Sarga 3

Vairāgya Prakaraṇa · The essence of the teaching, and Śrī Rāma's pilgrimage (42 verses)

Who is speaking? Sarga 3 at a glance

Vālmīki is now answering Bharadvāja (still within his account to King Ariṣṭanemi).

1. Bharadvāja asks about the state of one liberated while living, beginning with Rāma (1.3.1).
2. Before the story, Vālmīki gives its conclusion: the world is like the blue of the sky; liberation is the complete release of latent tendencies (vāsanās); pure and impure vāsanās; the jīvanmukta (1.3.2–1.3.17).
3. The story of Śrī Rāma begins: his youth, his wish to go on pilgrimage, his first words, and his journey across the land (1.3.18–1.3.41).
4. A closing verse in a longer metre: Rāma returns home (1.3.42).

Verse 1.3.1

भरद्वाज उवाच ।
जीवन्मुक्तस्थितिं ब्रह्मन्कृत्वा राघवमादितः ।
क्रमात्कथय मे नित्यं भविष्यामि सुखी यथा ॥ १.३.१ ॥

ब्रह्मन् (O sage), राघवम् आदितः कृत्वा (beginning with Rāghava, Śrī Rāma) जीवन्मुक्त-स्थितिं (the state of one liberated while living) मे क्रमात् कथय (tell me step by step), यथा (so that) नित्यं सुखी भविष्यामि (I may be happy always).

Translation: Bharadvāja said: "O sage, beginning with Śrī Rāma, tell me step by step the state of one who is liberated while living, so that I may be happy for ever."

Pointers for Reflection:

• स्थिति — Gītā 2.72:
  • एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति । स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेऽपि ब्रह्मनिर्वाणमृच्छति ॥
  • This is the Brahman-state, Pārtha. Reaching it, one is not deluded again. Established in it even at the end, one attains the peace of Brahman.
  • The Gītā ends its second chapter with the ब्राह्मी स्थिति of the steady-minded; Bharadvāja asks for the जीवन्मुक्तस्थिति. Both ask what the free person's state is like.
• क्रमात्, step by step. The student asks for an order, not a summary. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha's length is its answer to this request.
• Reading note. The online text prints व्रह्मन्; the correct form ब्रह्मन् is used here.

Verse 1.3.2

श्रीवाल्मीकिरुवाच ।
भ्रमस्य जागतस्यास्य जातस्याकाशवर्णवत् ।
अपुनःस्मरणं मन्ये साधो विस्मरणं वरम् ॥ १.३.२ ॥

साधो (good one), आकाश-वर्ण-वत् जातस्य (arisen like the colour of the sky) अस्य जागतस्य भ्रमस्य (of this illusion of the world) अपुनः-स्मरणं (not calling it to mind again), विस्मरणं (forgetting it) वरं मन्ये (I consider best).

Translation: Vālmīki said: "Good one, this illusion of the world has arisen like the blue colour of the sky. Not calling it to mind again — forgetting it altogether — is, I think, the best."

Pointers for Reflection:

• The blue of the sky. The sky looks blue, but there is no blue thing there. The world, says Vālmīki, is like that: clearly seen, yet not a thing in itself. This image will recur throughout the text.
• Forgetting, not fighting. The answer is not to struggle against the world, but to stop re-creating it in the mind. Freedom as a kind of forgetting.
• Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.3.6: अथात आदेशो नेति नेति — now the teaching: not this, not this. Setting aside what is seen, one by one, is the Upaniṣadic way of "forgetting" what is not the Self.
• A teaching before the story. Before telling Rāma's story, Vālmīki gives its conclusion. The story that follows is the path to this point.

Verse 1.3.3

दृश्यात्यन्ताभावबोधं विना तन्नानुभूयते ।
कदाचित्केनचिन्नाम स्वबोधोऽन्विष्यतामतः ॥ १.३.३ ॥

दृश्य-अत्यन्त-अभाव-बोधं विना (without understanding the complete non-existence of the seen) तत् (that [freedom]) कदाचित् केनचित् नाम (ever, by anyone at all) न अनुभूयते (is not experienced). अतः (therefore) स्व-बोधः अन्विष्यताम् (let one's own understanding be sought).

Translation: "Without understanding that what is seen does not truly exist, no one ever experiences that freedom. Therefore, seek your own understanding."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Gītā 2.16:
  • नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः । उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः ॥
  • The unreal has no being; the real never ceases to be. Those who see the truth have seen the boundary between the two.
  • दृश्यात्यन्ताभाव — "the complete non-existence of the seen" — is the strongest statement of the Gītā's नासतो विद्यते भावः.
• स्वबोध. Not borrowed knowledge, but one's own realisation. No one else can understand on our behalf.
• A strong claim to weigh. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha does not say the world is merely changing; it says the seen does not exist at all, as such. Notice how this goes further than many readings of the Gītā.

Verse 1.3.4

स चेह संभवत्येव तदर्थमिदमाततम् ।
शास्त्रमाकर्णयसि चेत्तत्त्वमाप्स्यसि नान्यथा ॥ १.३.४ ॥

सः च (and that [understanding]) इह सम्भवति एव (is certainly possible here); तत्-अर्थम् (for that purpose) इदं शास्त्रम् आततम् (this teaching has been set out at length). [इदम्] आकर्णयसि चेत् (if you listen to it) तत्त्वम् आप्स्यसि (you will reach the truth), न अन्यथा (not otherwise).

Translation: "Such understanding can be had here and now; it is for this that the teaching has been laid out in full. Hear it, and you will arrive at the truth — there is no other way."

Pointers for Reflection:

• इह — Kena Upaniṣad 2.5:
  • इह चेदवेदीदथ सत्यमस्ति न चेदिहावेदीन्महती विनष्टिः ।
  • If one knows It here, there is truth. If one does not know It here, great is the loss.
• Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.3.4: इह चेदशकद्बोद्धुं प्राक्शरीरस्य विस्रसः — if one is able to know It here, before the body falls away …
• आकर्णय — listen. The text asks only to be heard fully. श्रवण, listening, is the first step of Vedānta, and the reason this commentary exists.

Verse 1.3.5

जगद्भ्रमोऽयं दृश्योऽपि नास्त्येवेत्यनुभूयते ।
वर्णो व्योम्न इवाखेदाद्विचारेणामुनाऽनघ ॥ १.३.५ ॥

अनघ (sinless one), अमुना विचारेण (by this inquiry) अखेदात् (without strain), अयं जगत्-भ्रमः (this illusion of the world), दृश्यः अपि (though seen), व्योम्नः वर्णः इव (like the colour of the sky) न अस्ति एव इति अनुभूयते (is experienced as not existing at all).

Translation: "Through this inquiry, sinless one, without strain, this illusion of the world, though it is seen, is experienced as not existing at all — like the colour of the sky."

Pointers for Reflection:

• विचार — Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.4.5:
  • आत्मा वा अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यः ।
  • The Self, my dear, is to be seen, heard about, reflected on, and meditated upon.
  • विचार corresponds to मनन, reflection: the step between hearing and realising.
• अखेदात् — without strain. Inquiry is not presented as a hard discipline but as something that works without exhaustion. Understanding, unlike effort, does not tire.
• दृश्योऽपि — though seen. The world does not disappear from view. One still sees the blue sky; one simply no longer believes in a blue thing.

Verse 1.3.6

दृश्यं नास्तीति बोधेन मनसो दृश्यमार्जनम् ।
संपन्नं चेत्तदुत्पन्ना परा निर्वाणनिर्वृतिः ॥ १.३.६ ॥

दृश्यं न अस्ति इति बोधेन (by understanding that the seen does not exist) मनसः दृश्य-मार्जनं (the wiping of the seen from the mind) सम्पन्नं चेत् (if it is accomplished), तत् (then) परा निर्वाण-निर्वृतिः (the supreme peace of nirvāṇa) उत्पन्ना (has arisen).

Translation: "When, through understanding that the seen does not exist, the mind is wiped clean of the seen, then the supreme peace of nirvāṇa has arisen."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Gītā 6.15:
  • युञ्जन्नेवं सदात्मानं योगी नियतमानसः । शान्तिं निर्वाणपरमां मत्संस्थामधिगच्छति ॥
  • Always uniting himself thus, the yogī with a disciplined mind reaches peace, the supreme nirvāṇa that rests in me.
• मार्जन — wiping clean. The image is of a mirror being cleaned. Nothing is added to the mind; only what clouds it is removed.
• निर्वाण and निर्वृति. "Blowing out" and "deep contentment": both words for the same peace. The text uses nirvāṇa freely, one of many signs of its openness to Buddhist vocabulary (see the synthesis of traditions).

Verse 1.3.7

अन्यथा शास्त्रगर्तेषु लुठतां भवतामिह ।
भवत्यकृत्रिमाज्ञानां कल्पैरपि न निर्वृतिः ॥ १.३.७ ॥

अन्यथा (otherwise), इह (here) शास्त्र-गर्तेषु लुठतां (rolling about in the pits of the scriptures) अकृत्रिम-अज्ञानां भवताम् (for you, whose ignorance is natural, not put on), कल्पैः अपि (even in aeons) निर्वृतिः न भवति (there is no peace).

Translation: "Otherwise, for people like you, whose ignorance is innate, rolling about in the pits of the scriptures, there is no peace even after aeons."

Pointers for Reflection:

• The pits of scripture. A striking image: scriptures can become pits to roll in rather than ladders to climb. Learning without inquiry is a trap. (Recall Kāruṇya in 1.1.16.)
• Gītā 2.52–53:
  • श्रुतिविप्रतिपन्ना ते यदा स्थास्यति निश्चला । समाधावचला बुद्धिस्तदा योगमवाप्स्यसि ॥
  • When your understanding, now bewildered by much scripture, stands firm and unmoving in contemplation, then you will reach yoga.
• Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23:
  • नायमात्मा प्रवचनेन लभ्यो न मेधया न बहुना श्रुतेन ।
  • This Self is not attained by teaching, nor by intellect, nor by much learning.
• A warning for any commentator. Including this one. The aim is not more learning, but the understanding the learning points to.

Verse 1.3.8

अशेषेण परित्यागो वासनानां य उत्तमः ।
मोक्ष इत्युच्यते ब्रह्मन्स एव विमलक्रमः ॥ १.३.८ ॥

ब्रह्मन् (O sage), वासनानाम् (of the vāsanās, latent tendencies) यः अशेषेण उत्तमः परित्यागः (the complete and supreme giving-up), [सः] मोक्षः इति उच्यते (is called liberation); सः एव विमल-क्रमः (that alone is the pure path).

Translation: "When vāsanās are let go entirely, without remainder, that highest letting-go is what is named liberation, O sage. It alone is the stainless way."

Pointers for Reflection:

• वासना — the key word of this sarga. A वासना is a latent tendency, the impression left by past experience that shapes future desire and perception. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha defines liberation simply as their total release.
• Gītā 2.55:
  • प्रजहाति यदा कामान्सर्वान्पार्थ मनोगतान् । आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः स्थितप्रज्ञस्तदोच्यते ॥
  • When one gives up all the desires of the mind, Pārtha, content in the Self by the Self, then one is called steady in wisdom.
  • प्रजहाति सर्वान् कामान् there, परित्यागः अशेषेण वासनानाम् here: the same completeness.
• Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.7: यदा सर्वे प्रमुच्यन्ते कामा येऽस्य हृदि श्रिताः । अथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्यत्र ब्रह्म समश्नुते ॥ — when all desires in the heart are released, the mortal becomes immortal and attains Brahman here. (The same verse appears in the Kaṭha; see 1.1.52.)
• Reading note. The online text prints मोक्षं इत्युच्यते; the grammatical form मोक्ष इत्युच्यते is used here.

Verse 1.3.9

क्षीणायां वासनायां तु चेतो गलति सत्वरम् ।
क्षीणायां शीतसंतत्यां ब्रह्मन्हिमकणो यथा ॥ १.३.९ ॥

ब्रह्मन् (O sage), यथा (just as) शीत-सन्तत्यां क्षीणायां (when the continuous cold fades) हिम-कणः (a crystal of ice) [गलति] (melts), [तथा] वासनायां क्षीणायां तु (when the vāsanā fades) चेतः सत्वरं गलति (the mind melts away quickly).

Translation: "When latent tendencies wane, the mind quickly melts away, O sage, just as a crystal of ice melts when the cold no longer lasts."

Pointers for Reflection:

• The mind as ice. Ice is only water held in shape by continued cold. The mind is only consciousness held in shape by continued vāsanās. Remove the cold and the ice returns to water; nothing is destroyed.
• Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad 6.34:
  • मन एव मनुष्याणां कारणं बन्धमोक्षयोः ।
  • The mind alone is the cause of people's bondage and liberation.
• A question to sit with. Which of my habits of thought are "cold" I keep renewing, which hold the mind in its old shape?

Verse 1.3.10

अयं वासनया देहो ध्रियते भूतपञ्जरः ।
तनुनान्तर्निविष्टेन मुक्तौघस्तन्तुना यथा ॥ १.३.१० ॥

अयं भूत-पञ्जरः देहः (this body, a cage of elements) अन्तः-निविष्टेन तनुना तन्तुना (by a thin thread running inside) मुक्त-ओघः यथा (as a string of pearls [is held]), [तथा] वासनया ध्रियते (is held together by vāsanā).

Translation: "Vāsanā holds this body together — this cage of elements — the way a fine thread hidden inside keeps a strand of pearls from scattering."

Pointers for Reflection:

• A reversal of Gītā 7.7:
  • मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय । मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥
  • There is nothing higher than me, Dhanañjaya. All this is strung on me, like pearls on a thread.
  • The same image, two threads. In the Gītā, the thread holding all things is the Lord. Here, the thread holding the individual body is vāsanā. Perhaps both are true: the Lord holds the world; our tendencies hold our particular life in it.
• When the thread goes, the pearls scatter. When vāsanā ends, the body is no longer bound together as a cause of future births.

Verse 1.3.11

वासना द्विविधा प्रोक्ता शुद्धा च मलिना तथा ।
मलिना जन्मनो हेतुः शुद्धा जन्मविनाशिनी ॥ १.३.११ ॥

वासना द्वि-विधा प्रोक्ता (vāsanā is said to be of two kinds): शुद्धा च तथा मलिना (pure and impure). मलिना जन्मनः हेतुः (the impure is the cause of birth); शुद्धा जन्म-विनाशिनी (the pure ends birth).

Translation: "Two sorts of vāsanā are taught: the clean and the stained. The stained one gives rise to birth; the clean one puts an end to it."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Gītā 16.5:
  • दैवी सम्पद्विमोक्षाय निबन्धायासुरी मता ।
  • The divine qualities are held to lead to liberation, the demonic to bondage.
  • The same two-fold division: one kind of disposition frees, the other binds.
• Not all tendencies are a problem. Liberation does not require having no tendencies at all while living; it requires that they be pure. This is how a free person can still act, eat and speak (see 1.2.30).

Verse 1.3.12

अज्ञानसुघनाकारा घनाहंकारशालिनी ।
पुनर्जन्मकरी प्रोक्ता मलिना वासना बुधैः ॥ १.३.१२ ॥

अज्ञान-सुघन-आकारा (dense with ignorance), घन-अहंकार-शालिनी (full of thick ego), पुनः-जन्म-करी (producing rebirth) मलिना वासना (the impure vāsanā) बुधैः प्रोक्ता (is described by the wise).

Translation: "The wise describe impure vāsanā as dense with ignorance, heavy with ego, and productive of rebirth."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Gītā 18.17:
  • यस्य नाहङ्कृतो भावो बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते । हत्वापि स इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते ॥
  • One who has no sense of "I am the doer", whose understanding is not tainted — even if he slays these worlds, he does not slay and is not bound.
  • अहंकार is the mark of the impure vāsanā. Remove it, and even action does not bind.
• Two marks. Ignorance (अज्ञान) and ego (अहंकार). They always come together: the sense of a separate "I" is the first misunderstanding.

Verse 1.3.13

पुनर्जन्माङ्कुरं त्यक्त्वा स्थिता संभृष्टबीजवत् ।
देहार्थं ध्रियते ज्ञातज्ञेया शुद्धेति चोच्यते ॥ १.३.१३ ॥

पुनः-जन्म-अङ्कुरं त्यक्त्वा (having given up the sprout of rebirth), सम्भृष्ट-बीज-वत् स्थिता (remaining like a roasted seed), देह-अर्थं ध्रियते (kept up only for the sake of the body), ज्ञात-ज्ञेया (in one who has known the knowable), शुद्धा इति च उच्यते (is called pure).

Translation: "That vāsanā which has given up the sprout of rebirth, remaining like a roasted seed and kept only for the body's sake, in one who has known what is to be known — that is called pure."

Pointers for Reflection:

• The roasted seed. A roasted seed still looks like a seed, but it can never sprout. The tendencies of a liberated person still appear — they walk, eat, speak — but they produce no new bondage.
• Gītā 4.37:
  • यथैधांसि समिद्धोऽग्निर्भस्मसात्कुरुतेऽर्जुन । ज्ञानाग्निः सर्वकर्माणि भस्मसात्कुरुते तथा ॥
  • As a blazing fire turns fuel to ash, Arjuna, so the fire of knowledge turns all actions to ash.
  • Knowledge is the fire that roasts the seed.
• Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 2.2.8: भिद्यते हृदयग्रन्थिश्छिद्यन्ते सर्वसंशयाः । क्षीयन्ते चास्य कर्माणि तस्मिन्दृष्टे परावरे ॥ — the knot of the heart is cut, all doubts are dispelled, and one's karma wanes, when That, the high and the low, is seen.
• ज्ञातज्ञेय again. The phrase from 1.1.50 returns: the one "who has known the knowable".

Verse 1.3.14

अपुनर्जन्मकरणी जीवन्मुक्तेषु देहिषु ।
वासना विद्यते शुद्धा देहे चक्र इव भ्रमः ॥ १.३.१४ ॥

जीवन्मुक्तेषु देहिषु (in embodied ones liberated while living) अपुनः-जन्म-करणी (not causing rebirth) शुद्धा वासना (a pure vāsanā) विद्यते (exists), देहे (in the body), चक्रे भ्रमः इव (like the spinning that continues in a wheel).

Translation: "In embodied beings liberated while living, a pure vāsanā remains that does not cause rebirth, like the spinning that continues in a potter's wheel after the push has stopped."

Pointers for Reflection:

• The potter's wheel. The potter lets go, but the wheel keeps turning for a while on its own momentum. The free person's body and habits continue for a while on the momentum of the past, but no new push is given.
• Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14.2:
  • तस्य तावदेव चिरं यावन्न विमोक्ष्येऽथ सम्पत्स्य इति ।
  • For him the delay lasts only as long as he is not released from the body; then he reaches fulfilment.
  • Vedānta calls this momentum प्रारब्ध: the karma already set in motion, which runs its course without binding the knower.
• Why the wise still have a body. This verse answers a natural question: if one is free, why does life go on? Because the wheel is still spinning.

Verse 1.3.15

ये शुद्धवासना भूयो न जन्मानर्थभाजनम् ।
ज्ञातज्ञेयास्त उच्यन्ते जीवन्मुक्ता महाधियः ॥ १.३.१५ ॥

ये (those who) शुद्ध-वासनाः (have pure vāsanās), भूयः (again) जन्म-अनर्थ-भाजनं न [भवन्ति] (do not become vessels for the misfortune of birth), ते ज्ञात-ज्ञेयाः (they, who have known the knowable) महा-धियः (of great understanding) जीवन्मुक्ताः उच्यन्ते (are called liberated while living).

Translation: "Those whose vāsanās are pure, who are no longer vessels for the misfortune of rebirth, who have known what is to be known — those great-minded ones are called liberated while living."

Pointers for Reflection:

• ज्ञातज्ञेय — Gītā 7.2:
  • ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः । यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते ॥
  • I will teach you this knowledge together with its realisation, fully. Knowing it, nothing else remains here to be known.
• Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.6: अकामो निष्काम आप्तकाम आत्मकामो न तस्य प्राणा उत्क्रामन्ति ब्रह्मैव सन्ब्रह्माप्येति ॥ — free from desire, his desires fulfilled, desiring only the Self — his life-breaths do not depart; being Brahman, he goes to Brahman.
• A definition to remember. Verses 11–15 give the Yoga Vasiṣṭha's own definition of the jīvanmukta: one whose remaining tendencies are pure, like roasted seeds on a slowing wheel.

Verse 1.3.16

जीवन्मुक्तिपदं प्राप्तो यथा रामो महामतिः ।
तत्तेऽहं शृणु वक्ष्यामि जरामरणशान्तये ॥ १.३.१६ ॥

यथा महामतिः रामः (how the great-minded Rāma) जीवन्मुक्ति-पदं प्राप्तः (reached the state of living liberation), तत् ते अहं वक्ष्यामि (I will tell you that), जरा-मरण-शान्तये (for the ending of old age and death); शृणु (listen).

Translation: "Listen: I will tell you how the great-minded Rāma reached the state of living liberation, so that old age and death may be stilled for you."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Gītā 7.29 — the same phrase:
  • जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ते ये । ते ब्रह्म तद्विदुः कृत्स्नमध्यात्मं कर्म चाखिलम् ॥
  • Those who strive for freedom from old age and death, taking refuge in me, know That Brahman fully, the inner Self and all action.
  • जरामरणमोक्षाय there, जरामरणशान्तये here.
• From definition to example. Verses 8–15 define liberation; now Vālmīki promises a living example: Rāma himself.
• Reading note. The online text prints वक्ष्याभि; the correct form वक्ष्यामि is used here.

Verse 1.3.17

भरद्वाज महाबुद्धे रामक्रममिमं शुभम् ।
शृणु वक्ष्यामि तेनैव सर्वं ज्ञास्यसि सर्वदा ॥ १.३.१७ ॥

महा-बुद्धे भरद्वाज (Bharadvāja of great intellect), इमं शुभं राम-क्रमम् (this auspicious path of Rāma) वक्ष्यामि (I will tell); शृणु (listen). तेन एव (by that alone) सर्वदा सर्वं ज्ञास्यसि (you will know everything, for ever).

Translation: "Bharadvāja, great of understanding, listen: I will tell you this auspicious course of Rāma's life. Through it alone you will know everything, for ever."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.1.3:
  • कस्मिन्नु भगवो विज्ञाते सर्वमिदं विज्ञातं भवतीति ।
  • Revered sir, what is that by knowing which all this becomes known?
  • तेनैव सर्वं ज्ञास्यसि answers this question: there is one knowledge that includes all knowledge.
• रामक्रम — Rāma's path. Not a set of rules, but a life told in sequence. The story itself is the teaching.

Verse 1.3.18

विद्यागृहाद्विनिष्क्रम्य रामो राजीवलोचनः ।
दिवसान्यनयद्गेहे लीलाभिरकुतोभयः ॥ १.३.१८ ॥

राजीव-लोचनः रामः (lotus-eyed Rāma) विद्या-गृहात् विनिष्क्रम्य (having left the house of learning) अकुतः-भयः (fearing nothing from anywhere) गेहे (at home) लीलाभिः (in play) दिवसान् अनयत् (spent his days).

Translation: "Having finished his studies, lotus-eyed Rāma spent his days at home in play, without a fear in the world."

Pointers for Reflection:

• The story begins. After seventeen verses of teaching, Vālmīki turns to Rāma's life. Like Kāruṇya (1.1.10), Rāma has just returned from his teacher's house.
• Fearless — but not yet free. Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.9 describes the fearlessness of the knower: आनन्दं ब्रह्मणो विद्वान् न बिभेति कुतश्चन — knowing the bliss of Brahman, one fears nothing from anywhere. Rāma's youthful अकुतोभय is a carefree innocence, not yet that knowledge. The crisis to come will turn the first fearlessness into the second.
• लीला. Play. Rāma's life begins in innocent play; the Yoga Vasiṣṭha will later describe the whole world as consciousness at play.

Verse 1.3.19

अथ गच्छति काले तु पालयत्यवनिं नृपे ।
प्रजासु वीतशोकासु स्थितासु विगतज्वरम् ॥ १.३.१९ ॥

अथ (then) काले गच्छति तु (as time passed), नृपे अवनिं पालयति [सति] (while the king ruled the earth), प्रजासु वीत-शोकासु (the people being free of sorrow) विगत-ज्वरं स्थितासु (and living without distress) …

Translation: "Time passed. The king governed the land, and his subjects lived without grief and without fever of mind …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• A kingdom at peace. The setting is not one of outward suffering. Rāma's coming crisis will not be caused by hardship; it will arise in the midst of comfort. This makes it all the more a question about life itself.
• The sentence continues into the next verse.

Verse 1.3.20

तीर्थपुण्याश्रमश्रेणीर्द्रष्टुमुत्कण्ठितं मनः ।
रामस्याभूद्भृशं तत्र कदाचिद्गुणशालिनः ॥ १.३.२० ॥

तत्र (then) कदाचित् (one day) गुण-शालिनः रामस्य मनः (the mind of virtuous Rāma) तीर्थ-पुण्य-आश्रम-श्रेणीः (the many sacred places and holy hermitages) द्रष्टुं (to see) भृशम् उत्कण्ठितम् अभूत् (became deeply eager).

Translation: "… and at some point a strong longing arose in the heart of Rāma, rich in good qualities, to visit the holy fords, places of merit and lines of hermitages."

Pointers for Reflection:

• The first stirring. The longing to see holy places is the first sign of something beyond play. The seeker in Rāma begins as a pilgrim.
• उत्कण्ठित. Longing, yearning. Spiritual life in this text begins not with a doctrine but with a longing.

Verse 1.3.21

राघवश्चिन्तयित्वैवमुपेत्य चरणौ पितुः ।
हंसः पद्माविव नवौ जग्राह नखकेसरौ ॥ १.३.२१ ॥

राघवः (Rāghava) एवं चिन्तयित्वा (having thought thus) पितुः (his father's) नख-केसरौ (with nails like stamens) नवौ चरणौ (fresh [lotus-like] feet) उपेत्य (approaching), हंसः पद्मौ इव (as a swan [takes] two lotuses), जग्राह (clasped).

Translation: "Having thought this over, Rāma approached his father and clasped his feet — their toenails like stamens — as a swan takes hold of two fresh lotuses."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Reverence first. Before asking, Rāma bows. The Taittirīya Upaniṣad 1.11.2 instructs: पितृदेवो भव — treat your father as God.
• The swan. The हंस is the classic image of discernment and of the liberated soul (परमहंस). The young Rāma is already pictured as a swan.

Verse 1.3.22

श्रीराम उवाच ।
तीर्थानि देवसद्मानि वनान्यायतनानि च ।
द्रष्टुमुत्कण्ठितं तात ममेदं नाथ मानसम् ॥ १.३.२२ ॥

तात (dear father), नाथ (my lord), मम इदं मानसं (this mind of mine) तीर्थानि देव-सद्मानि (sacred fords, temples) वनानि आयतनानि च (forests and shrines) द्रष्टुम् उत्कण्ठितम् (is eager to see).

Translation: Śrī Rāma said: "Dear father, my lord, my heart longs to see the sacred fords, the temples of the gods, the forests and the shrines."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Śrī Rāma's first words in the text. He speaks of his mind (मानस) and its longing. The whole Yoga Vasiṣṭha will be about the mind; his first words already name it.
• What he wants to see, and what he will see. He sets out to see holy places. He will come back having seen something else: the emptiness of worldly life (Sarga 5 onward).

Verse 1.3.23

तदेतामर्थितां पूर्वां सफलां कर्तुमर्हसि ।
न सोऽस्ति भुवने नाथ त्वया योऽर्थी न मानितः ॥ १.३.२३ ॥

तत् (so) एतां पूर्वां अर्थितां (this first request) स-फलां कर्तुम् अर्हसि (please fulfil). नाथ (lord), भुवने (in the world) सः न अस्ति (there is no one) यः अर्थी (who, having asked) त्वया न मानितः (has not been honoured by you).

Translation: "Please grant this, my first request. My lord, there is no one in the world who has asked something of you and not been honoured."

Pointers for Reflection:

• पूर्वाम् — my first request. Rāma has never asked his father for anything before. His first wish is not for pleasure but for pilgrimage.
• Respectful persuasion. He appeals to his father's generosity, not to his own rights. The tone of the young seeker is humble even when he wants something.

Verse 1.3.24

इति संप्रार्थितो राजा वसिष्ठेन समं तदा ।
विचार्यामुञ्चदेवैनं रामं प्रथममर्थिनम् ॥ १.३.२४ ॥

इति सम्प्रार्थितः राजा (the king, entreated thus) तदा वसिष्ठेन समं विचार्य (then, having considered it with Vasiṣṭha) एनं प्रथमम् अर्थिनं रामम् (this Rāma, asking for the first time) अमुञ्चत् एव (let go).

Translation: "So entreated, the king considered the matter together with Vasiṣṭha, and then let Rāma, asking for the first time, go."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Vasiṣṭha enters the story. The future teacher first appears quietly, as the king's adviser. The guru is already present before the student knows he needs one.
• विचार again. Even the king's decision is made by विचार, careful consideration, with his teacher. Inquiry runs through the whole text, from the smallest decision to the deepest question.

Verse 1.3.25

शुभे नक्षत्रदिवसे भ्रातृभ्यां सह राघवः ।
मङ्गलालंकृतवपुः कृतस्वस्त्ययनो द्विजैः ॥ १.३.२५ ॥

शुभे नक्षत्र-दिवसे (on a day of auspicious stars) राघवः (Rāghava), भ्रातृभ्यां सह (with his two brothers), मङ्गल-अलंकृत-वपुः (his body adorned with auspicious marks), द्विजैः कृत-स्वस्त्ययनः (blessings having been performed by the brāhmaṇas) …

Translation: "On a day of auspicious stars, Rāma, with his two brothers, adorned with auspicious ornaments, the brāhmaṇas having performed rites of blessing for him …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• The departure. Verses 25–30 describe the setting out in a single long sentence: the auspicious day, the companions, the mothers' blessings, the city's farewell.
• Two brothers. Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna (Bharata stays behind, as later sargas suggest).
• The sentence continues through 1.3.27.

Verse 1.3.26

वसिष्ठप्रहितैर्विप्रैः शास्त्रज्ञैश्च समन्वितः ।
स्निग्धैः कतिपयैरेव राजपुत्रवरैः सह ॥ १.३.२६ ॥

वसिष्ठ-प्रहितैः (sent by Vasiṣṭha) शास्त्र-ज्ञैः विप्रैः च (and with brāhmaṇas learned in the scriptures) समन्वितः (accompanied), स्निग्धैः कतिपयैः एव राज-पुत्र-वरैः सह (and with a few affectionate princes of the best kind) …

Translation: "… accompanied by learned brāhmaṇas sent by Vasiṣṭha and by a few close and noble princes …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• Vasiṣṭha's care. The teacher sends learned companions with Rāma. The guru's guidance accompanies the student even before formal teaching begins.
• कतिपयैः — only a few. A small, chosen company. Pilgrimage is not a royal procession.

Verse 1.3.27

अम्बाभिर्विहिताशीभिरालिङ्ग्यालिङ्ग्य भूषितः ।
निरगात्स्वगृहात्तस्मात्तीर्थयात्रार्थमुद्यतः ॥ १.३.२७ ॥

विहित-आशीभिः अम्बाभिः (by his mothers, who gave their blessings) आलिङ्ग्य आलिङ्ग्य (embracing him again and again) भूषितः (adorned), तीर्थ-यात्रा-अर्थम् उद्यतः (ready for pilgrimage), तस्मात् स्व-गृहात् निरगात् (he went out from his home).

Translation: "… adorned by the embraces of his mothers, who held him again and again and blessed him, Rāma set out from home, ready for pilgrimage."

Pointers for Reflection:

• आलिङ्ग्यालिङ्ग्य. The repetition (embracing, embracing) shows the mothers' reluctance to let go. A tender human detail in a philosophical text.
• Leaving home. The outward journey from home will lead to an inward journey away from attachment, and finally back home as a free person (see wisdom lived, not renounced).

Verse 1.3.28

निर्गतः स्वपुरात्पौरैस्तूर्यघोषेण वादितः ।
पीयमानः पुरस्त्रीणां नेत्रैर्भृङ्गौघभङ्गुरैः ॥ १.३.२८ ॥

स्व-पुरात् निर्गतः (going out from his city), पौरैः तूर्य-घोषेण वादितः (sent off by the citizens with the sound of trumpets), पुर-स्त्रीणां भृङ्ग-ओघ-भङ्गुरैः नेत्रैः (by the eyes of the city's women, darting like swarms of bees) पीयमानः (being drunk in) …

Translation: "Leaving his city, sent off by the citizens with the sound of trumpets, his form drunk in by the women of the city with eyes darting like swarms of bees …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• Poetry in the narrative. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha is also a work of kāvya, ornate poetry. Its images (eyes like bees, grain like snow) are part of its charm and its teaching style.
• Everyone looks at Rāma. He is the centre of attention. Soon he will turn his own gaze inward.

Verse 1.3.29

ग्रामीणललनालोलहस्तपद्मापनोदितैः ।
लाजवर्षैर्विकीर्णात्मा हिमैरिव हिमाचलः ॥ १.३.२९ ॥

ग्रामीण-ललना-लोल-हस्त-पद्म-अपनोदितैः (thrown by the restless lotus-hands of the village women) लाज-वर्षैः (by showers of parched grain) विकीर्ण-आत्मा (covered all over), हिमैः हिमाचलः इव (like the Himālaya with snow).

Translation: "… strewn all over with puffed rice tossed by the restless lotus-hands of the village women, so that he looked like the Himālaya under a fall of snow."

Pointers for Reflection:

• लाज, parched grain. Showered for blessing at auspicious moments, as at weddings. Rāma is blessed by city and village alike.
• Rāma as a mountain. Compared to the Himālaya: steady, white with blessings. The image hints at the steadiness he will later reach.

Verse 1.3.30

आवर्जयन्विप्रगणान्परिशृण्वन्प्रजाशिषः ।
आलोकयन्दिगन्तांश्च परिचक्राम जाङ्गलान् ॥ १.३.३० ॥

विप्र-गणान् आवर्जयन् (honouring the groups of brāhmaṇas), प्रजा-आशिषः परिशृण्वन् (listening to the people's blessings), दिक्-अन्तान् च आलोकयन् (and gazing at the far horizons), जाङ्गलान् परिचक्राम (he travelled through the open country).

Translation: "Honouring the brāhmaṇas, listening to the blessings of the people, and gazing at the far horizons, he travelled through the open country."

Pointers for Reflection:

• Three things Rāma does: he honours (आवर्जयन्), he listens (परिशृण्वन्), he looks (आलोकयन्). The pilgrim's attitude: respect, receptivity, attention.
• दिगन्त — the far horizons. His eyes are already on the distance. The journey widens his view.

Verse 1.3.31

अथारभ्य स्वकात्तस्मात्क्रमात्कोशलमण्डलात् ।
स्नानदानतपोध्यानपूर्वकं स ददर्श ह ॥ १.३.३१ ॥

अथ (then) तस्मात् स्वकात् कोशल-मण्डलात् आरभ्य (beginning from his own land of Kosala) क्रमात् (in order) सः स्नान-दान-तपः-ध्यान-पूर्वकं (with ritual bathing, giving, austerity and meditation) ददर्श ह (he visited) …

Translation: "Then, beginning from his own land of Kosala, he visited, one after another, with bathing, giving, austerity and meditation …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• Gītā 18.5:
  • यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत् । यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम् ॥
  • Acts of sacrifice, giving and austerity should not be given up; they should be done. Sacrifice, giving and austerity purify even the wise.
  • Rāma's pilgrimage includes दान and तपस्, exactly the purifying acts the Gītā says should never be abandoned.
• Not sightseeing. Each place is visited with practice: bathing, giving, austerity, meditation. The outer journey is shaped as an inner discipline.
• The sentence continues into the next verse.

Verse 1.3.32

नदीतीराणि पुण्यानि वनान्यायतनानि च ।
जङ्गलानि जनान्तेषु तटान्यब्धिमहीभृताम् ॥ १.३.३२ ॥

पुण्यानि नदी-तीराणि (holy river banks), वनानि आयतनानि च (forests and shrines), जन-अन्तेषु जङ्गलानि (wildernesses at the edges of settlement), अब्धि-महीभृतां तटानि (shores of oceans and slopes of mountains).

Translation: "… holy river banks, forests and shrines, wild lands at the edges of human settlement, the shores of the seas and the slopes of mountains."

Pointers for Reflection:

• The whole of the land. Verses 32–40 name rivers, lakes, cities and hermitages across the Indian subcontinent. The list maps a sacred geography.

Verse 1.3.33

मन्दाकिनीमिन्दुनिभां कालिन्दीं चोत्पलामलाम् ।
सरस्वतीं शतद्रूं च चन्द्रभागामिरावतीम् ॥ १.३.३३ ॥

इन्दु-निभां मन्दाकिनीम् (the moon-bright Mandākinī), उत्पल-अमलां कालिन्दीं च (and the Kālindī, pure as a lotus), सरस्वतीं शतद्रूं च (the Sarasvatī and the Śatadrū), चन्द्रभागाम् इरावतीम् (the Candrabhāgā and the Irāvatī) …

Translation: "… the Mandākinī, bright as the moon; the Kālindī (Yamunā), clear as a lotus; the Sarasvatī, the Śatadrū (Sutlej), the Candrabhāgā (Chenab) and the Irāvatī (Ravi) …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• Rivers of the north. Several of these are the rivers of the Punjab. The text's geography stretches from the Himālaya to the far south.

Verse 1.3.34

वेणीं च कृष्णवेणीं च निर्विन्ध्यां सरयूं तथा ।
चर्मण्वतीं वितस्तां च विपाशां बाहुदामपि ॥ १.३.३४ ॥

वेणीं च कृष्णवेणीं च (the Veṇī and the Kṛṣṇaveṇī), निर्विन्ध्यां तथा सरयूं (the Nirvindhyā and the Sarayū), चर्मण्वतीं वितस्तां च (the Carmaṇvatī and the Vitastā), विपाशां बाहुदाम् अपि (the Vipāśā and the Bāhudā too) …

Translation: "… the Veṇī and the Kṛṣṇaveṇī, the Nirvindhyā and the Sarayū, the Carmaṇvatī (Chambal), the Vitastā (Jhelum), the Vipāśā (Beas) and the Bāhudā …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• The Sarayū. The river of Rāma's own city, Ayodhyā, is placed among all the others. Home becomes one holy place among many.
• The Vitastā (Jhelum) flows through Kashmir, where the earliest version of this text, the Mokṣopāya, was composed (see 1.1.53).

Verse 1.3.35

प्रयागं नैमिषं चैव धर्मारण्यं गयां तथा ।
वाराणसीं श्रीगिरिं च केदारं पुष्करं तथा ॥ १.३.३५ ॥

प्रयागं नैमिषं च एव (Prayāga and Naimiṣa), धर्मारण्यं तथा गयां (Dharmāraṇya and Gayā), वाराणसीं श्रीगिरिं च (Vārāṇasī and Śrīgiri), केदारं तथा पुष्करम् (Kedāra and Puṣkara) …

Translation: "… Prayāga and the Naimiṣa forest, Dharmāraṇya and Gayā, Vārāṇasī and Śrīgiri, Kedāra and Puṣkara …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• Naimiṣa. The forest where, by tradition, the sages gathered to hear the Purāṇas. Rāma passes through the very place where sacred stories are told.
• Gayā. Sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists — a small echo of the text's synthesis.

Verse 1.3.36

मानसं च क्रमसरस्तथैवोत्तरमानसम् ।
वडवावदनं चैव तीर्थवृन्दं स सादरम् ॥ १.३.३६ ॥

सः (he) सादरं (with reverence) मानसं च क्रम-सरः (Lake Mānasa and Krama lake), तथा एव उत्तर-मानसम् (and Uttaramānasa), वडवा-वदनं च एव (and Vaḍavāmukha) तीर्थ-वृन्दं (a host of sacred places) [ददर्श] (visited) …

Translation: "… with reverence he visited Lake Mānasa, the Krama lake and Uttaramānasa, Vaḍavāmukha, and a host of other sacred places …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• मानस — lake and mind. The sacred Lake Mānasa bears the same name as the mind (मानस) Rāma spoke of in 1.3.22. Perhaps a quiet pun: the pilgrim visits the outer मानस before learning to see the inner one.
• सादरम्. Every visit is made with reverence. Attitude matters more than the list.

Verse 1.3.37

अग्नितीर्थं महातीर्थमिन्द्रद्युम्नसरस्तथा ।
सरांसि सरितश्चैव तथा नदह्रदावलीम् ॥ १.३.३७ ॥

अग्नि-तीर्थं महा-तीर्थम् (Agnitīrtha and Mahātīrtha), तथा इन्द्रद्युम्न-सरः (and the lake of Indradyumna), सरांसि सरितः च एव (lakes and rivers), तथा नद-ह्रद-आवलीम् (and rows of streams and pools) …

Translation: "… Agnitīrtha and Mahātīrtha, the lake of Indradyumna, and many other lakes and rivers, streams and pools …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• Water everywhere. Most of the holy places named are waters: rivers, lakes, fords (तीर्थ, literally a crossing place). Recall Sarga 2: the teaching is a ship or bridge across the ocean of existence. The pilgrim visits the outer crossings first.

Verse 1.3.38

स्वामिनं कार्तिकेयं च शालग्रामं हरिं तथा ।
स्थानानि च चतुःषष्टिं हरेरथ हरस्य च ॥ १.३.३८ ॥

स्वामिनं कार्तिकेयं च (the Lord Kārttikeya), शालग्रामं तथा हरिम् (Śālagrāma and Hari), अथ हरेः हरस्य च चतुः-षष्टिं स्थानानि (and the sixty-four sacred sites of Hari and of Hara) …

Translation: "… the shrine of Lord Kārttikeya, Śālagrāma and Hari, and the sixty-four sacred sites of Viṣṇu and of Śiva …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• Kārttikeya. The god also called Skanda and Śarajanman — the form Sanatkumāra took because of Viṣṇu's curse (1.1.59). Rāma, who is Viṣṇu, visits the shrine of the one he once cursed.
• Hari and Hara together. Viṣṇu's and Śiva's shrines are named side by side. The text honours both, as later it draws on Kashmir Śaivism too (see the synthesis of traditions).

Verse 1.3.39

नानाश्चर्यविचित्राणि चतुरब्धितटानि च ।
विन्ध्यमन्दरकुञ्जांश्च कुलशैलस्थलानि च ॥ १.३.३९ ॥

नाना-आश्चर्य-विचित्राणि (full of many wonders) चतुः-अब्धि-तटानि च (and the shores of the four seas), विन्ध्य-मन्दर-कुञ्जान् च (the groves of Vindhya and Mandara), कुल-शैल-स्थलानि च (and the regions of the great mountain ranges) …

Translation: "… the coasts of the four oceans, full of every kind of marvel, the thickets of the Vindhya and Mandara hills, and the uplands of the great ranges …"

Pointers for Reflection:

• To the edges of the world. The four seas mark the limits of the known earth. Rāma sees everything the world has to offer — and will soon conclude that none of it satisfies.

Verse 1.3.40

राजर्षीणां च महतां ब्रह्मर्षीणां तथैव च ।
देवानां ब्राह्मणानां च पावनानाश्रमाञ्छुभान् ॥ १.३.४० ॥

महतां राजर्षीणां च (of the great royal sages) तथा एव ब्रह्मर्षीणां च (and of the brāhmaṇa sages), देवानां ब्राह्मणानां च (of gods and of brāhmaṇas) पावनान् शुभान् आश्रमान् (the purifying, auspicious hermitages) …

Translation: "… and the purifying, auspicious hermitages of great royal sages and brāhmaṇa sages, of gods and of brāhmaṇas."

Pointers for Reflection:

• राजर्षि before ब्रह्मर्षि. The royal sages are named first. Rāma, a future king, visits those who combined rule and wisdom — the ideal he will embody (compare Gītā 4.2, quoted at 1.1.23).
• Reading note. The online text prints ब्राह्मणानां चे; the reading ब्राह्मणानां च, which fits the metre, is used here.

Verse 1.3.41

भूयोभूयः स बभ्राम भ्रातृभ्यां सह मानदः ।
चतुर्ष्वपि दिगन्तेषु सर्वानेव महीतटान् ॥ १.३.४१ ॥

मान-दः (he who gives honour to others) सः (he) भ्रातृभ्यां सह (with his two brothers) चतुर्षु अपि दिक्-अन्तेषु (in all four directions) सर्वान् एव मही-तटान् (all the lands of the earth) भूयः भूयः बभ्राम (wandered again and again).

Translation: "Again and again he wandered with his brothers through all the lands of the earth in every direction, giving honour wherever he went."

Pointers for Reflection:

• भूयोभूयः, babhrāma. "Again and again he wandered." The verb भ्रम् means to wander, but its noun भ्रम also means illusion (1.3.2: जगद्भ्रम). Rāma wanders through the world-illusion before seeing through it.
• मानद — giver of honour. Even as a prince on pilgrimage, Rāma honours others rather than seeking honour.

Verse 1.3.42

अमरकिन्नरमानवमानितः समवलोक्य महीमखिलामिमाम् ।
उपययौ स्वगृहं रघुनन्दनो विहृतदिक् शिवलोकमिवेश्वरः ॥ १.३.४२ ॥

अमर-किन्नर-मानव-मानितः (honoured by gods, kinnaras and humans), इमाम् अखिलां महीं समवलोक्य (having seen this whole earth), विहृत-दिक् (having roamed all directions), रघुनन्दनः (the delight of the Raghus) स्व-गृहम् उपययौ (returned home), ईश्वरः शिवलोकम् इव (as the Lord to his own world of Śiva).

Translation: Honoured by gods, kinnaras and humans, having seen the whole earth and roamed every direction, the delight of the Raghus returned home, as the Lord returns to his own heaven.

Pointers for Reflection:

• A change of metre. As in Sarga 2, the sarga closes in a longer metre (here drutavilambita), signalling the end of the chapter.
• ईश्वरः शिवलोकमिव. He returns home like the Lord returning to his own realm. Outwardly a happy homecoming. But Sargas 4–5 show that the one who returns is not the one who left.
• Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12 again: परीक्ष्य लोकान्कर्मचितान्ब्राह्मणो निर्वेदमायात् — having examined the worlds won by action, a seeker turns to dispassion. Rāma has just examined the whole world. Dispassion (वैराग्य) is about to arrive.
• A question to sit with. Have I had a journey after which home looked different?