Sarga 10¶
Vairāgya Prakaraṇa · The servants' account of Śrī Rāma's state (51 verses)
Sarga 10 at a glance
Vālmīki continues his account to Bharadvāja.
- Daśaratha, now persuaded by Vasiṣṭha, sends for Rāma; the messenger returns alone (1.10.1–1.10.7).
- A servant describes Rāma's state: no joy in food, worship, play or beauty; solitude; silence; "all is unreal" (1.10.8–1.10.29).
- Rāma's own words, as reported: pleasures that please only at first, the mind's constructions, the strangeness of people who suffer yet do not turn away (1.10.30–1.10.39).
- The servant's conclusion: Rāma is "neither deluded nor free" — and even wishes to give up life. Who can bring him back to life in the world? (1.10.40–1.10.50)
- A closing verse in a longer metre: the great soul who removes delusion like the sun (1.10.51).
Verse 1.10.1¶
वाल्मीकिरुवाच ।
तथा वसिष्ठे ब्रुवति राजा दशरथः सुतम् ।
संप्रहृष्टमना राममाजुहाव सलक्ष्मणम् ॥ १.१०.१ ॥
वसिष्ठे तथा ब्रुवति (as Vasiṣṭha was speaking thus) राजा दशरथः (King Daśaratha) सम्प्रहृष्ट-मनाः (his heart gladdened) स-लक्ष्मणं सुतं रामम् आजुहाव (summoned his son Rāma, with Lakṣmaṇa).
Translation: Vālmīki said: As Vasiṣṭha spoke, King Daśaratha, his heart now gladdened, sent for his son Rāma, together with Lakṣmaṇa.
Pointers for Reflection:
- Vasiṣṭha's words work. The doubting father of Sarga 8 is now glad. A few calm words from the teacher have done what no argument could.
- From refusal to summons. The king's mind has turned completely. A model of how teaching changes a person from within.
Verse 1.10.2¶
दशरथ उवाच ।
प्रतिहार महाबाहुं रामं सत्यपराक्रमम् ।
सलक्ष्मणमविघ्नेन पुण्यार्थं शीघ्रमानय ॥ १.१०.२ ॥
प्रतिहार (doorkeeper), सत्य-पराक्रमं महा-बाहुं रामं (mighty-armed Rāma, of true valour) स-लक्ष्मणम् (with Lakṣmaṇa) पुण्य-अर्थम् (for a holy purpose) अविघ्नेन शीघ्रम् आनय (bring quickly, without delay).
Translation: Daśaratha said: "Doorkeeper, bring mighty-armed Rāma, of true valour, with Lakṣmaṇa, quickly and without delay, for a holy purpose."
Pointers for Reflection:
- पुण्यार्थम्. The king now sees sending Rāma as a sacred act, not a loss. Same event, different seeing.
Verse 1.10.3¶
इति राज्ञा विसृष्टोऽसौ गत्वान्तःपुरमन्दिरम् ।
मुहूर्तमात्रेणागत्य समुवाच महीपतिम् ॥ १.१०.३ ॥
राज्ञा इति विसृष्टः असौ (sent thus by the king) अन्तःपुर-मन्दिरं गत्वा (going to the inner palace) मुहूर्त-मात्रेण आगत्य (returning in a moment) महीपतिं समुवाच (said to the king):
Translation: Dismissed by the king, he went off to the inner apartments, returned within moments, and spoke to the lord of the earth:
Pointers for Reflection:
- A quick return. The messenger comes back without Rāma. Something is wrong. The next verses tell what the household has been seeing.
Verse 1.10.4¶
देव दोर्दलिताशेषरिपो रामः स्वमन्दिरे ।
विमनाः संस्थितो रात्रौ षट्पदः कमले यथा ॥ १.१०.४ ॥
दोः-दलित-अशेष-रिपो देव (Your Majesty, who have crushed all enemies with your arms), रामः स्व-मन्दिरे (Rāma, in his own rooms) रात्रौ कमले षट्पदः यथा (like a bee in a lotus at night) विमनाः संस्थितः (sits dejected).
Translation: "Your Majesty, conqueror of all enemies, Rāma sits dejected in his own rooms, like a bee shut inside a closed lotus at night."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The bee in the closed lotus. At night the lotus closes, trapping the bee inside. Rāma is trapped in his own thoughts, in a beautiful place he cannot leave.
Verse 1.10.5¶
आगच्छामि क्षणेनेति वक्ति ध्यायति चैकतः ।
न कस्यचिच्च निकटे स्थातुमिच्छति खिन्नधीः ॥ १.१०.५ ॥
आगच्छामि क्षणेन इति वक्ति (he says, 'I'll come in a moment') एकतः ध्यायति च (and sits thinking alone); खिन्न-धीः (troubled in mind) कस्यचित् च निकटे स्थातुं न इच्छति (he does not want to stay near anyone).
Translation: "He says, 'I will come in a moment,' and goes on brooding alone. Troubled in mind, he wants no one near him."
Pointers for Reflection:
- "I'll come in a moment." Polite, but absent. The young prince is courteous even in his withdrawal.
- ध्यायति — he contemplates. The same root as ध्यान, meditation. His brooding is already a kind of meditation, though not yet a peaceful one.
Verse 1.10.6¶
इत्युक्तस्तेन भूपालस्तं रामानुचरं जनम् ।
सर्वमाश्वासयामास पप्रच्छ च यथाक्रमम् ॥ १.१०.६ ॥
तेन इति उक्तः (thus told by him) भूपालः (the king) तं सर्वं राम-अनुचरं जनम् (all of Rāma's attendants) आश्वासयामास (reassured) यथाक्रमं पप्रच्छ च (and questioned one by one).
Translation: Hearing this, the king reassured all of Rāma's attendants, and questioned them one by one.
Pointers for Reflection:
- The king gathers information. Now the reader hears Rāma's state described in detail, through those closest to him. The rest of the sarga is their account.
Verse 1.10.7¶
कथं कीदृग्विधो राम इति पृष्टो महीभृता ।
रामभृत्यजनः खिन्नो वाक्यमाह महीपतिम् ॥ १.१०.७ ॥
रामः कथं कीदृक्-विधः (how is Rāma, and in what state?) इति मही-भृता पृष्टः (asked thus by the king) खिन्नः राम-भृत्य-जनः (Rāma's grieving servant) महीपतिं वाक्यम् आह (spoke to the king):
Translation: Asked by the king, "How is Rāma? What state is he in?", one of Rāma's grieving servants answered:
Pointers for Reflection:
- The servant speaks. The longest description of Rāma's dispassion comes not from a sage but from a servant who loves him. Ordinary people notice deeply.
Verse 1.10.8¶
देहयष्टिमिमां देव धारयन्त इमे वयम् ।
खिन्नाः खेदे परिम्लानतनौ रामे सुते तव ॥ १.१०.८ ॥
देव (Your Majesty), इमे वयम् (we here) इमां देह-यष्टिं धारयन्तः (merely carry these bodies about), तव सुते रामे (because your son Rāma) परिम्लान-तनौ (has wasted away) खेदे (in sorrow) खिन्नाः (are full of grief).
Translation: "Your Majesty, we merely carry our bodies about; we are full of grief because your son Rāma has wasted away in sorrow."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Shared suffering. The servants feel Rāma's state as their own. Compare the brothers (1.5.9) and the whole household (1.8.12).
Verse 1.10.9¶
रामो राजीवपत्राक्षो यतःप्रभृति चागतः ।
सविप्रस्तीर्थयात्रायास्ततःप्रभृति दुर्मनाः ॥ १.१०.९ ॥
राजीव-पत्र-अक्षः रामः (lotus-eyed Rāma) स-विप्रः (with the brāhmaṇas) तीर्थ-यात्रायाः यतः-प्रभृति आगतः (ever since he returned from pilgrimage), ततः-प्रभृति दुर्मनाः (has been downcast).
Translation: "Ever since lotus-eyed Rāma came back from pilgrimage with the brāhmaṇas, he has been downcast."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The pilgrimage as turning point. The journey (Sarga 3) is identified as the cause. Seeing the whole world showed him something that changed him (compare Muṇḍaka 1.2.12, at 1.3.42).
Verse 1.10.10¶
यत्नप्रार्थनयास्माकं निजव्यापारमाह्निकम् ।
सोऽयमाम्लानवदनः करोति न करोति वा ॥ १.१०.१० ॥
अस्माकं यत्न-प्रार्थनया (only on our earnest pleading) सः अयम् आम्लान-वदनः (he, his face withered) निज-व्यापारम् आह्निकं (his daily duties) करोति न करोति वा (does or does not do).
Translation: "Only when we plead with him does he do his daily duties, his face withered — and sometimes not even then."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Duty fading. In Sarga 4, Rāma did every daily duty gladly. Now even with pleading he barely does them. The contrast is deliberate.
Verse 1.10.11¶
स्नानदेवार्चनादानभोजनादिषु दुर्मनाः ।
प्रार्थितोऽपि हि नातृप्तेरश्नात्यशनमीश्वरः ॥ १.१०.११ ॥
ईश्वरः [सः] (our master) स्नान-देव-अर्चन-दान-भोजन-आदिषु (in bathing, worship, giving, eating and the rest) दुर्मनाः (is joyless); प्रार्थितः अपि हि (even when urged) अतृप्तेः (from lack of interest) अशनं न अश्नाति (he does not eat).
Translation: "Our master is joyless in bathing, worship, giving, eating and everything else. Even when urged, he does not eat; he has no appetite."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Worship and giving, too. Not only pleasures but even religious duties have lost their meaning. His dispassion reaches everything, sacred and worldly alike.
- अतृप्ति. Literally "not being satisfied". Nothing satisfies him. This is the start of the search for what truly satisfies (compare नित्यतृप्त, 1.2.31).
Verse 1.10.12¶
लोलान्तःपुरनारीभिः कृतदोलाभिरङ्गणे ।
नच क्रीडति लीलाभिर्धाराभिरिव चातकः ॥ १.१०.१२ ॥
अङ्गणे (in the courtyard) कृत-दोलाभिः लोल-अन्तःपुर-नारीभिः (with the playful palace women on their swings) लीलाभिः न च क्रीडति (he does not play at all), धाराभिः चातकः इव (like a cātaka bird [that will not play with] streams of water [on the ground]).
Translation: "He does not join the playful palace women on the swings in the courtyard, just as the cātaka bird ignores water on the ground."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The cātaka. In Indian poetry, the cātaka bird drinks only raindrops falling from the sky, never water from the ground. Rāma, like the cātaka, wants only one kind of satisfaction, from above. Nothing earthly will do.
Verse 1.10.13¶
माणिक्यमुकुलप्रोता केयूरकटकावलिः ।
नानन्दयति तं राजन्द्यौः पातविषयं यथा ॥ १.१०.१३ ॥
राजन् (O king), माणिक्य-मुकुल-प्रोता केयूर-कटक-आवलिः (rows of armlets and bracelets strung with rubies) तं न आनन्दयति (do not delight him), यथा द्यौः पात-विषयम् (as heaven does not delight one about to fall from it).
Translation: "Armlets and bracelets studded with rubies give him no delight, O king, just as heaven gives none to one who knows he is about to fall from it."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Heaven for one about to fall. Recall 1.1.39: when merit is exhausted, the gods fall back to earth. Rāma sees all pleasures as heaven seen by one who knows it will end. That knowledge spoils the enjoyment.
Verse 1.10.14¶
क्रीडद्वधूविलोकेषु वहत्कुसुमवायुषु ।
लतावलयगेहेषु भवत्यतिविषादवान् ॥ १.१०.१४ ॥
क्रीडत्-वधू-विलोकेषु (in the glances of playful women) वहत्-कुसुम-वायुषु (in breezes carrying the scent of flowers) लता-वलय-गेहेषु (in bowers of creepers) अति-विषादवान् भवति (he becomes all the more dejected).
Translation: "The glances of playful women, breezes heavy with the scent of flowers, bowers of creepers — all these only deepen his sorrow."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Beauty that saddens. What should please him makes him sadder. When one sees impermanence clearly, even beauty carries the shadow of its ending.
Verse 1.10.15¶
यद्द्रव्यमुचितं स्वादु पेशलं चित्तहारि च ।
बाष्पपूर्णेक्षण इव तेनैव परिखिद्यते ॥ १.१०.१५ ॥
यत् द्रव्यम् उचितं स्वादु पेशलं चित्त-हारि च (whatever is fitting, sweet, lovely and charming) तेन एव (by that very thing) बाष्प-पूर्ण-ईक्षणः इव (as if with eyes full of tears) परिखिद्यते (he is distressed).
Translation: "Whatever is fitting, sweet, lovely and charming only distresses him, as though his eyes were filled with tears."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The more pleasing, the more painful. A paradox of deep dispassion. Rāma's reaction is extreme, and the text will not leave him in it; but it begins here.
Verse 1.10.16¶
किमिमा दुःखदायिन्यः प्रस्फुरन्तीः पुराङ्गनाः ।
इति नृत्तविलासेषु कामिनीः परिनिन्दति ॥ १.१०.१६ ॥
किम् इमाः दुःख-दायिन्यः (why these sorrow-giving) प्रस्फुरन्तीः पुर-अङ्गनाः (dancing city women)? इति (thus saying) नृत्त-विलासेषु (during dances and entertainments) कामिनीः परिनिन्दति (he finds fault with the lovely women).
Translation: "'Why these dancing women of the city, who only give sorrow?' — so he says, finding fault with the women even during dances and entertainments."
Pointers for Reflection:
- A harsh view, honestly shown. The text does not soften Rāma's critical mood. Sargas 16–22 will contain his long reflections on the body and desire; here we see them beginning.
- A note for the reader. This is the voice of a young man in crisis, not the text's final view. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha's end point is freedom within life (see wisdom lived, not renounced), not rejection of people.
Verse 1.10.17¶
भोजनं शयनं यानं विलासं स्नानमासनम् ।
उन्मत्तचेष्टित इव नाभिनन्दत्यनिन्दितम् ॥ १.१०.१७ ॥
उन्मत्त-चेष्टितः इव (like one acting madly) भोजनं शयनं यानं विलासं स्नानम् आसनम् (food, bed, carriages, amusements, bathing, seats) अनिन्दितम् [अपि] न अभिनन्दति (blameless as they are, he does not enjoy).
Translation: "As if he had lost his mind, he takes no pleasure in food, sleep, carriages, amusements, bathing or sitting at ease, harmless as all these are."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Not only sensual pleasures. Even the simplest comforts — food, sleep, a seat — leave him cold. His dispassion is total.
Verse 1.10.18¶
किं संपदा किं विपदा किं गेहेन किमिङ्गितैः ।
सर्वमेवासदित्युक्त्वा तूष्णीमेकोऽवतिष्ठते ॥ १.१०.१८ ॥
किं सम्पदा (what use is prosperity)? किं विपदा (what use is misfortune)? किं गेहेन (what use is home)? किम् इङ्गितैः (what use are wishes)? सर्वम् एव असत् इति उक्त्वा (saying 'everything is unreal') एकः तूष्णीम् अवतिष्ठते (he stays alone and silent).
Translation: "'What is prosperity? What is misfortune? What is a home? What are desires?' Saying, 'All of it is unreal,' he stays alone and silent."
Pointers for Reflection:
- सर्वमेवासत् — "all is unreal". Rāma has reached, by his own observation, a conclusion the teaching will confirm. But he reaches it in despair; the teaching will show how to hold it in peace.
- Gītā 2.16 (quoted at 1.3.3): नासतो विद्यते भावः — the unreal has no being. Rāma sees the unreality; he does not yet see the real.
- Prosperity and misfortune alike. Not only pain but also pleasure seems empty to him. Equanimity is beginning, though it does not yet feel like peace.
Verse 1.10.19¶
नोदेति परिहासेषु न भोगेषु निमज्जति ।
न च तिष्ठति कार्येषु मौनमेवावलम्बते ॥ १.१०.१९ ॥
परिहासेषु न उदेति (he does not light up at jokes) भोगेषु न निमज्जति (he does not lose himself in pleasures) कार्येषु न च तिष्ठति (he does not stay with his tasks); मौनम् एव अवलम्बते (he takes refuge in silence alone).
Translation: "He does not light up at jokes, does not lose himself in pleasures, does not stay with his tasks. He takes refuge in silence alone."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Silence as refuge. मौन, silence, becomes his only support. Compare the two silences of 1.1.17: this is still the silence of confusion, not yet of realisation.
Verse 1.10.20¶
विलोलालकवल्लर्यो हेलावलितलोचनाः ।
नानन्दयन्ति तं नार्यो मृग्यो वनतरुं यथा ॥ १.१०.२० ॥
विलोल-अलक-वल्लर्यः (with swaying, vine-like curls) हेला-वलित-लोचनाः (with playfully turning eyes) नार्यः (women) तं न आनन्दयन्ति (do not delight him), मृग्यः वन-तरुं यथा (as does do not delight a tree in the forest).
Translation: "Women with dancing locks and sidelong, playful eyes give him no joy — no more than does a doe to a tree of the forest."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The tree among the deer. Deer move around a tree, and the tree is unmoved. Rāma stands unmoved among attractions. Unmoved, but not yet at peace.
Verse 1.10.21¶
एकान्तेषु दिगन्तेषु तीरेषु विपिनेषु च ।
रतिमायात्यरण्येषु विक्रीत इव जन्तुषु ॥ १.१०.२१ ॥
एकान्तेषु (in lonely places) दिक्-अन्तेषु (at the edges of the horizon) तीरेषु विपिनेषु च (on river banks and in groves) अरण्येषु (in wild forests) जन्तुषु विक्रीतः इव (as if sold to the wild creatures) रतिम् आयाति (he finds pleasure).
Translation: "He finds pleasure only in lonely places — at the far horizons, on river banks, in groves and wild forests — as if he belonged to the wild creatures."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Gītā 13.10 — love of solitude:
- मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी । विविक्तदेशसेवित्वमरतिर्जनसंसदि ॥
- Unwavering devotion to me with undivided yoga, love of solitary places, no taste for crowds.
- The Gītā lists this among the marks of knowledge. Rāma's love of solitude is a sign of readiness, not only of sorrow.
Verse 1.10.22¶
वस्त्रपानाशनादानपराङ्मुखतया तया ।
परिव्राड्धर्मिणं भूयः सोऽनुयाति तपस्विनम् ॥ १.१०.२२ ॥
तया वस्त्र-पान-अशन-आदान-पराङ्मुखतया (with that turning away from clothes, drink, food and receiving gifts) सः भूयः (he again) परिव्राट्-धर्मिणं तपस्विनम् अनुयाति (follows the way of a wandering ascetic).
Translation: "Turning away from fine clothes, drink, food and gifts, he lives more and more like a wandering ascetic."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The young renunciant. Rāma is drifting toward the path of renunciation. This is precisely the path the Yoga Vasiṣṭha will gently correct: freedom does not require leaving the world (1.1.7–1.1.8; the theme of wisdom lived, not renounced).
- Reading note. The online text prints भूय सो; the correct form भूयः सो is used here.
Verse 1.10.23¶
एक एव वसन्देशे जनशून्ये जनेश्वर ।
न हसत्येकया बुद्ध्या न गायति न रोदिति ॥ १.१०.२३ ॥
जन-ईश्वर (lord of people), जन-शून्ये देशे (in a deserted place) एकः एव वसन् (living alone) एकया बुद्ध्या (with one-pointed mind) न हसति न गायति न रोदिति (he neither laughs, sings nor weeps).
Translation: "Lord of men, living alone in deserted places, with his mind fixed on one thing, he neither laughs, sings nor weeps."
Pointers for Reflection:
- एकया बुद्ध्या — with one-pointed mind. His mind is focused, like a meditator's. The energy for liberation is already present; it needs direction.
- Gītā 2.41: व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिरेकेह कुरुनन्दन — the resolute understanding is one-pointed here.
Verse 1.10.24¶
बद्धपद्मासनः शून्यमना वामकरस्थले ।
कपोलतलमाधाय केवलं परितिष्ठति ॥ १.१०.२४ ॥
बद्ध-पद्मासनः (seated in lotus posture) शून्य-मनाः (his mind empty) वाम-कर-स्थले कपोल-तलम् आधाय (resting his cheek on his left palm) केवलं परितिष्ठति (he simply sits).
Translation: "Seated in lotus posture, his mind blank, his cheek resting on his left palm, he simply sits."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The same posture as 1.5.6. Lotus posture, hand on cheek. The image of Rāma in this sarga is fixed: a young man, seated as if in meditation, but lost in sorrow.
- शून्यमनाः — empty-minded. Not the luminous emptiness of the wise, but the blankness of despair. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha will later teach the difference.
Verse 1.10.25¶
नाभिमानमुपादत्ते न च वाञ्छति राजताम् ।
नोदेति नास्तमायाति सुखदुःखानुवृत्तिषु ॥ १.१०.२५ ॥
अभिमानं न उपादत्ते (he takes up no pride) न च राजतां वाञ्छति (and does not want kingship); सुख-दुःख-अनुवृत्तिषु (in the course of pleasure and pain) न उदेति न अस्तम् आयाति (he neither rises nor sets).
Translation: "He takes no pride in anything and does not want to be king. Amid the course of pleasure and pain, he neither rises nor sets."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Gītā 2.15:
- यं हि न व्यथयन्त्येते पुरुषं पुरुषर्षभ । समदुःखसुखं धीरं सोऽमृतत्वाय कल्पते ॥
- The steady person whom these do not disturb, who is even in pleasure and pain, is fit for immortality.
- "Neither rising nor setting" with pleasure and pain describes such evenness. Rāma has its outer form; he lacks its inner peace (see 1.10.45).
- No wish to be king. The heir to the throne does not want it. This is the problem Daśaratha faces — and the one the teaching will solve, not by making Rāma want power, but by freeing him to rule without attachment.
Verse 1.10.26¶
न विद्मः किमसौ याति किं करोति किमीहते ।
किं ध्यायति किमायाति कथं किमनुधावति ॥ १.१०.२६ ॥
असौ किं याति (where he goes) किं करोति (what he does) किम् ईहते (what he wants) किं ध्यायति (what he thinks about) किम् आयाति (what he comes to) कथं किम् अनुधावति (how and what he pursues) न विद्मः (we do not know).
Translation: "We do not know where he goes, what he does, what he wants, what he thinks about, what he arrives at, or what he is pursuing."
Pointers for Reflection:
- A mystery to those around him. The servants cannot understand him. Inner transformation is often invisible, even to those closest.
Verse 1.10.27¶
प्रत्यहं कृशतामेति प्रत्यहं याति पाण्डुताम् ।
विरागं प्रत्यहं याति शरदन्त इव द्रुमः ॥ १.१०.२७ ॥
प्रत्यहं कृशताम् एति (day by day he grows thinner) प्रत्यहं पाण्डुतां याति (day by day paler) प्रत्यहं विरागं याति (day by day more dispassionate), शरत्-अन्ते द्रुमः इव (like a tree at the end of autumn).
Translation: "With each passing day he wastes a little more and loses more of his colour; with each day his detachment deepens, like a tree as autumn draws to its close."
Pointers for Reflection:
- विराग — dispassion. The name of this whole prakaraṇa (वैराग्य) appears here in its root form. Rāma's dispassion grows like leaves falling from a tree.
- The tree at the end of autumn. Bare, but not dead. In spring it will leaf again. So Rāma's emptying will make room for something new.
Verse 1.10.28¶
अनुयातौ तथैवैतौ राजञ्छत्रुघ्नलक्ष्मणौ ।
तादृशावेव तस्यैव प्रतिबिम्बाविव स्थितौ ॥ १.१०.२८ ॥
राजन् (O king), तथा एव (in the same way) एतौ शत्रुघ्न-लक्ष्मणौ अनुयातौ (Śatrughna and Lakṣmaṇa have followed him), तस्य एव तादृशौ (just like him) प्रतिबिम्बौ इव स्थितौ (as if they were his reflections).
Translation: "O king, Śatrughna and Lakṣmaṇa have followed him in the same way, exactly like him, as if they were his reflections."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Reflections. The image of reflection (प्रतिबिम्ब) will become important in the teaching, where the world is described as a reflection in consciousness.
Verse 1.10.29¶
भृत्यै राजभिरम्बाभिः संपृष्टोऽपि पुनः पुनः ।
उक्त्वा न किंचिदेवेति तूष्णीमास्ते निरीहितः ॥ १.१०.२९ ॥
भृत्यैः राजभिः अम्बाभिः (by servants, kings and mothers) पुनः पुनः सम्पृष्टः अपि (though asked again and again) न किञ्चित् एव इति उक्त्वा (saying 'it is nothing') निरीहितः (without any wish) तूष्णीम् आस्ते (he stays silent).
Translation: "Though servants, kings and his mothers ask him again and again, he says, 'It is nothing,' and stays silent, wanting nothing."
Pointers for Reflection:
- "It is nothing." Compare 1.5.12, "I have no sorrow." Rāma cannot yet say what he feels. It will take Viśvāmitra's encouragement and Vasiṣṭha's presence for him to speak (Sarga 11 onward).
Verse 1.10.30¶
आपातमात्रहृद्येषु मा भोगेषु मनः कृथाः ।
इति पार्श्वगतं भव्यमनुशास्ति सुहृज्जनम् ॥ १.१०.३० ॥
आपात-मात्र-हृद्येषु भोगेषु (in pleasures that are delightful only at first) मनः मा कृथाः (do not set your mind) इति (thus) पार्श्व-गतं भव्यं सुहृत्-जनम् अनुशास्ति (he advises the good friend beside him).
Translation: "He advises the friend at his side: 'Do not set your mind on pleasures that delight only at first touch.'"
Pointers for Reflection:
- Gītā 18.38:
- विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम् । परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम् ॥
- Pleasure from the contact of the senses and their objects, like nectar at first but like poison in the end — that is called rājasic.
- Gītā 5.22: ये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते । आद्यन्तवन्तः कौन्तेय न तेषु रमते बुधः ॥ — pleasures born of contact are sources of sorrow; they have a beginning and an end, Kaunteya. The wise do not delight in them.
- Rāma begins to teach. Even in his sorrow, he gives advice to his friend. The student will one day be a teacher.
Verse 1.10.31¶
नानाविभवरम्यासु स्त्रीषु गोष्ठीगतासु च ।
पुरस्थितमिवास्नेहो नाशमेवानुपश्यति ॥ १.१०.३१ ॥
अ-स्नेहः [सः] (he, without attachment) नाना-विभव-रम्यासु स्त्रीषु (in women charming with many riches) गोष्ठी-गतासु च (and at social gatherings) पुरः स्थितम् इव नाशम् एव अनुपश्यति (sees only their end, as if standing before him).
Translation: "Free of attachment, among women adorned with every charm and in lively gatherings, he sees only their ending, as if it stood right before him."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Seeing the end in the beginning. Rāma looks at what is present and sees its passing. This is the vision of impermanence that will fill Sargas 12–30.
- Reading note. The text reads पुरस्थितमिवास्नेहो; अस्नेह, "without attachment", describes Rāma.
Verse 1.10.32¶
नीतमायुरनायासपदप्राप्तिविवर्जितैः ।
चेष्टितैरिति काकल्या भूयोभूयः प्रगायति ॥ १.१०.३२ ॥
अनायास-पद-प्राप्ति-विवर्जितैः चेष्टितैः (in actions that never reach the state of effortless peace) आयुः नीतम् (life has been spent) इति (thus) काकल्या (in a soft, low voice) भूयः भूयः प्रगायति (he sings again and again).
Translation: "'Life has been spent in actions that never reach the state of effortless peace' — this he sings again and again, in a soft, low voice."
Pointers for Reflection:
- अनायासपद — the state beyond effort. Rāma longs for a peace that does not depend on striving. This is exactly what the Yoga Vasiṣṭha will teach.
- A song of lament. The young prince sings softly to himself. A poignant picture of a seeker's longing.
Verse 1.10.33¶
सम्राड्भवेति पार्श्वस्थं वदन्तमनुजीविनम् ।
प्रलपन्तमिवोन्मत्तं हसत्यन्यमना मुनिः ॥ १.१०.३३ ॥
सम्राट् भव (become an emperor) इति वदन्तं पार्श्व-स्थम् अनुजीविनं (at the attendant beside him who says this) अन्य-मनाः मुनिः [इव] (like a sage whose mind is elsewhere) प्रलपन्तम् उन्मत्तम् इव हसति (he laughs, as at a madman babbling).
Translation: "When an attendant at his side says, 'Become an emperor!', he laughs, his mind elsewhere like a sage's, as if at the babbling of a madman."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Laughing at empire. Like Ariṣṭanemi refusing heaven (1.1.40) and Naciketas refusing Yama's kingdoms (Kaṭha 1.1.23–26), Rāma laughs at worldly power.
- मुनि. The servant calls the prince a muni, a sage. Others already see in him what he does not see himself.
Verse 1.10.34¶
न प्रोक्तमाकर्णयति ईक्षते न पुरोगतम् ।
करोत्यवज्ञां सर्वत्र सुसमेत्यापि वस्तुनि ॥ १.१०.३४ ॥
प्रोक्तं न आकर्णयति (he does not listen to what is said) पुरः-गतं न ईक्षते (does not look at what is in front of him); सु-समेत्य अपि वस्तुनि (even when something comes close) सर्वत्र अवज्ञां करोति (he treats everything with disregard).
Translation: "He does not listen to what is said, does not look at what is in front of him; even what comes right before him he treats with indifference."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Withdrawal of the senses. Rāma's senses have turned inward. Compare Gītā 2.58, the tortoise drawing in its limbs (कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः). But Rāma's withdrawal is still unsteady and sorrowful.
Verse 1.10.35¶
अप्याकाशसरोजिन्या अप्याकाशमहावने ।
इत्थमेतन्मन इति विस्मयोऽस्य न जायते ॥ १.१०.३५ ॥
आकाश-सरोजिन्याः अपि (even at a lotus pond in the sky) आकाश-महा-वने अपि (even at a great forest in the sky) इत्थम् एतत् मनः इति (thinking 'this is just the mind') अस्य विस्मयः न जायते (no wonder arises in him).
Translation: "Even if he saw a lotus pond in the sky or a great forest floating in the air, he would feel no wonder, thinking, 'This is just how the mind is.'"
Pointers for Reflection:
- The mind creates. A lotus in the sky is the classic Indian example of something impossible. Rāma already senses that everything seen is made by the mind (मनः) — the central teaching of the Yoga Vasiṣṭha.
- No wonder. Wonder (विस्मय) has disappeared. Compare 1.6.23, where Viśvāmitra filled onlookers with wonder. Rāma has lost even that.
Verse 1.10.36¶
कान्तामध्यगतस्यापि मनोऽस्य मदनेषवः ।
न भेदयन्ति दुर्भेद्यं धारा इव महोपलम् ॥ १.१०.३६ ॥
कान्ता-मध्य-गतस्य अपि (even when among beautiful women) अस्य दुर्भेद्यं मनः (his impenetrable mind) मदन-इषवः न भेदयन्ति (the arrows of love do not pierce), धाराः महा-उपलम् इव (as rain does not split a great rock).
Translation: "Sit him among lovely women, and still Kāma's arrows fail to pierce that impenetrable mind, as streams of rain fail to break a great boulder."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The rock. Steady as a rock amid desire. Compare Gītā 2.70, the ocean that remains unmoved as rivers flow into it. Rāma's steadiness is real, though not yet joyful.
Verse 1.10.37¶
आपदामेकमावासमभिवाञ्छसि किं धनम् ।
अनुशिष्येति सर्वस्वमर्थिने संप्रयच्छति ॥ १.१०.३७ ॥
आपदाम् एकम् आवासं धनं किम् अभिवाञ्छसि (why do you want wealth, the one home of all misfortunes?) इति अनुशिष्य (teaching thus) अर्थिने सर्वस्वं सम्प्रयच्छति (he gives away all he has to whoever asks).
Translation: "'Why want wealth, the one home of every misfortune?' — teaching this, he gives everything he has to anyone who asks."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.5.1: पुत्रैषणायाश्च वित्तैषणायाश्च लोकैषणायाश्च व्युत्थायाथ भिक्षाचर्यं चरन्ति — rising beyond the desire for sons, for wealth and for worlds, they live as wandering mendicants. Rāma gives up वित्तैषणा, the desire for wealth.
- Generosity from dispassion. Rāma gives freely because he no longer values what he gives. Contrast his father's generosity (1.6.53), which reached its limit at attachment.
Verse 1.10.38¶
इयमापदियं संपदित्येवं कल्पनामयः ।
मनसोऽभ्युदितो मोह इति श्लोकान्प्रगायति ॥ १.१०.३८ ॥
इयम् आपत् इयं सम्पत् इति एवं (thinking 'this is misfortune, this is fortune') कल्पना-मयः मोहः (is a delusion made of mental constructions) मनसः अभ्युदितः (arisen from the mind) इति श्लोकान् प्रगायति (so he sings in verses).
Translation: "'"This is misfortune, this is fortune" — such ideas are a delusion made of mental constructions, arisen from the mind.' So he sings in verse."
Pointers for Reflection:
- कल्पना — mental construction. A key word of the Yoga Vasiṣṭha: the world as we experience it is woven from कल्पना. Rāma already sings it.
- Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad 6.34 (quoted at 1.3.9): मन एव मनुष्याणां कारणं बन्धमोक्षयोः — the mind alone is the cause of bondage and liberation.
- A question to sit with. Which of my "misfortunes" is mostly a construction of my own mind?
Verse 1.10.39¶
हा हतोऽहमनाथोऽहमित्याक्रन्दपरोऽपि सन् ।
न जनो याति वैराग्यं चित्रमित्येव वक्त्यसौ ॥ १.१०.३९ ॥
हा हतः अहम् (alas, I am ruined) अनाथः अहम् (I am helpless) इति आक्रन्द-परः अपि सन् (even when crying out thus) जनः वैराग्यं न याति (people do not become dispassionate) चित्रम् (how strange!) इति एव असौ वक्ति (so he says).
Translation: "'People cry out, "Alas, I am ruined! I am helpless!" and yet they do not become dispassionate. How strange!' — so he says."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The great puzzle. People suffer, lament, yet keep clinging to the same things. Rāma marvels at this. It is the beginning of compassion — and of his own questions in Sargas 12 onward.
- Suffering does not teach by itself. Pain alone does not bring wisdom; it must be reflected on. This is why the text values विचार, inquiry (1.2.3, 1.3.5).
Verse 1.10.40¶
रघुकाननशालेन रामेण रिपुघातिना ।
भृशमित्थं स्थितेनैव वयं खेदमुपागताः ॥ १.१०.४० ॥
रघु-कानन-शालेन (by him, the great śāla tree of the Raghu forest) रिपु-घातिना रामेण (by Rāma, slayer of enemies) इत्थं भृशं स्थितेन एव (by his being in this state) वयं खेदम् उपागताः (we have fallen into grief).
Translation: "Seeing Rāma — the great śāla tree of the Raghu forest, the slayer of enemies — in this condition, we have fallen into grief."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The household's grief. The servant speaks for everyone. Rāma's crisis touches all around him.
Verse 1.10.41¶
न विद्मः किं महाबाहो तस्य तादृशचेतसः ।
कुर्मः कमलपत्राक्ष गतिरत्र हि नो भवान् ॥ १.१०.४१ ॥
महा-बाहो (mighty-armed one), कमल-पत्र-अक्ष (lotus-eyed one), तादृश-चेतसः तस्य (for one with such a mind) किं कुर्मः (what should we do) न विद्मः (we do not know); अत्र हि भवान् नः गतिः (here you are our only refuge).
Translation: "Mighty-armed, lotus-eyed king, we do not know what to do for one whose mind is like this. In this, you are our only refuge."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Helplessness of the loving. Love alone does not know how to help. They turn to the king; the king will turn to the sages.
Verse 1.10.42¶
राजानमथवा विप्रमुपदेष्टारमग्रतः ।
हसत्यज्ञमिवाव्यग्रः सोऽवधीरयति प्रभो ॥ १.१०.४२ ॥
प्रभो (lord), सः अव्यग्रः (he, unperturbed) राजानम् अथवा विप्रम् उपदेष्टारम् (a king, a brāhmaṇa or a teacher) अग्रतः (right in front of him) अज्ञम् इव हसति (laughs at as if at an ignorant person) अवधीरयति (and disregards).
Translation: "Lord, unperturbed, he laughs at kings, brāhmaṇas and teachers to their faces, as if they were ignorant, and pays them no heed."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Even teachers are dismissed. Rāma does not yet find a teacher who speaks to his condition. Only Vasiṣṭha will reach him. A student in this state needs a teacher who has gone further than him.
- A warning. Dispassion that scorns all teachers can become a new pride (compare Sanatkumāra, 1.1.59). The text shows Rāma at a delicate point.
Verse 1.10.43¶
यदेवेदमिदं स्फारं जगन्नाम यदुत्थितम् ।
नैतद्वस्तु नचैवाहमिति निर्णीय संस्थितः ॥ १.१०.४३ ॥
यत् एव इदम् इदं स्फारं जगत् नाम यत् उत्थितम् (this vast thing called the world that has arisen) एतत् वस्तु न (is not real) न च एव अहम् (nor am I) इति निर्णीय संस्थितः (having concluded thus, he remains).
Translation: "He has concluded: 'This vast thing called the world that has risen up is not real — and neither am I.' So he remains."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.3.6: नेति नेति — not this, not this. Rāma has reached the negative half of the Upaniṣadic path: the world is not real, the ego is not real. What remains is still to be discovered.
- न चैवाहम् — "nor am I". Rāma doubts even his own ego-self. This is a profound point. The teaching to come will show what is left when the false "I" falls away: the true Self.
Verse 1.10.44¶
नारौ नात्मनि नो मित्रे न राज्ये न च मातरि ।
न संपदा न विपदा तस्यास्था न विभो बहिः ॥ १.१०.४४ ॥
विभो (lord), तस्य (his) आस्था (attachment) न अरौ (not to an enemy) न आत्मनि (not to himself) न उ मित्रे (not to a friend) न राज्ये (not to the kingdom) न च मातरि (not to his mother) न सम्पदा न विपदा (not to fortune or misfortune) न बहिः (not to anything outside).
Translation: "Lord, he has no attachment to enemy or friend, to himself, to the kingdom or to his mother, to good fortune or bad — to nothing outside."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Gītā 12.18–19:
- समः शत्रौ च मित्रे च तथा मानापमानयोः । शीतोष्णसुखदुःखेषु समः सङ्गविवर्जितः ॥
- The same to enemy and friend, in honour and dishonour, in cold and heat, pleasure and pain, free from attachment.
- The list of what Rāma is unattached to closely follows the Gītā's list of the devotee's evenness.
Verse 1.10.45¶
निरस्तास्थो निराशोऽसौ निरीहोऽसौ निरास्पदः ।
न मूढो न च मुक्तोऽसौ तेन तप्यामहे भृशम् ॥ १.१०.४५ ॥
असौ निरस्त-आस्थः (he has cast off attachment) निराशः (without hope) निरीहः (without striving) निरास्पदः (without support); असौ न मूढः न च मुक्तः (he is neither deluded nor liberated); तेन भृशं तप्यामहे (that is why we suffer so much).
Translation: "He has cast off all attachment; he is without hope, without striving, without any support. He is neither deluded nor free — and that is why we are so troubled."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The key verse of Sarga 10. न मूढो न च मुक्तः — "neither deluded nor free". This is exactly the qualified student of 1.2.2: नात्यन्तमज्ञो नोत ज्ञः, "neither wholly ignorant nor a knower". Rāma is now the perfect अधिकारी for the teaching.
- The danger of the in-between. Without a teacher, this state is painful and can turn against life itself (1.10.46). With a teacher, it is the doorway to freedom.
- A question to sit with. Have I been in this in-between state — no longer satisfied by the world, not yet at peace beyond it?
Verse 1.10.46¶
किं धनेन किमम्बाभिः किं राज्येन किमीहया ।
इति निश्चयवानन्तः प्राणत्यागपरः स्थितः ॥ १.१०.४६ ॥
किं धनेन (what use is wealth)? किम् अम्बाभिः (what use are mothers)? किं राज्येन (what use is a kingdom)? किम् ईहया (what use is striving)? इति निश्चयवान् (convinced of this) अन्तः (within) प्राण-त्याग-परः स्थितः (he is intent on giving up his life).
Translation: "'What is wealth? What are mothers? What is a kingdom? What is striving?' Convinced of this, he is inwardly set on giving up his life."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The darkest point of the Vairāgya Prakaraṇa. Rāma's dispassion has turned against life itself. He no longer asks only "what is the use of wealth and kingdom?" but "what is the use of living?" This is detachment without understanding: true in what it sees, mistaken in what it concludes.
- Arjuna, too, preferred death. Gītā 1.46:
- यदि मामप्रतीकारमशस्त्रं शस्त्रपाणयः । धार्तराष्ट्रा रणे हन्युस्तन्मे क्षेमतरं भवेत् ॥
- If the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, weapons in hand, were to kill me in battle, unarmed and unresisting, that would be better for me.
- Both heroes reach a point where giving up life seems better than going on. Both teachings begin from that edge.
- "What use is a kingdom?" — Gītā 2.8:
- न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद्यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् । अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् ॥
- I see nothing that could remove this grief that dries up my senses — not an unrivalled, prosperous kingdom on earth, not even lordship over the gods.
- Arjuna's किं राज्येन, almost. Neither kingdom nor heaven can answer this kind of sorrow, because the sorrow is not about things.
- Wise words from a grieving mind — Gītā 2.11:
- अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे ।
- You grieve for what should not be grieved for, and yet you speak words of wisdom.
- Rāma speaks true things — all is unreal (1.10.18), pleasures please only at first (1.10.30), fortune and misfortune are the mind's constructions (1.10.38). But he speaks them from sorrow. Kṛṣṇa's diagnosis fits him exactly: the words are wise; the state is not.
- Why the detachment is misplaced. Real वैराग्य is freedom from both attraction and aversion. Rāma has escaped attraction, but has fallen into aversion — towards pleasures, people, even life. Gītā 3.34:
- इन्द्रियस्येन्द्रियस्यार्थे रागद्वेषौ व्यवस्थितौ । तयोर्न वशमागच्छेत्तौ ह्यस्य परिपन्थिनौ ॥
- Attraction and aversion lie in wait in every sense-object. Do not fall under their sway; they are the enemies on one's path.
- द्वेष, aversion, is the twin of राग. To recoil from life is still to be bound to it. Wanting to escape is still wanting.
- Two kinds of despair. Arjuna's grief comes from attachment: he cannot bear to kill his kin (मोह). Rāma's comes from insight: he has seen the impermanence of everything. Rāma's is the more advanced crisis — his discernment (विवेक) is real. But both lack the same thing: knowledge of the Self that does not pass away. Without it, Arjuna clings and Rāma recoils.
- The same remedy, the same ending. Both crises are answered not by escape but by teaching, and both teachings send the hero back into action. Arjuna ends: नष्टो मोहः स्मृतिर्लब्धा … करिष्ये वचनं तव (Gītā 18.73) — my delusion is gone, my memory restored; I will do as you say — and he fights. Rāma will end the Yoga Vasiṣṭha by returning to life and ruling as one free while living (see wisdom lived, not renounced). Detachment, rightly understood, does not leave the world; it lives in it without being bound.
- The two wings again. This verse shows what happens when the wing of dispassion flies without the wing of knowledge (1.1.7–1.1.8): the bird does not rise, it falls. The whole teaching that follows is the second wing.
Verse 1.10.47¶
भोगेऽप्यायुषि राज्येषु मित्रे पितरि मातरि ।
परमुद्वेगमायातश्चातकोऽवग्रहे यथा ॥ १.१०.४७ ॥
भोगे अपि (in pleasure) आयुषि (in life) राज्येषु (in kingdoms) मित्रे (in friends) पितरि मातरि (in father and mother) [सः] परम् उद्वेगम् आयातः (he has fallen into deep distress), अवग्रहे चातकः यथा (like a cātaka bird in a drought).
Translation: "In pleasure, in life itself, in kingdoms, in friends, in father and mother — in all of these he finds only deep distress, like a cātaka bird in a drought."
Pointers for Reflection:
- The cātaka again (see 1.10.12). In drought there is no rain, and the cātaka will drink nothing else. Rāma thirsts for something the world cannot give.
Verse 1.10.48¶
इति तोके समायातां शाखाप्रसरशालिनीम् ।
आपत्तामलमुद्धर्तुं समुदेतु दयापरः ॥ १.१०.४८ ॥
इति (so) तोके समायातां (that has come upon the child) शाखा-प्रसर-शालिनीं ताम् आपत् (that calamity, spreading its branches) अलम् उद्धर्तुं (to remove completely) दयापरः समुदेतु (let one full of compassion arise).
Translation: "So let someone full of compassion come forward to remove completely this calamity that has come upon the boy and is spreading its branches."
Pointers for Reflection:
- A prayer for a teacher. The servant asks for one who is दयापर, full of compassion. Compassion, not only knowledge, is what the student needs.
- The branches spread. Rāma's sorrow is a tree with spreading branches: it affects brothers, parents, servants, the kingdom.
Verse 1.10.49¶
तस्य तादृक्स्वभावस्य समग्रविभवान्वितम् ।
संसारजालमाभोगि प्रभो प्रतिविषायते ॥ १.१०.४९ ॥
प्रभो (lord), तादृक्-स्वभावस्य तस्य (for one of such a nature) समग्र-विभव-अन्वितम् आभोगि संसार-जालम् (the net of worldly life, though full of every splendour and enjoyment) प्रति-विषायते (has become like poison).
Translation: "Lord, for one of such a nature, the whole net of worldly life, though full of every splendour and pleasure, has become like poison."
Pointers for Reflection:
- Gītā 18.38 (quoted at 1.10.30): pleasures that are परिणामे विषमिव — like poison in the end. For Rāma, they are poison already at the start.
- The net (जाल). The world as a net: beautiful, intricate, and entangling. A favourite image of the Yoga Vasiṣṭha.
Verse 1.10.50¶
ईदृशः स्यान्महासत्त्वः क इवास्मिन्महीतले ।
प्रकृते व्यवहारे तं यो निवेशयितुं क्षमः ॥ १.१०.५० ॥
अस्मिन् मही-तले (on this earth) ईदृशः महा-सत्त्वः कः इव स्यात् (who could be such a great soul) यः (who) तं प्रकृते व्यवहारे निवेशयितुं क्षमः (is able to bring him back to ordinary life)?
Translation: "Who on this earth is great enough to bring him back to the ordinary business of life?"
Pointers for Reflection:
- प्रकृत व्यवहार — ordinary life. The servant does not want Rāma to become a hermit; he wants him back in the world. That is exactly what the Yoga Vasiṣṭha will do: return Rāma to life, transformed (see wisdom lived, not renounced).
- व्यवहार. The word Bharadvāja used in 1.2.20 (कथं व्यवहृतः) and Vālmīki in 1.2.25 (तथा व्यवहर). The whole text is about how to live — व्यवहार — once one has seen through the world.
Verse 1.10.51¶
मनसि मोहमपास्य महामनाः सकलमार्तितमः किल साधुताम् ।
सफलतां नयतीह तमो हरन् दिनकरो भुवि भास्करतामिव ॥ १.१०.५१ ॥
दिनकरः (the sun) भुवि तमः हरन् (removing darkness on earth) भास्करताम् इव (as it fulfils its nature as light-maker), [तथा] महा-मनाः (a great soul) मनसि मोहम् अपास्य (casting off the delusion in the mind) सकलम् आर्ति-तमः (all the darkness of suffering) [हरन्] (removing) साधुतां सफलतां नयति किल (brings goodness to fruition).
Translation: Just as the sun, dispelling darkness on earth, fulfils its nature as the maker of light, so a great soul, removing delusion from the mind and with it all the darkness of suffering, brings goodness to its fruit.
Pointers for Reflection:
- A closing verse in a longer metre (drutavilambita).
- Gītā 5.16:
- ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः । तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम् ॥
- But for those whose ignorance is destroyed by knowledge of the Self, that knowledge, like the sun, reveals the Supreme.
- The sarga ends with the same image: knowledge as the sun dispelling the darkness of delusion. The servant's prayer (1.10.48) will be answered by such a sun — Vasiṣṭha's teaching.
- Hope at the end. After a whole sarga of Rāma's darkness, the last verse turns to light. The great soul who can help him exists, and is already in the hall.