when it is heard) नरः (a person) समग्रात् मोहात् (from all delusion) संतरिष्यति (will cross over), अपार-गुण-शालिना सेतुना इव (as by a bridge built by one of boundless virtues) अम्बुधेः पारम् (to the far shore of the ocean).

Translation: "'… when it is heard, a person will cross over all delusion, as one crosses to the far shore of the ocean by the bridge of the one whose virtues are boundless.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Rāma's bridge. In the Rāmāyaṇa, Rāma built a bridge (सेतु) across the ocean to reach Laṅkā. Here the book itself is that bridge, and the ocean is delusion. अपार, "shoreless", is used for Rāma's virtues, while the text promises a पार, a far shore.
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 2.2.5: अमृतस्यैष सेतुः — this is the bridge to immortality. The Self itself is called the bridge.
Chāndogya Upaniṣad 8.4.1: अथ य आत्मा स सेतुर्विधृतिः — the Self is a bridge, a support.
संतरिष्यति. The same verb as Gītā 4.36 (see 1.2.14): crossing over is the recurring image for liberation.

Verse 1.2.11¶

श्रीवाल्मीकिरुवाच ।
इत्युक्त्वा स भरद्वाजं परमेष्ठी मदाश्रमम् ।
अभ्यागच्छत्समं तेन भरद्वाजेन भूतकृत् ॥ १.२.११ ॥

भरद्वाजम् इति उक्त्वा (having said this to Bharadvāja) सः परमेष्ठी भूत-कृत् (that supreme maker of beings) तेन भरद्वाजेन समम् (together with Bharadvāja) मत्-आश्रमम् अभ्यागच्छत् (came to my hermitage).

Translation: "Having said this to Bharadvāja, the supreme Creator of beings came with him to my hermitage."

Pointers for Reflection:

The Creator comes to the sage. Brahmā does not summon Vālmīki; he travels to him. The cosmic power bows to the work of teaching.

Verse 1.2.12¶

तूर्णं संपूजितो देवः सोऽर्घ्यपाद्यादिना मया ।
अवोचन्मां महासत्त्वः सर्वभूतहिते रतः ॥ १.२.१२ ॥

सः देवः (that god) मया (by me) अर्घ्य-पाद्य-आदिना (with water for the hands, for the feet and the rest) तूर्णं सम्पूजितः (was quickly honoured); महा-सत्त्वः (of great being) सर्व-भूत-हिते रतः (devoted to the good of all beings) माम् अवोचत् (spoke to me).

Translation: "I quickly honoured the god with water for his hands and feet and the other rites of welcome. Then he, great of being and devoted to the good of all beings, spoke to me."

Pointers for Reflection:

सर्वभूतहिते रतः — Gītā 12.4:
- सन्नियम्येन्द्रियग्रामं सर्वत्र समबुद्धयः । ते प्राप्नुवन्ति मामेव सर्वभूतहिते रताः ॥
- Restraining the senses, even-minded everywhere, devoted to the good of all beings, they come to me.
- The phrase appears in Gītā 5.25 and 12.4, and here describes Brahmā. The whole chain — Brahmā, Vālmīki, Bharadvāja — is moved by the good of all.
अर्घ्य and पाद्य. Hospitality to a guest, even a divine one, follows the same simple rites. The tradition says अतिथिदेवो भव (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 1.11.2): treat the guest as God. Here the guest is God.

Verse 1.2.13¶

रामस्वभावकथनादस्माद्वरमुने त्वया ।
नोद्वेगात्स परित्याज्य आसमाप्तेरनिन्दितात् ॥ १.२.१३ ॥

वर-मुने (O best of sages), अस्मात् अनिन्दितात् राम-स्वभाव-कथनात् (this faultless account of Rāma's true nature) त्वया (by you) उद्वेगात् (out of weariness) आ-समाप्तेः (until it is complete) न परित्याज्यः (must not be abandoned).

Translation: "[Brahmā said:] 'Best of sages, do not abandon this faultless account of Rāma's true nature out of weariness, until it is complete.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

राम-स्वभाव. Brahmā calls the work an account of Rāma's स्वभाव, his true nature, not just his deeds. This is the "inner Rāmāyaṇa" (compare 1.1.52).
Gītā 6.23: स निश्चयेन योक्तव्यो योगोऽनिर्विण्णचेतसा — this yoga must be practised with determination, with a mind that does not lose heart.
A word for you. Brahmā's advice to Vālmīki applies to anyone writing a commentary on 29,000 verses: do not give up out of weariness. आसमाप्तेः — until it is complete.

Verse 1.2.14¶

ग्रन्थेनानेन लोकोऽयमस्मात्संसारसंकटात् ।
समुत्तरिष्यति क्षिप्रं पोतेनेवाशु सागरात् ॥ १.२.१४ ॥

अनेन ग्रन्थेन (by this book) अयं लोकः (this world) अस्मात् संसार-सङ्कटात् (from this strait of worldly existence) क्षिप्रं समुत्तरिष्यति (will quickly cross over), पोतेन सागरात् आशु इव (as by a ship swiftly across the sea).

Translation: "'By this book, the world will soon cross the perilous strait of worldly existence, as a ship swiftly crosses the sea.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Gītā 4.36:
- अपि चेदसि पापेभ्यः सर्वेभ्यः पापकृत्तमः । सर्वं ज्ञानप्लवेनैव वृजिनं सन्तरिष्यसि ॥
- Even if you were the worst of all wrongdoers, you would cross all evil by the raft of knowledge alone.
- The Gītā's ज्ञानप्लव, raft of knowledge, becomes here a ship, पोत. Same voyage, same shore.
A contrast — Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.7: प्लवा ह्येते अदृढा यज्ञरूपाः — these rafts in the form of rituals are unsteady. Ritual is a leaky raft; knowledge is a sound ship.
ग्रन्थ. Brahmā trusts a book to save the world. This is the reason behind your own project: to put the book within reach of others.

Verse 1.2.15¶

वक्तुं तदेवमेवार्थमहमागतवानयम् ।
कुरु लोकहितार्थं त्वं शास्त्रमित्युक्तवानजः ॥ १.२.१५ ॥

तत् एवम् एव अर्थं वक्तुम् (to say just this) अयम् अहम् आगतवान् (I have come here); त्वं लोक-हित-अर्थं शास्त्रं कुरु (compose the teaching for the good of the world) इति अजः उक्तवान् (so said the Unborn one).

Translation: "'This is the very thing I came to tell you: make this śāstra, for the welfare of the world.' Thus the Unborn spoke."

Pointers for Reflection:

Gītā 3.20 — लोकसङ्ग्रह:
- कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादयः । लोकसङ्ग्रहमेवापि सम्पश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि ॥
- Janaka and others reached perfection through action alone. With an eye to the welfare of the world, you too should act.
- लोकहितार्थम् here and लोकसङ्ग्रह in the Gītā: even the wise, even the Creator, act for the world's sake.
Your purpose, in Brahmā's words. You began this work "for the public's welfare". Brahmā's instruction to Vālmīki is the same: लोकहितार्थम्.

Verse 1.2.16¶

मम पुण्याश्रमात्तस्मात्क्षणादन्तर्द्धिमागतः ।
मुहूर्ताभ्युत्थितः प्रोच्चैस्तरङ्ग इव वारिणः ॥ १.२.१६ ॥

[सः] तस्मात् मम पुण्य-आश्रमात् (from that holy hermitage of mine) क्षणात् (in an instant) अन्तर्धिम् आगतः (vanished), वारिणः मुहूर्त-अभ्युत्थितः प्रोच्चैः तरङ्गः इव (like a wave that rises high from the water for a moment [and sinks back]).

Translation: "In an instant he vanished from my holy hermitage, like a wave that rises high from the water for a moment and sinks back into it."

Pointers for Reflection:

The wave and the water. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha's favourite image appears here for the first time. A wave rises from water, is nothing but water, and returns to water. So the Creator appears and disappears in the one consciousness.
Gītā 2.28:
- अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत । अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना ॥
- Beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their middle, and unmanifest again at their end. What is there to grieve?
- Even Brahmā, the creator, follows this pattern: unseen, seen, unseen.
Compare 1.1.1: beings appear (प्रतिभान्ति) and come to rest (उपशमं यान्ति). The wave is that verse made visible.

Verse 1.2.17¶

तस्मिन्प्रयाते भगवत्यहं विस्मयमागतः ।
पुनस्तत्र भरद्वाजमपृच्छं स्वस्थया धिया ॥ १.२.१७ ॥

तस्मिन् भगवति प्रयाते (when the Lord had gone) अहं विस्मयम् आगतः (I was filled with wonder); पुनः (then) तत्र (there) स्वस्थया धिया (with a composed mind) भरद्वाजम् अपृच्छम् (I asked Bharadvāja).

Translation: "When the Lord had gone, I was filled with wonder. Then, with my mind composed again, I asked Bharadvāja."

Pointers for Reflection:

Gītā 11.14: ततः स विस्मयाविष्टो हृष्टरोमा धनञ्जयः — then Arjuna, filled with wonder, his hair standing on end … Wonder follows a divine encounter in both texts.
First wonder, then composure. Vālmīki is amazed, but he does not stay amazed; he steadies his mind (स्वस्थया धिया) and asks. Wonder becomes inquiry.
Even the teacher asks. Vālmīki, the great sage, questions his own student. In this text, asking is never beneath anyone.

Verse 1.2.18¶

किमेतद्ब्रह्मणा प्रोक्तं भरद्वाज वदाशु मे ।
इत्युक्तेन पुनः प्रोक्तं भरद्वाजेन तेन मे ॥ १.२.१८ ॥

भरद्वाज (Bharadvāja), ब्रह्मणा किम् एतत् प्रोक्तम् (what is this that Brahmā has said)? मे आशु वद (tell me quickly). इति उक्तेन तेन भरद्वाजेन (asked thus, that Bharadvāja) पुनः मे प्रोक्तम् (in turn told me).

Translation: "'Bharadvāja, what is this that Brahmā has said? Tell me quickly.' Asked this, Bharadvāja told me in turn:"

Pointers for Reflection:

Why ask what he already heard? Vālmīki heard Brahmā himself. Perhaps he wants to hear what his student understood. A good teacher listens to the student's understanding before teaching further.

Verse 1.2.19¶

भरद्वाज उवाच ।
एतदुक्तं भगवता यथा रामायणं कुरु ।
सर्वलोकहितार्थाय संसारार्णवतारकम् ॥ १.२.१९ ॥

भगवता एतत् उक्तम् (the Lord said this): सर्व-लोक-हित-अर्थाय (for the good of all the worlds) संसार-अर्णव-तारकं (that carries across the ocean of worldly existence) रामायणं यथा कुरु (compose the Rāmāyaṇa accordingly).

Translation: "Bharadvāja said: 'The Lord said this: compose the Rāmāyaṇa for the good of all the worlds, so that it carries people across the ocean of worldly existence.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Gītā 12.7:
- तेषामहं समुद्धर्ता मृत्युसंसारसागरात् ।
- For them I am the one who lifts them out of the ocean of death and worldly existence.
- In the Gītā, the Lord lifts beings out of the ocean. Here, a book carries them across (तारक). The grace is now placed in a teaching that anyone can read.
तारक. "That which carries across." The same root as तीर्थ, a ford, and तरी, a boat.

Verse 1.2.20¶

मह्यं च भगवन्ब्रूहि कथं संसारसंकटे ।
रामो व्यवहृतो ह्यस्मिन्भरतश्च महामनाः ॥ १.२.२० ॥

भगवन् (revered one), मह्यं च ब्रूहि (tell me also): अस्मिन् संसार-सङ्कटे (in this perilous strait of worldly life) रामः (Rāma) महामनाः भरतः च (and great-minded Bharata) कथं व्यवहृतः हि (how did they conduct themselves)?

Translation: "'And tell me, revered one: how did Rāma conduct himself in the perils of worldly life, and the great-minded Bharata …'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Arjuna's question — Gītā 2.54:
- स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव । स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत व्रजेत किम् ॥
- What are the marks of one whose wisdom is steady, Keśava? How does such a one speak, sit and walk?
- Both students ask not "what is the truth?" but "how did the wise one live?" Bharadvāja's word is व्यवहृत, conduct in everyday life.
व्यवहार — wisdom lived, not renounced. The question is how to live in the world, not how to leave it. This word will return often.

Verse 1.2.21¶

शत्रुघ्नो लक्ष्मणश्चापि सीता चापि यशस्विनी ।
रामानुयायिनस्ते वा मन्त्रिपुत्रा महाधियः ॥ १.२.२१ ॥

शत्रुघ्नः (Śatrughna), लक्ष्मणः च अपि (and Lakṣmaṇa), यशस्विनी सीता च अपि (and illustrious Sītā), ते राम-अनुयायिनः (those who followed Rāma), महा-धियः मन्त्रि-पुत्राः वा (and the ministers' sons of great intellect) …

Translation: "'… and Śatrughna, Lakṣmaṇa, illustrious Sītā, those who followed Rāma, and the ministers' sons of great understanding …'"

Pointers for Reflection:

A whole household, not one hermit. Bharadvāja asks about brothers, a wife, followers and ministers. Liberation in this text is not a solitary affair; it can belong to a family and a court.
The sentence continues into the next verse.

Verse 1.2.22¶

निर्दुःखितां यथैते नु प्राप्तास्तद्ब्रूहि मे स्फुटम् ।
तथैवाहं भविष्यामि ततो जनतया सह ॥ १.२.२२ ॥

एते (these) यथा निर्दुःखितां प्राप्ताः (how they reached freedom from sorrow), तत् मे स्फुटं ब्रूहि (tell me that clearly). अहं तथा एव भविष्यामि (I shall become the same), ततः जनतया सह (and then, together with all people).

Translation: "'… tell me clearly how they reached freedom from sorrow. Then I shall become the same, and so will the people with me.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Gītā 6.23:
- तं विद्याद्दुःखसंयोगवियोगं योगसंज्ञितम् ।
- Know that to be yoga: the disconnection from contact with sorrow.
- निर्दुःखिता, freedom from sorrow, is the aim the Gītā calls yoga.
Gītā 3.21: यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः — whatever the best person does, others do the same. Bharadvāja hopes that his own freedom will spread to जनता, the people.
First myself, then all. He does not say "I will save others". He says "I shall become so, and then others with me". Change begins in oneself.

Verse 1.2.23¶

भरद्वाजेन राजेन्द्र वदेत्युक्तोऽस्मि सादरम् ।
तदा कर्तुं विभोराज्ञामहं वक्तुं प्रवृत्तवान् ॥ १.२.२३ ॥

राजेन्द्र (best of kings), भरद्वाजेन सादरं वद इति उक्तः अस्मि (I was respectfully asked by Bharadvāja, 'Tell'); तदा (then) विभोः आज्ञां कर्तुम् (to carry out the Lord's command) अहं वक्तुं प्रवृत्तवान् (I began to speak).

Translation: "So, best of kings, Bharadvāja respectfully asked me to speak, and to carry out the Lord's command I began."

Pointers for Reflection:

Back to the frame. राजेन्द्र reminds us that Vālmīki is still telling all this to King Ariṣṭanemi. The next verses are what Vālmīki said to Bharadvāja.
Two reasons to teach. Vālmīki teaches because a student asks (सादरम्) and because the Lord commands (विभोः आज्ञा). Both are needed: a sincere question and a higher purpose.

Verse 1.2.24¶

शृणु वत्स भरद्वाज यथापृष्टं वदामि ते ।
श्रुतेन येन संमोहमलं दूरे करिष्यसि ॥ १.२.२४ ॥

वत्स भरद्वाज (dear Bharadvāja), शृणु (listen): यथा-पृष्टं (as you have asked) ते वदामि (I will tell you), येन श्रुतेन (by hearing which) सम्मोह-मलं (the stain of delusion) दूरे करिष्यसि (you will cast far away).

Translation: "[Vālmīki said:] 'Listen, dear Bharadvāja. I will tell you what you asked. Hearing it, you will cast away the stain of delusion.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

The Gītā's ending — 18.73:
- नष्टो मोहः स्मृतिर्लब्धा त्वत्प्रसादान्मयाच्युत ।
- My delusion is gone; I have regained my memory, by your grace, Acyuta.
- Vālmīki promises at the beginning what Arjuna confesses at the end: the removal of मोह.
मल, a stain. Delusion is pictured not as something we lack, but as dirt on something already pure. Remove the stain and what was always there shines (compare 1.2.1, अवभासात्मा).

Verse 1.2.25¶

तथा व्यवहर प्राज्ञ यथा व्यवहृतः सुखी ।
सर्वासंसक्तया बुद्ध्या रामो राजीवलोचनः ॥ १.२.२५ ॥

प्राज्ञ (wise one), यथा राजीव-लोचनः रामः (as lotus-eyed Rāma) सर्व-असंसक्तया बुद्ध्या (with an understanding unattached to all things) सुखी व्यवहृतः (lived happily), तथा व्यवहर (so live).

Translation: "'Wise one, live as lotus-eyed Rāma lived: happily, with an understanding unattached to anything.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

The key verse of Sarga 2. The whole teaching in one line: live (व्यवहर) like Rāma, happily (सुखी), unattached (असंसक्त). Not renunciation of life, but non-attachment within life. This is wisdom lived, not renounced, stated by Vālmīki himself.
Gītā 5.10 — the lotus leaf:
- ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः । लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा ॥
- One who acts, offering actions to Brahman and giving up attachment, is not stained by evil, as a lotus leaf is not wet by water.
- Rāma is राजीवलोचन, lotus-eyed. The Gītā's image of the unattached person is the lotus leaf. Rāma's very name-epithet carries the teaching.
Gītā 2.48: योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय — established in yoga, act, giving up attachment.
सुखी. Not grim, not dutiful, but happy. Non-attachment in this text is not a burden; it is the source of ease.
A question to sit with. What would my day look like if I did everything I do now, but without clinging to any of it?

Verse 1.2.26¶

लक्ष्मणो भरतश्चैव शत्रुघ्नश्च महामनाः ।
कौसल्या च सुमित्रा च सीता दशरथस्तथा ॥ १.२.२६ ॥

लक्ष्मणः (Lakṣmaṇa), भरतः च एव (and Bharata), महामनाः शत्रुघ्नः च (and great-minded Śatrughna), कौसल्या च सुमित्रा च (Kausalyā and Sumitrā), सीता (Sītā), तथा दशरथः (and Daśaratha) …

Translation: "'… and as Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata, great-minded Śatrughna, Kausalyā, Sumitrā, Sītā and Daśaratha lived …'"

Pointers for Reflection:

The whole family. Mothers, a father, a wife, brothers. Every one of them is named among the liberated. Freedom here is not reserved for monks.
The sentence continues through 1.2.27.

Verse 1.2.27¶

कृतास्त्रश्चाऽविरोधश्च बोधपारमुपागताः ।
वसिष्ठो वामदेवश्च मन्त्रिणोऽष्टौ तथेतरे ॥ १.२.२७ ॥

कृतास्त्रः च अविरोधः च (Kṛtāstra and Avirodha), वसिष्ठः वामदेवः च (Vasiṣṭha and Vāmadeva), मन्त्रिणः अष्टौ (the eight ministers) तथा इतरे (and others) बोध-पारम् उपागताः (reached the far shore of awakening).

Translation: "'… and Kṛtāstra, Avirodha, Vasiṣṭha, Vāmadeva, the eight ministers and others — all reached the far shore of awakening.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

The far shore — Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.26.2:
- तस्मै मृदितकषायाय तमसस्पारं दर्शयति भगवान्सनत्कुमारः ।
- To him, whose impurities were washed away, the revered Sanatkumāra showed the far shore beyond darkness.
- बोधपार here, तमसः पार there. And the teacher in the Upaniṣad is Sanatkumāra, whose curse (1.1.59–1.1.60) made Viṣṇu a student. The threads cross.
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 2.2.6: स्वस्ति वः पाराय तमसः परस्तात् — may you fare well to the far shore beyond darkness.
Reading note. Here कृतास्त्र and अविरोध are read as the names of two companions, as some translations take them. They can also be read as descriptions ("skilled in weapons, free of hostility"), as the online translation does. Check your printed edition and commentary.

Verse 1.2.28¶

धृष्टिर्जयन्तो भासश्च सत्यो विजय एव च ।
विभीषणः सुषेणश्च हनुमानिन्द्रजित्तथा ॥ १.२.२८ ॥

धृष्टिः (Dhṛṣṭi), जयन्तः (Jayanta), भासः च (and Bhāsa), सत्यः (Satya), विजयः एव च (and Vijaya), विभीषणः (Vibhīṣaṇa), सुषेणः च (and Suṣeṇa), हनुमान् (Hanumān), तथा इन्द्रजित् (and Indrajit).

Translation: "'Dhṛṣṭi, Jayanta, Bhāsa, Satya, Vijaya, Vibhīṣaṇa, Suṣeṇa, Hanumān, and Indrajit …'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Friends and former enemies. The list includes Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa's brother who joined Rāma, and Indrajit, Rāvaṇa's son, who fought against him. If the reading is right, even an enemy is counted among the liberated.
Reading note. The verse names nine people, though 1.2.27 and 1.2.29 speak of eight ministers. Check your printed edition.

Verse 1.2.29¶

एतेऽष्टौ मन्त्रिणः प्रोक्ताः समनीरागचेतसः ।
जीवन्मुक्ता महात्मानो यथाप्राप्तानुवर्तिनः ॥ १.२.२९ ॥

एते (these) अष्टौ मन्त्रिणः प्रोक्ताः (are called the eight ministers): सम-नीराग-चेतसः (of even and passion-free mind), जीवन्मुक्ताः (liberated while living), महात्मानः (great souls), यथा-प्राप्त-अनुवर्तिनः (who go along with whatever comes).

Translation: "'These are the eight ministers: even-minded and free of passion, great souls liberated while living, who accepted whatever came their way.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Liberated ministers. Not sages in caves, but officials of a kingdom, are called जीवन्मुक्त. Government and freedom are not opposites.
यथाप्राप्तानुवर्तिन् — Gītā 4.22:
- यदृच्छालाभसन्तुष्टो द्वन्द्वातीतो विमत्सरः । समः सिद्धावसिद्धौ च कृत्वापि न निबध्यते ॥
- Content with whatever comes, beyond the pairs of opposites, free of envy, even-minded in success and failure — even acting, such a one is not bound.
सम — Gītā 2.48: समत्वं योग उच्यते — evenness of mind is called yoga.
Compare heaven (1.1.38). In heaven there was envy, rivalry and pride. These ministers, on earth, are सम and नीराग: even and free of passion. They have what heaven lacked.

Verse 1.2.30¶

एतैर्यथा हुतं दत्तं गृहीतमुषितं स्मृतम् ।
तथा चेद्वर्तसे पुत्र मुक्त एवासि संकटात् ॥ १.२.३० ॥

पुत्र (son), एतैः (by these) यथा (as) हुतम् (offerings were made) दत्तम् (gifts given) गृहीतम् (things received) उषितम् (life lived) स्मृतम् (things remembered), तथा चेत् वर्तसे (if you live in the same way), सङ्कटात् (from the strait [of worldly life]) मुक्तः एव असि (you are already free).

Translation: "'Son, if you live as these lived — as they made offerings, gave, received, dwelt and remembered — you are already free from the perils of worldly life.'"

Pointers for Reflection:

Ordinary acts, done freely. Offering, giving, receiving, living, remembering: the verse names the plainest parts of life. Liberation is not a special activity; it is the way the ordinary is done.
Gītā 9.27:
- यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् । यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ॥
- Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer, whatever you give, whatever austerity you practise — do it as an offering to me.
- हुतं दत्तं here, जुहोषि ददासि there: the same acts of offering and giving. The Gītā makes them devotion; the Yoga Vasiṣṭha makes them the life of the free.
Gītā 5.8–9: पश्यञ्शृण्वन्स्पृशञ्जिघ्रन्नश्नन्गच्छन्स्वपन्श्वसन् — seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping, breathing, the knower thinks "I do nothing at all". Another list of everyday acts done without bondage.
मुक्त एवासि — "you are already free". Not "you will be": the present tense. If one lives this way, freedom is not a future reward but a present fact.
A question to sit with. Which of my everyday acts could I do the way these ministers did?

Verse 1.2.31¶

अपारसंसारसमुद्रपाती लब्ध्वा परां युक्तिमुदारसत्त्वः ।
न शोकमायाति न दैन्यमेति गतज्वरस्तिष्ठति नित्यतृप्तः ॥ १.२.३१ ॥

अपार-संसार-समुद्र-पाती (one fallen into the shoreless ocean of worldly existence), उदार-सत्त्वः (noble of nature), परां युक्तिं लब्ध्वा (having found the supreme means), न शोकम् आयाति (does not come to grief), न दैन्यम् एति (does not fall into dejection); गत-ज्वरः (free from fever) नित्य-तृप्तः (ever content) तिष्ठति (he abides).

Translation: One who has fallen into the shoreless ocean of worldly existence, if noble of nature and having found the supreme means, does not come to grief or dejection. Free from fever, ever content, he abides.

Pointers for Reflection:

A change of metre. The sarga closes in a longer metre (upajāti) instead of the usual śloka, as Sanskrit chapters often do. The closing verse sums up the sarga.
नित्यतृप्त — Gītā 4.20, the same word:
- त्यक्त्वा कर्मफलासङ्गं नित्यतृप्तो निराश्रयः । कर्मण्यभिप्रवृत्तोऽपि नैव किञ्चित्करोति सः ॥
- Giving up attachment to the fruit of action, ever content, depending on nothing — though fully engaged in action, he does nothing at all.
गतज्वर — Gītā 3.30: युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः — fight, free from fever. Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna to act without fever; the verse describes one who lives without it.
न शोकमायाति — Īśa Upaniṣad 7: तत्र को मोहः कः शोक एकत्वमनुपश्यतः — what delusion, what grief, for one who sees oneness?
From अपार to पार. The ocean is shoreless (अपार), yet the युक्ति, the right means, carries one across. The whole sarga has been about bridges, ships and far shores.