Sarga 21¶

Vairāgya Prakaraṇa · On woman and desire (36 verses)

Sarga 21 at a glance

Śrī Rāma's speech continues: on woman as the object of desire.

Taken apart into skin, flesh, blood and bone, the beloved body holds no beauty of its own; its charm is imagined (1.21.1–1.21.12).
The poet's portrait of the beloved, revealed as a poison vine; the real hunter is Desire (1.21.13–1.21.21).
The body's end in the cremation ground (1.21.22–1.21.31).
"Give up woman, and the world is given up" — the renunciant's conclusion, which the teaching will later refine (1.21.32–1.21.36).

The subject is काम, desire, not the worth of women. The same contemplation applies to any body that attracts the mind, and the Yoga Vasiṣṭha itself later presents a woman, Queen Cūḍālā, as an awakened teacher.

Verse 1.21.1¶

श्रीराम उवाच ।
मांसपाञ्चालिकायास्तु यन्त्रलोलेऽङ्गपञ्जरे ।
स्नाय्वस्थिग्रन्थिशालिन्याः स्त्रियाः किमिव शोभनं ॥ १.२१.१ ॥

यन्त्र-लोले अङ्ग-पञ्जरे (in a cage of limbs that moves like a machine) मांस-पाञ्चालिकायाः (of a puppet made of flesh) स्नायु-अस्थि-ग्रन्थि-शालिन्याः (full of sinews, bones and joints) स्त्रियाः (of a woman) किम् इव शोभनम् (what, really, is beautiful)?

Translation: Śrī Rāma said: "What, really, is beautiful in a woman — a doll of flesh in a cage of limbs that moves like a machine, made of sinews, bones and joints?"

Pointers for Reflection:

How to read this sarga. Śrī Rāma, a young prince, turns his dispassion on the object of his own desire. The target is not woman as a person but काम, desire, and the glamour the mind lays over the body. The same method was applied to his own body in Sarga 18; here it is turned on the body that desire pursues.
A classical theme. Śaṅkara's Bhaja Govindam (verse 3) says the same: नारीस्तनभरनाभीदेशं दृष्ट्वा मा गा मोहावेशम् । एतन्मांसवसादिविकारं मनसि विचिन्तय वारं वारम् ॥ — seeing a woman's form, do not fall into delusion; reflect again and again that it is a modification of flesh and fat.
The balance within the text itself. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha later tells the story of Queen Cūḍālā, who awakens before her husband and becomes his teacher; and the Upaniṣads honour women knowers such as Gārgī and Maitreyī (see 1.13.10). For a woman reader, the same contemplation applies to the male body. What is being dissolved is attraction to appearance, not the dignity of anyone.

Verse 1.21.2¶

त्वङ्मांसरक्तबाष्पाम्बु पृथक्कृत्वा विलोचनम् ।
समालोकय रम्यं चेत्किं मुधा परिमुह्यसि ॥ १.२१.२ ॥

त्वक्-मांस-रक्त-बाष्प-अम्बु (skin, flesh, blood, tears and fluid) पृथक् कृत्वा (having separated) विलोचनं समालोकय (look at the eye); रम्यं चेत् (if it is lovely), मुधा किं परिमुह्यसि (why are you deluded in vain)?

Translation: "Separate out the skin, flesh, blood, tears and fluid, and then look at the eye. If it is still lovely, then by all means — but if not, why be deluded for nothing?"

Pointers for Reflection:

Analysis dissolves attraction. Take the beautiful whole apart into its components, and the beauty is not found in any of them. A method also used in Buddhist meditation on the parts of the body.
Where then is the beauty? The teaching will answer: in consciousness, which lends its own beauty to whatever it rests on (compare 1.18.38).

Verse 1.21.3¶

इतः केशा इतो रक्तमितीयं प्रमदातनुः ।
किमेतया निन्दितया करोति विपुलाशयः ॥ १.२१.३ ॥

इतः केशाः (here hair) इतः रक्तम् (there blood) इति (thus) इयं प्रमदा-तनुः (is this woman's body); विपुल-आशयः (one of broad mind) एतया निन्दितया (with this despised thing) किं करोति (what would he do)?

Translation: "Here hair, there blood — such is a woman's body. What would a large-minded person do with something so poor?"

Pointers for Reflection:

विपुलाशय — the broad-minded. The contrast is between a narrow mind, caught on a body, and a vast mind, resting in the Self.

Verse 1.21.4¶

वासोविलेपनैर्यानि लालितानि पुनः पुनः ।
तान्यङ्गान्यङ्ग लुण्ठन्ति क्रव्यादाः सर्वदेहिनाम् ॥ १.२१.४ ॥

अङ्ग (dear one), यानि अङ्गानि (those limbs which) वासः-विलेपनैः (with clothes and ointments) पुनः पुनः लालितानि (are pampered again and again), तानि (those very ones) सर्व-देहिनाम् क्रव्यादाः (the flesh-eaters of all creatures) लुण्ठन्ति (plunder).

Translation: "Dear one, the very limbs pampered again and again with clothes and perfumes are in the end torn apart by the carrion-eaters that feed on all creatures."

Pointers for Reflection:

Cremation-ground contemplation (श्मशान-भावना). Picturing the body after death is a traditional practice for dissolving attachment, in Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina traditions alike.

Verse 1.21.5¶

मेरुशृङ्गतटोल्लासिगङ्गाजलरयोपमा ।
दृष्टा यस्मिन्स्तने मुक्ताहारस्योल्लासशालिता ॥ १.२१.५ ॥

यस्मिन् स्तने (on which breast) मुक्ता-हारस्य (of a pearl necklace) मेरु-शृङ्ग-तट-उल्लासि-गङ्गा-जल-रय-उपमा (like the rush of the Gaṅgā gleaming on the slopes of Meru's peak) उल्लास-शालिता (a gleaming beauty) दृष्टा (was seen) …

Translation: "The breast on which a pearl necklace was seen gleaming, like the Gaṅgā rushing down the slopes of Mount Meru …"

Pointers for Reflection:

An incomplete sentence. This verse begins a sentence that the next verse completes. The next verse is missing in the online text used here (see 1.21.6). The sense of the pair is clear from what follows (1.21.7): the same breast is later food for jackals in the cremation ground.

Verse 1.21.6¶

Verse missing in the source

The online text used for this study skips from verse 5 to verse 7. This verse will be added when it can be checked against a printed edition.

Verse 1.21.7¶

रक्तमांसास्थिदिग्धानि करभस्य यथा वने ।
तथैवाङ्गानि कामिन्यास्तां प्रत्यपि हि को ग्रहः ॥ १.२१.७ ॥

वने करभस्य (of a camel in the forest) यथा (as) रक्त-मांस-अस्थि-दिग्धानि [अङ्गानि] (limbs smeared with blood, flesh and bone), तथा एव (just so) कामिन्याः अङ्गानि (are the limbs of a beloved woman); तां प्रति अपि (towards her too) कः हि ग्रहः (what clinging should there be)?

Translation: "The limbs of a beloved are made of blood, flesh and bone, just like those of a camel in the forest. Why then cling to her any more than to it?"

Pointers for Reflection:

ग्रह — clinging, grasping. The word also means a seizing demon (1.16.21). Attachment is a kind of possession.

Verse 1.21.8¶

आपातरमणीयत्वं कल्पते केवलं स्त्रियाः ।
मन्ये तदपि नास्त्यत्र मुने मोहैककारणम् ॥ १.२१.८ ॥

मुने (O sage), स्त्रियाः (of a woman) केवलम् आपात-रमणीयत्वं कल्पते (only a charm at first glance is imagined); तत् अपि (even that) अत्र न अस्ति (is not here) [इति] मन्ये (I think); [सा] मोह-एक-कारणम् (she is only a cause of delusion).

Translation: "O sage, all that is imagined in a woman is a charm at first sight — and I think even that is not really there. It is only a cause of delusion."

Pointers for Reflection:

कल्पते — is imagined. The charm is a projection of the mind. The word कल्पना returns again and again (1.10.38).
आपातरमणीय — pleasing at first glance. Compare 1.20.13 and Gītā 18.38: nectar at first, poison in the end.

Verse 1.21.9¶

विपुलोल्लासदायिन्या मदमन्मथपूर्वकम् ।
को विशेषो विकारिण्या मदिरायाः स्त्रियास्तथा ॥ १.२१.९ ॥

विपुल-उल्लास-दायिन्याः विकारिण्याः मदिरायाः (of wine, which gives great excitement and changes one) तथा स्त्रियाः (and of a woman) मद-मन्मथ-पूर्वकम् (in bringing intoxication and passion) कः विशेषः (what difference is there)?

Translation: "What is the difference between wine and a woman? Both give great excitement, both change a person, both bring intoxication and passion."

Pointers for Reflection:

Intoxication. The point is the effect on the mind, not the person: whatever intoxicates and clouds judgment is to be met with care.

Verse 1.21.10¶

ललनालानसंलीना मुने मानवदन्तिनः ।
प्रबोधं नाधिगच्छन्ति दृढैरपि शमाङ्कुशैः ॥ १.२१.१० ॥

मुने (O sage), ललना-आलान-संलीनाः (bound to the tethering post of women) मानव-दन्तिनः (human elephants) दृढैः अपि शम-अङ्कुशैः (even by firm goads of self-restraint) प्रबोधं न अधिगच्छन्ति (do not wake up).

Translation: "O sage, human elephants tied to the post of women do not wake up, even under the firm goad of self-restraint."

Pointers for Reflection:

शम — self-restraint. Even discipline does not wake one who is bound by attachment. Only knowledge does. A hint of the teaching to come.

Verse 1.21.11¶

केशकज्जलधारिण्यो दुःस्पर्शा लोचनप्रियाः ।
दुष्कृताग्निशिखा नार्यो दहन्ति तृणवन्नरम् ॥ १.२१.११ ॥

केश-कज्जल-धारिण्यः (with dark hair and kohl) दुः-स्पर्शाः (painful to touch) लोचन-प्रियाः (pleasing to the eye) दुष्कृत-अग्नि-शिखाः (flames of the fire of wrongdoing) नार्यः (women) नरं (a man) तृणवत् दहन्ति (burn like grass).

Translation: "Dark with hair and kohl, pleasing to the eye but painful to touch, women are flames of the fire of wrongdoing that burn a man like straw."

Pointers for Reflection:

Pleasing to the eye, painful to touch. The same double nature Rāma saw in fortune (1.13.5) and craving (1.17.17). The pattern, not the person, is the subject.

Verse 1.21.12¶

ज्वलतामतिदूरेऽपि सरसा अपि नीरसाः ।
स्त्रियो हि नरकाग्नीनामिन्धनं चारु दारुणम् ॥ १.२१.१२ ॥

अति-दूरे अपि ज्वलताम् (burning even from far away) स-रसाः अपि नीरसाः (juicy yet dry) स्त्रियः हि (women indeed) नरक-अग्नीनाम् (of the fires of hell) चारु दारुणम् इन्धनम् (lovely but dreadful fuel) [भवन्ति] ([are]).

Translation: "Burning even from far away, full of sap and yet dry, women are the lovely and dreadful fuel of the fires of hell."

Pointers for Reflection:

Burning from afar. Desire burns even without contact; the mind alone is enough to kindle it.
सरसा अपि नीरसाः — a pun. रस means both sap and delight. What seems full of delight turns out to have none.

Verse 1.21.13¶

विकीर्णाकारकबरी तरत्तारकलोचना ।
पूर्णेन्दुबिम्बवदना कुसुमोत्करहासिनी ॥ १.२१.१३ ॥

विकीर्ण-आकार-कबरी (with loosened braid) तरत्-तारक-लोचना (with darting pupils) पूर्ण-इन्दु-बिम्ब-वदना (with a face like the full moon) कुसुम-उत्कर-हासिनी (smiling like a heap of flowers) …

Translation: "Her braid loosened, her eyes darting, her face like the full moon, her smile like a spray of flowers …"

Pointers for Reflection:

Reading note. The online text prints पुर्णेन्दु; corrected here to पूर्णेन्दु.
A portrait, built only to be dissolved. Verses 13–16 describe the beloved as poets do; verse 16 reveals the poison. Rāma knows the poetry of desire as well as anyone.

Verse 1.21.14¶

लीलाविलोलपुरुषा कार्यसंहारकारिणी ।
परं विमोहनं बुद्धेः कामिनी दीर्घयामिनी ॥ १.२१.१४ ॥

लीला-विलोल-पुरुषा (making men restless with her play) कार्य-संहार-कारिणी (bringing ruin to undertakings) बुद्धेः परं विमोहनम् (the greatest bewilderment of the intellect) कामिनी (the beloved) दीर्घ-यामिनी (is a long night).

Translation: "Unsettling men with her play, ruining their undertakings, the greatest confusion of the intellect — the beloved is a long night."

Pointers for Reflection:

A long night. Compare 1.17.16: craving too was a dark night. The image again names the inner state of the one who desires.

Verse 1.21.15¶

पुष्पाभिराममधुरा करपल्लवशालिनी ।
भ्रमराक्षिविलासाढ्या स्तनस्तबकधारिणी ॥ १.२१.१५ ॥

पुष्प-अभिराम-मधुरा (sweet and lovely as flowers) कर-पल्लव-शालिनी (with hands like tender shoots) भ्रमर-अक्षि-विलास-आढ्या (rich with the play of bee-like eyes) स्तन-स्तबक-धारिणी (bearing breasts like clusters of blossom) …

Translation: "Sweet as flowers, her hands like tender shoots, her eyes playing like bees, her breasts like clusters of blossom …"

Pointers for Reflection:

A creeper. The beloved is pictured as a flowering vine; the next verse reveals what kind.

Verse 1.21.16¶

पुष्पकेसरगौराङ्गी नरमारणतत्परा ।
ददात्युन्मत्तवैवश्यं कान्ता विषलता यथा ॥ १.२१.१६ ॥

पुष्प-केसर-गौर-अङ्गी (fair as the filaments of a flower) नर-मारण-तत्परा (bent on killing men) कान्ता (the beloved) विष-लता यथा (like a poison creeper) उन्मत्त-वैवश्यं ददाति (gives maddened helplessness).

Translation: "Fair as the filaments of a flower, yet bent on destroying men, the beloved, like a poison vine, leaves one maddened and helpless."

Pointers for Reflection:

Compare 1.13.22. Fortune too was a flowering vine entwined with snakes. Fortune, craving and the object of lust are three faces of one attraction.

Verse 1.21.17¶

सत्कार्योच्छ्वासमात्रेण भुजङ्गदलनोत्कया ।
कान्तयोद्ध्रियते जन्तुः करभ्येवोरगो बिलात् ॥ १.२१.१७ ॥

भुजङ्ग-दलन-उत्कया करभ्या (by a she-camel eager to crush a snake) बिलात् उरगः इव (as a snake from its hole) सत्-कार्य-उच्छ्वास-मात्रेण (at the mere first breath of good work) जन्तुः (a person) कान्तया उद्ध्रियते (is drawn out by the beloved).

Translation: "Just as a person begins to breathe a little in good work, the beloved draws him out of it — as a she-camel draws a snake from its hole to crush it."

Pointers for Reflection:

Drawn away from good work. The point is practical: attachment pulls the mind away from the path just as it begins.
Reading note. The image is compressed; the sense follows the most natural reading of the compound.

Verse 1.21.18¶

कामनाम्ना किरातेन विकीर्णा मुग्धचेतसाम् ।
नार्यो नरविहंगानामङ्गबन्धनवागुराः ॥ १.२१.१८ ॥

मुग्ध-चेतसां नर-विहङ्गानां (for the birds that are deluded men) काम-नाम्ना किरातेन विकीर्णाः (spread by the hunter named Desire) नार्यः (women) अङ्ग-बन्धन-वागुराः (are nets that bind the body).

Translation: "For men who are birds with deluded minds, women are nets that bind the body, spread by the hunter whose name is Desire."

Pointers for Reflection:

The hunter is Desire. This verse makes the point plainly: the trapper is काम, not the woman. She too is caught in his net.
Gītā 3.37: काम एष क्रोध एष रजोगुणसमुद्भवः । महाशनो महापाप्मा विद्ध्येनमिह वैरिणम् ॥ — it is desire, it is anger … know this as the enemy here.

Verse 1.21.19¶

ललनाविपुलालाने मनोमत्तमतंगजः ।
रतिशृङ्खलया ब्रह्मन्बद्धस्तिष्ठति मूकवत् ॥ १.२१.१९ ॥

ब्रह्मन् (O sage), मनः-मत्त-मतङ्गजः (the rutting elephant of the mind) ललना-विपुल-आलाने (to the great tethering post of women) रति-शृङ्खलया (by the chain of passion) बद्धः (bound) मूकवत् तिष्ठति (stands as if dumb).

Translation: "O sage, the rutting elephant of the mind stands silent, chained by passion to the great post of women."

Pointers for Reflection:

The mind is the elephant. Again, the bondage is the mind's own passion, the chain of रति.

Verse 1.21.20¶

जन्मपल्वलमत्स्यानां चित्तकर्दमचारिणाम् ।
पुंसां दुर्वासनारज्जुर्नारी बडिशपिण्डिका ॥ १.२१.२० ॥

जन्म-पल्वल-मत्स्यानां (for the fish in the pond of births) चित्त-कर्दम-चारिणां (who move in the mud of the mind) पुंसां (for men) नारी (a woman) दुर्वासना-रज्जुः (the line of bad tendencies) बडिश-पिण्डिका (the bait on the hook) [भवति] ([is]).

Translation: "Men are fish that swim in the muddy pond of birth after birth, through the silt of their own minds; to them a woman is the morsel on the hook, and their own bad tendencies are the line."

Pointers for Reflection:

The line is दुर्वासना. The bait only works because of the line; the line is our own impure tendency (1.3.11).

Verse 1.21.21¶

मन्दुरं च तुरङ्गाणामालानमिव दन्तिनाम् ।
पुंसां मन्त्र इवाहीनां बन्धनं वामलोचना ॥ १.२१.२१ ॥

वाम-लोचना (a lovely-eyed woman) तुरङ्गाणां मन्दुरम् इव (like a stable for horses) दन्तिनाम् आलानम् इव (like a post for elephants) अहीनां मन्त्रः इव (like a charm for snakes) पुंसां बन्धनम् (is a bond for men).

Translation: "A lovely-eyed woman is to men what a stable is to horses, a post to elephants, and a charm to snakes: a bond."

Pointers for Reflection:

Three images of binding. Each is a way of holding something powerful in place. The force that binds is one's own attraction.

Verse 1.21.22¶

नानारसवती चित्रा भोगभूमिरियं मुने ।
स्त्रियमाश्रित्य संयाता परामिह हि संस्थितिम् ॥ १.२१.२२ ॥

मुने (O sage), इयं नाना-रसवती चित्रा भोग-भूमिः (this varied land of enjoyment, full of many flavours) स्त्रियम् आश्रित्य (resting on woman) हि इह परां संस्थितिं संयाता (has reached its full standing here).

Translation: "O sage, this colourful world of enjoyment with all its flavours stands, here, wholly upon woman."

Pointers for Reflection:

The household world. In Indian thought, गृहस्थ life, with all its enjoyment, rests on marriage. Rāma is saying: renounce attraction, and the whole world of enjoyment loosens.

Verse 1.21.23¶

सर्वेषां दोषरत्नानां सुसमुद्गिकयाऽनया ।
दुःखशृङ्खलया नित्यमलमस्तु मम स्त्रिया ॥ १.२१.२३ ॥

सर्वेषां दोष-रत्नानां सु-समुद्गिकया (a fine casket of all the jewels of faults) दुःख-शृङ्खलया (a chain of sorrow) अनया स्त्रिया (with this woman) मम (for me) नित्यम् अलम् अस्तु (let there be enough, always).

Translation: "Enough for me, forever, of woman — a fine casket full of the jewels of faults, a chain of sorrow."

Pointers for Reflection:

अलम् — enough. A word of sated renunciation. Compare 1.17.39, craving as a jewel-box of sorrows.
But Rāma will marry and love. Sītā is his wife and his life. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha's teaching will free Rāma not from love, but from bondage in love (the theme of wisdom lived, not renounced).

Verse 1.21.24¶

किं स्तनेन किमक्ष्णा वा किं नितम्बेन किं भुवा ।
मांसमात्रैकसारेण करोम्यहमवस्तुना ॥ १.२१.२४ ॥

मांस-मात्र-एक-सारेण (whose only essence is flesh) अवस्तुना (with this unreal thing) स्तनेन किम् (what of breasts?) अक्ष्णा वा किम् (what of eyes?) नितम्बेन किम् (what of hips?) भुवा किम् (what of brows?) अहं करोमि (what shall I do [with them])?

Translation: "What shall I do with breasts, with eyes, with hips, with brows — with this unreal thing whose only essence is flesh?"

Pointers for Reflection:

अवस्तु — unreal. The key word. Not 'ugly' but 'unreal' — lacking the substance (वस्तु) the mind attributes to it.

Verse 1.21.25¶

इतो मांसमितो रक्तमितोऽस्थीनीति वासरैः ।
ब्रह्मन्कतिपयैरेव याति स्त्री विशरारुताम् ॥ १.२१.२५ ॥

ब्रह्मन् (O sage), इतः मांसम् इतः रक्तम् इतः अस्थीनि इति (here flesh, there blood, there bones) कतिपयैः एव वासरैः (in just a few days) स्त्री विशरारुतां याति (a woman falls apart).

Translation: "O sage, in just a few days a woman falls apart — here flesh, there blood, there bones."

Pointers for Reflection:

Impermanence of every body. The same was said of Rāma's own body in Sarga 18. The contemplation applies to all.

Verse 1.21.26¶

यास्तात पुरुषैः स्थूलैर्ललिता मनुजैः प्रियाः ।
ता मुने प्रविभक्ताङ्ग्यः स्वपन्ति पितृभूमिषु ॥ १.२१.२६ ॥

तात मुने (dear sage), याः प्रियाः (those beloved women who) स्थूलैः पुरुषैः मनुजैः (by sturdy men) ललिताः (were cherished), ताः (they) प्रविभक्त-अङ्ग्यः (with limbs scattered) पितृ-भूमिषु स्वपन्ति (sleep in the cremation grounds).

Translation: "Dear sage, the beloved women once cherished by strong men now sleep in the cremation grounds, their limbs scattered."

Pointers for Reflection:

पितृभूमि — the land of the ancestors, the cremation ground. Every beloved, man or woman, ends here.

Verse 1.21.27¶

यस्मिन्घनतरस्नेहं मुखे पत्राङ्कुराः स्त्रियः ।
कान्तेन रचिता ब्रह्मन्पीयते तेन जङ्गले ॥ १.२१.२७ ॥

ब्रह्मन् (O sage), यस्मिन् मुखे (on which face) स्त्रियः (of a woman) कान्तेन (by her lover) घनतर-स्नेहं (with deep affection / thick unguent) पत्र-अङ्कुराः रचिताः (leaf-designs were painted), तेन [मुखेन] (that face) जङ्गले पीयते (is consumed in the wild).

Translation: "O sage, the face on which her lover, with deep affection, painted leaf-patterns — that face is devoured in the wild."

Pointers for Reflection:

स्नेह — a pun again. Both the cosmetic oil and the love with which it was applied. Love lavished on the face cannot keep it.

Verse 1.21.28¶

केशाः श्मशानवृक्षेषु यान्ति चामरलेखिकाम् ।
अस्थीन्युडुवदाभान्ति दिनैरवनिमण्डले ॥ १.२१.२८ ॥

केशाः (hair) श्मशान-वृक्षेषु (on the trees of the cremation ground) चामर-लेखिकां यान्ति (become like strands of a whisk); अस्थीनि (bones) दिनैः (in some days) अवनि-मण्डले (on the ground) उडुवत् आभान्ति (shine like stars).

Translation: "Her hair hangs on the cremation-ground trees like the strands of a whisk; after some days her bones shine on the earth like stars."

Pointers for Reflection:

Bones like stars. A strangely beautiful image in the midst of decay. Even here the poet sees light.

Verse 1.21.29¶

पिबन्ति पांसवो रक्तं क्रव्यादाश्चाप्यनेकशः ।
चर्माणि च शिवा भुङ्क्ते खं यान्ति प्राणवायवः ॥ १.२१.२९ ॥

पांसवः रक्तं पिबन्ति (dust drinks the blood) क्रव्यादाः च अपि अनेकशः (and flesh-eaters, many of them); शिवा (the jackal) चर्माणि भुङ्क्ते (eats the skin); प्राण-वायवः (the life-breaths) खं यान्ति (go into the sky).

Translation: "The dust drinks the blood, as do many carrion-eaters; the jackal eats the skin; and the breaths of life go back to the sky."

Pointers for Reflection:

Return to the elements. The body returns to earth, the breath to air. Compare Bṛhadāraṇyaka 3.2.13: at death, the breath goes to the wind, the eye to the sun.
What does not return? The Self, which was never made of elements (Gītā 2.23, नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि).

Verse 1.21.30¶

इत्येषा ललनाङ्गानामचिरेणैव भाविनी ।
स्थितिर्मया वः कथिता किं भ्रान्तिमनुधावथ ॥ १.२१.३० ॥

इति (thus) ललना-अङ्गानाम् अचिरेण एव भाविनी (which is soon to come for women's limbs) एषा स्थितिः (this state) मया वः कथिता (has been told to you by me); किं भ्रान्तिम् अनुधावथ (why do you run after delusion)?

Translation: "I have told you the state that will soon come to a woman's limbs. Why do you still run after delusion?"

Pointers for Reflection:

वः — 'to you' (plural). Rāma addresses the whole assembly. His words are counsel, not only lament.

Verse 1.21.31¶

भूतपञ्चकसंघट्टसंस्थानं ललनाभिधम् ।
रसादभिपतत्वेतत्कथं नाम धियान्वितः ॥ १.२१.३१ ॥

धिया अन्वितः (one endowed with intelligence) भूत-पञ्चक-संघट्ट-संस्थानं (an arrangement of the five elements clashing together) ललना-अभिधम् एतत् (this thing called 'woman') कथं नाम रसात् अभिपततु (how could he fall upon it with passion)?

Translation: "How could an intelligent person throw himself with passion upon this arrangement of the five elements that is called 'woman'?"

Pointers for Reflection:

Only a name (अभिधा). The 'woman' is a name for an arrangement of elements — and so is every 'man', and every body. The same applies to the one who desires.

Verse 1.21.32¶

शाखाप्रतानगहना कट्वम्लफलमालिनी ।
सुतालोत्तालतामेति चिन्ता कान्तानुसारिणी ॥ १.२१.३२ ॥

कान्ता-अनुसारिणी चिन्ता (longing that follows the beloved) शाखा-प्रतान-गहना (thick with branches and tendrils) कटु-अम्ल-फल-मालिनी (garlanded with bitter and sour fruit) सु-ताल-उत्तालताम् एति (grows as tall as a great palm).

Translation: "Longing that follows a beloved grows like a tall palm, thick with branches and tendrils, hung with bitter and sour fruit."

Pointers for Reflection:

Longing grows. Compare Sarga 17. The more one thinks of the beloved, the larger the tree of craving becomes (Gītā 2.62, ध्यायतो विषयान्).

Verse 1.21.33¶

कान्दिग्भूततया चेतो घनगर्धान्धमाकुलम् ।
परं मोहमुपादत्ते यूथभ्रष्टमृगो यथा ॥ १.२१.३३ ॥

कान्दिक्-भूततया (being bewildered, not knowing which way to go) घन-गर्ध-अन्धम् आकुलं चेतः (the mind, blinded by thick greed and agitated) यूथ-भ्रष्ट-मृगः यथा (like a deer strayed from its herd) परं मोहम् उपादत्ते (falls into great delusion).

Translation: "Bewildered and lost, blinded by greed and agitated, the mind falls into deep delusion, like a deer that has strayed from the herd."

Pointers for Reflection:

The lost deer — as at 1.16.4. The mind separated from its source.

Verse 1.21.34¶

शोच्यतां परमां याति तरुणस्तरुणीपरः ।
निबद्धः करिणीलोलो विन्ध्यखाते यथा गजः ॥ १.२१.३४ ॥

तरुणी-परः तरुणः (a young man devoted to young women) परमां शोच्यतां याति (comes to utter misery), करिणी-लोलः गजः (as an elephant eager for a she-elephant) विन्ध्य-खाते यथा निबद्धः (is trapped in a pit in the Vindhyas).

Translation: "A young man devoted to young women comes to utter misery, like an elephant trapped in a Vindhya pit while chasing a she-elephant."

Pointers for Reflection:

The elephant trap. Wild elephants were caught by using a tame female as a lure. The image is of desire used against the one who desires.

Verse 1.21.35¶

यस्य स्त्री तस्य भोगेच्छा निःस्त्रीकस्य क्व भोगभूः ।
स्त्रियं त्यक्त्वा जगत्त्यक्तं जगत्त्यक्त्वा सुखी भवेत् ॥ १.२१.३५ ॥

यस्य स्त्री (he who has a woman) तस्य भोग-इच्छा (has desire for enjoyment); निःस्त्रीकस्य (for one without a woman) क्व भोग-भूः (where is the ground of enjoyment)? स्त्रियं त्यक्त्वा (having given up woman) जगत् त्यक्तम् (the world is given up); जगत् त्यक्त्वा (having given up the world) सुखी भवेत् (one becomes happy).

Translation: "Whoever has a woman has the desire for enjoyment; for one without, where is the field of enjoyment? Give up woman, and the world is given up; give up the world, and one is happy."

Pointers for Reflection:

A famous verse of renunciation, often quoted alone.
Rāma's view at this stage. This is the logic of the renunciant (संन्यासी). The Yoga Vasiṣṭha does not stop here: Vasiṣṭha will teach that what must be given up is the inner attachment, not the outer world. Janaka, a king with a family, is the model Rāma himself raises (1.30.12). Rāma will go on to marry, rule and love — free.
Gītā 6.1: अनाश्रितः कर्मफलं कार्यं कर्म करोति यः । स संन्यासी च योगी च न निरग्निर्न चाक्रियः ॥ — one who does his duty without depending on its fruit is the true renunciant and yogī — not one who merely gives up the sacred fire and action.

Verse 1.21.36¶

आपातमात्ररमणेषु सुदुस्तरेषु भोगेषु नाहमलिपक्षतिचञ्चलेषु ।
ब्रह्मन्रमे मरणरोगजरादिभीत्या शाम्याम्यहं परमुपैमि पदं प्रयत्नात् ॥ १.२१.३६ ॥

ब्रह्मन् (O sage), अहम् (I) आपात-मात्र-रमणेषु (pleasing only at first) सु-दुस्तरेषु (very hard to cross) अलि-पक्षति-चञ्चलेषु (fickle as a bee's wing) भोगेषु (in pleasures) न रमे (do not delight); मरण-रोग-जरा-आदि-भीत्या (from fear of death, disease, old age and the rest) शाम्यामि (I grow calm); प्रयत्नात् (by effort) परं पदम् उपैमि (I go towards the supreme state).

Translation: O sage, I take no delight in pleasures — sweet only at first, so hard to escape, fickle as a bee's wing. Fearing death, disease and old age, I grow still; and with effort I make my way towards the highest state.

Pointers for Reflection:

A closing verse in a longer metre (vasantatilakā).
परं पदम् — the supreme state. Rāma's aim is now named. Compare Kaṭha 1.3.9: सोऽध्वनः पारमाप्नोति तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम्. He reaches the end of the road, that supreme state of Viṣṇu.
प्रयत्नात् — by effort. The theme of पौरुष, self-effort, which the Mumukṣu Prakaraṇa will develop.