Sarga 3¶

Mumukṣu Prakaraṇa · Endless worlds, and Vyāsa's freedom (36 verses)

Sarga 3 at a glance

Rāma asks why Vyāsa is still embodied while his son Śuka is released. Vasiṣṭha answers with a vision of endless worlds.

Rāma's doubt (2.3.1–2.3.3).
Worlds past, present and future are countless; at death each being sees a new world arise in its own mind (2.3.4–2.3.17).
This is ignorance, endless in its forms; beings and sages recur in cycles, alike or different (2.3.18–2.3.25).
This Vyāsa is the tenth appearance of himself, and already liberated while living (2.3.26–2.3.31).
Māyā has no end, but the knower stands unveiled, at peace (2.3.32–2.3.36).

Verse 2.3.1¶

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
पूर्वमुक्तं भगवता यज्ज्ञानं पद्मजन्मना ।
सर्गादौ लोकशान्त्यर्थं तदिदं कथयाम्यहम् ॥ २.३.१ ॥

अहं (I) तत् इदं ज्ञानं कथयामि (now tell this knowledge) यत् भगवता पद्म-जन्मना (which by the blessed lotus-born [Brahmā]) पूर्वं सर्ग-आदौ (long ago, at the beginning of creation) लोक-शान्ति-अर्थम् उक्तम् (was spoken for the peace of the world).

Translation: Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: "I shall now tell the knowledge that the blessed lotus-born Brahmā spoke at the beginning of creation, for the peace of the world."

Pointers for Reflection:

For the peace of the world. लोकशान्त्यर्थम् — the teaching was given from compassion, not for display. Śāntideva's whole work turns on the same wish: may all beings be at peace.
At the beginning. The knowledge is as old as creation. It is not a late philosophy but the original medicine for the original disease.

Verse 2.3.2¶

श्रीराम उवाच ।
कथयिष्यसि विस्तीर्णा भगवन्मोक्षसंहिताम् ।
इमं तावत्क्षणं जातं संशयं मे निवारय ॥ २.३.२ ॥

भगवन् (O blessed one), [त्वं] विस्तीर्णां मोक्ष-संहिताम् (the extensive compendium on liberation) कथयिष्यसि (will tell); तावत् (first) क्षणं जातं (just arisen) इमं मे संशयं निवारय (remove this doubt of mine).

Translation: Śrī Rāma said: "Blessed one, you are going to unfold the whole body of teaching on liberation; but before that, please settle a doubt that has only now come to me."

Pointers for Reflection:

Doubt cleared at once. Rāma does not store his doubts for later. A good student asks as soon as a doubt arises — before it hardens into a barrier.
मोक्षसंहिता. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha's own name for itself is Mokṣopāya, "the means to liberation" (2.17.6).

Verse 2.3.3¶

पिता शुकस्य सर्वज्ञो गुरुर्व्यासो महामतिः ।
विदेहमुक्तो न कथं कथं मुक्तः सुतोऽस्य सः ॥ २.३.३ ॥

शुकस्य पिता (Śuka's father) सर्वज्ञः महामतिः गुरुः व्यासः (the all-knowing, great-minded teacher Vyāsa) कथं विदेह-मुक्तः न (how is he not liberated from the body)? अस्य सः सुतः कथं मुक्तः (how is that son of his liberated)?

Translation: "Vyāsa, Śuka's father, the all-knowing, great-minded teacher, is still in his body, not released from it. How then is his son released, and not he?"

Pointers for Reflection:

A sharp question. If Śuka merged like a drop in the ocean (2.1.45), and Janaka said Śuka surpassed Vyāsa (2.1.39), is Vyāsa, sitting here in the hall, not free? Rāma thinks clearly and asks directly.
Embodied and disembodied freedom. Behind the question is a real issue: is liberation only at death (विदेहमुक्ति), or can one be free while living (जीवन्मुक्ति)? Vasiṣṭha answers in Sarga 4.

Verse 2.3.4¶

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
परमार्कप्रकाशान्तस्त्रिजगत्त्रसरेणवः ।
उत्पत्योत्पत्य लीना ये न संख्यामुपयान्ति ते ॥ २.३.४ ॥

ये (those) त्रि-जगत्-त्रसरेणवः (specks of dust that are the three worlds) परम-अर्क-प्रकाश-अन्तः (within the light of the supreme sun) उत्पत्य उत्पत्य लीनाः (have arisen again and again and dissolved), ते संख्यां न उपयान्ति (they cannot be counted).

Translation: Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: "In the light of the supreme sun, the three worlds are like specks of dust in a sunbeam. They have risen and vanished again and again, beyond all counting."

Pointers for Reflection:

Specks in a sunbeam. त्रसरेणु — the dust that dances in a sunbeam through a window. Whole universes are like that in the light of consciousness. Vasiṣṭha answers Rāma's question about one sage by widening the frame to countless worlds.
The Gītā's cosmic scale: अव्यक्ताद्व्यक्तयः सर्वाः प्रभवन्त्यहरागमे — at the coming of Brahmā's day, all manifest things arise from the unmanifest (8.18).

Verse 2.3.5¶

वर्तमानाश्च याः सन्ति त्रैलोक्यगणकोटयः ।
शक्यन्ते ताश्च संख्यातुं नैव काश्चन केनचित् ॥ २.३.५ ॥

वर्तमानाः च याः त्रैलोक्य-गण-कोटयः सन्ति (and the millions of groups of three-world systems that exist now) ताः च (those too) केनचित् (by anyone) काश्चन (any of them) न एव संख्यातुं शक्यन्ते (can be counted).

Translation: "And the millions of world-systems that exist at present — not even these can be counted by anyone."

Pointers for Reflection:

Countless now. Not only in the past: the present too holds innumerable worlds. Buddhist cosmology speaks likewise of world-systems as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges.

Verse 2.3.6¶

भविष्यन्ति पराम्भोधौ जन्तुसर्गतरङ्गकाः ।
तांश्च वै परिसंख्यातुं सा कथैव न विद्यते ॥ २.३.६ ॥

परा-अम्भोधौ (in the supreme ocean) [ये] जन्तु-सर्ग-तरङ्गकाः भविष्यन्ति (the little waves of creations of beings that will come) तान् च परिसंख्यातुं (and to count them) सा कथा एव न विद्यते (there is no question at all).

Translation: "And as for the waves of creation that will yet rise in the supreme ocean, there can be no talk of counting them."

Pointers for Reflection:

Past, present, future — all beyond number. The ocean is one; the waves are endless. Against this background, one sage's state is a small matter — but Vasiṣṭha will show it is also no contradiction.
Reading note. The online text prints जन्तसर्ग; corrected here to जन्तुसर्ग.

Verse 2.3.7¶

श्रीराम उवाच ।
या भूता या भविष्यन्त्यो जगत्सर्गपरम्पराः ।
तासां विचारणा युक्ता वर्तमानास्तु का इव ॥ २.३.७ ॥

याः भूताः (those that were) याः भविष्यन्त्यः (those that will be) जगत्-सर्ग-परम्पराः (successions of world-creations) तासां विचारणा युक्ता (thinking about them is fitting); वर्तमानाः तु काः इव (but what of the present ones)?

Translation: Śrī Rāma said: "It is fine to reflect on past and future chains of creation. But what of those that exist now?"

Pointers for Reflection:

Rāma keeps to the point. The cosmic vision is grand, but Rāma wants to understand the present. Vasiṣṭha's next verses explain how present worlds arise — from each being's own mind.

Verse 2.3.8¶

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
तिर्यक्पुरुषदेवादेर्यो नाम स विनश्यति ।
यस्मिन्नेव प्रदेशेऽसौ तदैवेदं प्रपश्यति ॥ २.३.८ ॥

तिर्यक्-पुरुष-देव-आदेः (among animals, humans, gods and others) यः नाम विनश्यति (whoever dies), असौ (he) यस्मिन् एव प्रदेशे (in that very place) तदा एव (at that very moment) इदं प्रपश्यति (sees this [a world]).

Translation: Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: "Whoever dies — animal, human, god or any other — at that very place and moment begins to see a world."

Pointers for Reflection:

Death opens a world. At death the being does not go anywhere; right where it is, a new world appears to it. The Gītā: यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् । तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय — whatever state one remembers on leaving the body, to that one goes (8.6).
Each a private world. This is how the present worlds are countless: every dying being sees its own.

Verse 2.3.9¶

आतिवाहिकनाम्नान्तः स्वहृद्येव जगत्त्रयम् ।
व्योम्नि चित्तशरीरेण व्योमात्मानुभवत्यजः ॥ २.३.९ ॥

अजः व्योमात्मा (the unborn one, whose nature is space) व्योम्नि (in space) चित्त-शरीरेण (with a body made of mind) आतिवाहिक-नाम्ना (called the ātivāhika, the subtle travelling body) अन्तः स्व-हृदि एव (within, in its own heart) जगत्-त्रयम् अनुभवति (experiences the three worlds).

Translation: "The unborn one, whose nature is space, experiences the three worlds within its own heart, in space, through a body made of mind — the subtle body called ātivāhika."

Pointers for Reflection:

आतिवाहिक. The "carrying-across" body, the subtle body of mind that moves from life to life. The gross body is left behind; the mind-body goes on imagining worlds.
The Bṛhadāraṇyaka describes the dreamer making his own world: स्वयं विहत्य स्वयं निर्माय स्वेन भासा स्वेन ज्योतिषा प्रस्वपिति — he himself destroys, himself creates, and dreams by his own light (4.3.9).

Verse 2.3.10¶

एवं मृता म्रियन्ते च मरिष्यन्ति च कोटयः ।
भूतानां यां जगन्त्याशामुदितानि पृथक्पृथक् ॥ २.३.१० ॥

एवं (thus) भूतानां कोटयः (millions of beings) मृताः (have died) म्रियन्ते च (are dying) मरिष्यन्ति च (and will die); [तेषां] यां आशाम् (according to their longing) जगन्ति पृथक् पृथक् उदितानि (worlds arise for each separately).

Translation: "So millions of beings have died, are dying and will die; and according to each one's longing, a world arises for each separately."

Pointers for Reflection:

Longing shapes the world. आशा — desire, hope, expectation — is the seed of the next world. The Bṛhadāraṇyaka: स यथाकामो भवति तत्क्रतुर्भवति — as is one's desire, so is one's resolve (4.4.5).

Verse 2.3.11¶

संकल्पनिर्माणमिव मनोराज्यविलासवत् ।
इन्द्रजालामाल इव कथार्थप्रतिभासवत् ॥ २.३.११ ॥

[तानि जगन्ति] संकल्प-निर्माणम् इव (like something built by imagination) मनो-राज्य-विलासवत् (like the play of a daydream kingdom) इन्द्रजाल-मालः इव (like a string of conjuring tricks) कथा-अर्थ-प्रतिभासवत् (like the scenes that appear when one hears a story).

Translation: "These worlds are like things built by imagination, like the play of a kingdom in a daydream, like a string of conjuring tricks, like the scenes that form as one listens to a story."

Pointers for Reflection:

The Yoga Vasiṣṭha's images. Here begins a stream of similes that will run through the whole work. Each picks out one feature: vividness without substance.
A story's scenes. When we hear a story, a whole world appears to us — real while it lasts, nowhere afterwards. This is the text's own method: its stories create worlds to show how worlds are created.

Verse 2.3.12¶

दुर्वातभूकम्प इव त्रस्तबालपिशाचवत् ।
मुक्तालीवामले व्योम्नि नौस्पन्दतरुयानवत् ॥ २.३.१२ ॥

[तानि] दुर्वात-भूकम्पः इव (like an earthquake felt in a storm) त्रस्त-बाल-पिशाचवत् (like a ghost seen by a frightened child) अमले व्योम्नि मुक्ता-आली इव (like a string of pearls in the clear sky) नौ-स्पन्द-तरु-यानवत् (like trees moving as seen from a moving boat).

Translation: "They are like the shaking of the ground one feels in a gale, like the ghost a frightened child sees, like a string of pearls seen in a clear sky, like the trees that seem to move when one sails past in a boat."

Pointers for Reflection:

Errors of perception. Each image is a real experience with a false object: the ground seems to shake, the ghost seems present, specks seem like pearls, the shore seems to move. The experience is real; its content is not.
The moving shore. Classic Indian example of superimposing one's own motion on the world. Śaṅkara uses it too.

Verse 2.3.13¶

स्वप्नसंवित्तिपुरवत्स्मृतिजातखपुष्पवत् ।
जगत्संसरणं स्वान्तर्मृतोऽनुभवति स्वयम् ॥ २.३.१३ ॥

मृतः (the one who has died) स्व-अन्तः (within himself) स्वयं (by himself) स्वप्न-संवित्ति-पुरवत् (like a city known in a dream) स्मृति-जात-ख-पुष्पवत् (like a sky-flower born of memory) जगत्-संसरणम् अनुभवति (experiences the wandering through the world).

Translation: "The one who has died experiences, within himself and by himself, the passage through a world — like a city seen in a dream, or a flower in the sky conjured by memory."

Pointers for Reflection:

खपुष्प — the sky-flower. A standard example in Indian logic of something wholly unreal. Yet it can be imagined vividly. So with the after-death world.
Reading note. The online text prints स्वप्नसंवित्तिषुरवत्; corrected here to स्वप्नसंवित्तिपुरवत् ("like a city known in a dream").

Verse 2.3.14¶

तत्रातिपरिणामेन तदेव घनतां गतम् ।
इहलोकोऽयमित्येव जीवाकाशे विजृम्भते ॥ २.३.१४ ॥

तत्र (there) अति-परिणामेन (through long ripening) तत् एव (that very thing) घनतां गतम् (becomes solid); "अयम् इह-लोकः" इति एव (as "this is the world here") जीव-आकाशे विजृम्भते (it unfolds in the space of the individual).

Translation: "There, by long maturing, that same imagining grows dense, and unfolds in the inner space of the individual as 'this world, here'."

Pointers for Reflection:

How imagination becomes solid. Repeated and unquestioned, a mental picture hardens into "the world". This is the process the whole text will unravel: घनता, solidification, and its reversal.
The Buddha said: mano-pubbaṅgamā dhammā … manomayā — things are led by mind, made of mind (Dhammapada 1).

Verse 2.3.15¶

पुनस्तत्रैव जातो वामरणाद्यनुभूतिमान् ।
परं लोकं कल्पयति मृतस्तत्र तथा पुनः ॥ २.३.१५ ॥

पुनः तत्र एव जातः वा (again, being born there) मरण-आदि-अनुभूतिमान् (experiencing death and the rest) मृतः (having died) तत्र तथा पुनः (there, likewise, again) परं लोकं कल्पयति (imagines another world).

Translation: "Born again there and going through death and the rest, he dies and once more imagines another world — and so on."

Pointers for Reflection:

Worlds within worlds, endlessly. Each death opens a new world, in which another death opens another. This is saṃsāra seen from inside.
Reading note. The online text prints a corrupt word (जग्नेद्वा); read here as जातो वा, "or, being born", which fits the sense.

Verse 2.3.16¶

तदन्तरन्ये पुरुषास्तेषामन्तस्तथेतरे ।
संसार इति भान्तीमे कदलीदलपीठवत् ॥ २.३.१६ ॥

तत्-अन्तः (within that [world]) अन्ये पुरुषाः (other persons), तेषाम् अन्तः तथा इतरे (and within theirs, still others) — इमे संसारः इति भान्ति (these appear as saṃsāra), कदली-दल-पीठवत् (like the layers of a plantain stem).

Translation: "Within that world are other persons, and within theirs still others. All these appear as saṃsāra, like the layers of a plantain stem, one inside another."

Pointers for Reflection:

The plantain stem. Peel one layer and another appears, and another — and in the centre, nothing. A perfect image of worlds within minds within worlds, with no solid core.
Reading note. The online text prints तेवामन्त; corrected here to तेषामन्त.

Verse 2.3.17¶

न पृथ्व्यादिमहाभूतगणा न च जगत्क्रमाः ।
मृतानां सन्ति तत्रापि तथाप्येषां जगद्भ्रमाः ॥ २.३.१७ ॥

मृतानां (for the dead) तत्र अपि (even there) पृथ्वी-आदि-महाभूत-गणाः न (there are no great elements such as earth) न च जगत्-क्रमाः (nor the orders of a world); तथा अपि (yet) एषां जगत्-भ्रमाः [सन्ति] (they have the illusion of a world).

Translation: "For the dead there is no earth or other element, nor any order of a world; and yet they have the illusion of one."

Pointers for Reflection:

Worlds without matter. The after-death world has no elements, yet it is fully experienced. So experience does not need matter; it needs only mind. The question is then whether this waking world is any different — a question the Utpatti Prakaraṇa will press.
Reading note. The online text prints पृम्ब्यादि … जगद्भमाः; corrected here to पृथ्व्यादि … जगद्भ्रमाः.

Verse 2.3.18¶

अविद्यैव ह्यनन्तेयं नानाप्रसरशालिनी ।
जडानां सरिदादीर्घा तरत्सर्गतरङ्गिणी ॥ २.३.१८ ॥

इयम् अविद्या एव हि (this is ignorance itself) अनन्ता (endless) नाना-प्रसर-शालिनी (spreading in many ways); [सा] जडानां (for the dull) सरित् आदीर्घा (a long river) तरत्-सर्ग-तरङ्गिणी (rolling with waves of creation).

Translation: "This is ignorance itself — endless, spreading in countless ways. For the unawakened it is a long river, rolling with waves of creation."

Pointers for Reflection:

अविद्या. Not "lack of information" but the basic misreading of reality. It is endless in its forms, though not in its existence — it ends with knowledge.
The river. One cannot count its waves, but one can cross it. Vasiṣṭha's interest is not in the waves but in the crossing.

Verse 2.3.19¶

परमार्थाम्बुधौ स्फारे राम सर्गतरङ्गकाः ।
भूयोभूयोऽनुवर्तन्ते त एवान्ये च भूरिशः ॥ २.३.१९ ॥

राम (O Rāma), स्फारे परमार्थ-अम्बुधौ (in the vast ocean of the ultimate) ते एव (the same ones) अन्ये च (and others) भूरिशः सर्ग-तरङ्गकाः (countless waves of creation) भूयः भूयः अनुवर्तन्ते (come round again and again).

Translation: "Rāma, in the vast ocean of ultimate reality, waves of creation keep returning in countless numbers — some the same as before, some new."

Pointers for Reflection:

Recurrence. The same patterns return: the Purāṇas speak of the same events in each cosmic cycle. Vasiṣṭha now turns this towards Rāma's question about Vyāsa.

Verse 2.3.20¶

सर्वतः सदृशाः केचित्कुलक्रममनोगुणैः ।
केचिदर्धेन सदृशाः केचिच्चातिविलक्षणाः ॥ २.३.२० ॥

केचित् (some [beings]) कुल-क्रम-मनः-गुणैः (in family, custom, mind and qualities) सर्वतः सदृशाः (are alike in every way); केचित् अर्धेन सदृशाः (some alike by half); केचित् च अति-विलक्षणाः (and some very different).

Translation: "Some beings recur alike in every respect — family, custom, mind and qualities; some are half alike; some quite different."

Pointers for Reflection:

Variations on a theme. Each cycle repeats with differences, like performances of the same play with different casts. Sameness and difference together.

Verse 2.3.21¶

इमं व्यासं च तत्र द्वात्रिंशं संस्मराम्यहम् ।
यथासंभवविज्ञानदृशा संलक्ष्यमाणया ॥ २.३.२१ ॥

अहं (I) तत्र (among these) इमं व्यासं च द्वात्रिंशं (this Vyāsa as the thirty-second) यथा-संभव-विज्ञान-दृशा संलक्ष्यमाणया (with the eye of knowledge, discerning as far as possible) संस्मरामि (remember).

Translation: "Among these, as far as my eye of knowledge can make out, I remember this Vyāsa as the thirty-second."

Pointers for Reflection:

Many Vyāsas. The Purāṇas teach that in every age a Vyāsa arises to arrange the Veda; the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.3) lists twenty-eight. Vasiṣṭha has seen many, across many cycles.
Reading note. The online text is corrupt here (व्यासङ्ग, संलश्यमानया); it is read as व्यासं च … संलक्ष्यमाणया, which matches the sense of the following verses.

Verse 2.3.22¶

द्वादशाल्पधियस्तत्र कुलाकारेहितैः समाः ।
दश सर्वे समाकाराः शिष्टाः कुलविलक्षणाः ॥ २.३.२२ ॥

तत्र (of them) द्वादश अल्प-धियः (twelve of lesser intellect) कुल-आकार-ईहितैः समाः (were alike in family, form and conduct); दश सर्वे सम-आकाराः (ten were all of the same form); शिष्टाः कुल-विलक्षणाः (the rest were different in family).

Translation: "Of them, twelve were of smaller understanding, alike in family, form and conduct; ten were all of the same form; the rest differed in family."

Pointers for Reflection:

Not all Vyāsas are equal. Some were of "smaller understanding". The same name and office do not guarantee the same realisation. Vasiṣṭha's point is coming: this present Vyāsa is one of the great ones.

Verse 2.3.23¶

अद्याप्यन्ये भविष्यन्ति व्यासवाल्मीकयस्तथा ।
भृग्वङ्गिरःपुलस्त्याश्च तथैवाप्यन्यथैव च ॥ २.३.२३ ॥

अद्य अपि (even now) अन्ये व्यास-वाल्मीकयः (other Vyāsas and Vālmīkis) तथा भृगु-अङ्गिरः-पुलस्त्याः च (and Bhṛgus, Aṅgirases and Pulastyas) तथा एव अपि (just the same) अन्यथा एव च (and different) भविष्यन्ति (will arise).

Translation: "Even now, other Vyāsas and Vālmīkis will arise, and other Bhṛgus, Aṅgirases and Pulastyas — some just the same, some different."

Pointers for Reflection:

Vālmīki too. The narrator of this very text is one in a series. Vasiṣṭha includes himself among the recurring sages (next verses). The tradition is renewed in every age.
Kṛṣṇa: यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत … संभवामि युगे युगे — whenever dharma declines … I arise age after age (Gītā 4.7–8).

Verse 2.3.24¶

नराः सुरर्षिदेवानां गणाः संभूय भूरिशः ।
उत्पद्यन्ते विलीयन्ते कदाचिच्च पृथक्पृथक् ॥ २.३.२४ ॥

नराः (humans) सुर-ऋषि-देवानां गणाः (hosts of divine sages and gods) भूरिशः संभूय (in great numbers together) उत्पद्यन्ते विलीयन्ते (arise and dissolve), कदाचित् च पृथक् पृथक् (and sometimes one by one).

Translation: "Humans, and hosts of divine sages and gods, arise and dissolve in great numbers together — and sometimes one by one."

Pointers for Reflection:

Coming and going. Even gods are within the cycle. The Gītā: आब्रह्मभुवनाल्लोकाः पुनरावर्तिनोऽर्जुन — all worlds up to Brahmā's realm come round again (8.16).

Verse 2.3.25¶

ब्राह्मी द्वासप्ततिस्त्रैता आसीदस्ति भविष्यति ।
स एवान्यश्च लोकाश्च त्वं चाहं चेति वेद्म्यहम् ॥ २.३.२५ ॥

ब्राह्मी द्वासप्ततिः त्रैता (the seventy-two cycles of Brahmā's creation) आसीत् अस्ति भविष्यति (were, are, and will be); सः एव (he himself) अन्यः च (and others) लोकाः च (and the worlds) त्वं च अहं च (and you and I) — इति अहं वेद्मि (this I know).

Translation: "Cycles of Brahmā's creation, seventy-two of them, have been, are, and will be: Vyāsa himself and others, the worlds, you and I — this I know."

Pointers for Reflection:

You and I as well. Vasiṣṭha places Rāma and himself in the same endless recurrence. The Gītā: बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन । तान्यहं वेद सर्वाणि न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप — many births of mine have passed, and of yours, Arjuna; I know them all, you do not (4.5).
Reading note. The online text prints वेदयहम्, read as वेद्म्यहम् ("I know"). The word त्रैता is uncertain; the sense, endless repeating cycles, is clear.

Verse 2.3.26¶

क्रमेणास्य मुनेरित्थं व्यासस्याद्भुतकर्मणः ।
संलक्ष्यतेऽवतारोऽयं दशमो दीर्घदर्शिनः ॥ २.३.२६ ॥

इत्थं क्रमेण (in this way, in due order) अस्य अद्भुत-कर्मणः दीर्घ-दर्शिनः मुनेः व्यासस्य (of this sage Vyāsa, of wonderful deeds and far vision) अयं दशमः अवतारः संलक्ष्यते (this is seen to be the tenth appearance).

Translation: "So, in due order, this present one is seen to be the tenth appearance of this far-seeing Vyāsa of wonderful deeds."

Pointers for Reflection:

The same soul, again. This Vyāsa has come ten times. His presence here is not a lack of freedom but a returning — as Vasiṣṭha will say in verse 31, he is already free.

Verse 2.3.27¶

अभूम व्यासवाल्मीकियुक्ता वयमनेकशः ।
अभूम वयमेवेमे बहुशश्च पृथक्पृथक् ॥ २.३.२७ ॥

वयं (we) अनेकशः व्यास-वाल्मीकि-युक्ताः अभूम (have often been together with Vyāsa and Vālmīki); इमे वयम् एव (we ourselves) बहुशः पृथक् पृथक् च अभूम (have also been many times, separately).

Translation: "Many times we have existed together with Vyāsa and Vālmīki; and many times we have existed separately."

Pointers for Reflection:

Old companions. Vasiṣṭha, Vyāsa and Vālmīki have met before, in other cycles. Spiritual companionship runs deeper than one lifetime.

Verse 2.3.28¶

अभूम वयमेवेमे सदृशा इतरे विदः ।
अभूम वयमेवेमे नानाकारा समाशयाः ॥ २.३.२८ ॥

इमे वयम् एव सदृशाः अभूम (we ourselves have been alike) इतरे विदः (others know [it]); इमे वयम् एव नाना-आकाराः सम-आशयाः अभूम (we ourselves have been of different forms yet of the same intent).

Translation: "We have been alike, as others know; and we have been of many forms, yet of one heart."

Pointers for Reflection:

Many forms, one heart. समाशय — the same inner intent. What persists across lives is not form but disposition.
Reading note. The online text prints अभूम् … समाशयाऽ; corrected here to अभूम … समाशयाः.

Verse 2.3.29¶

भाव्यमद्याप्यनेनेह ननु वाराष्टकं पुनः ।
भूयोऽपि भारतं नाम सेतिहासं करिष्यति ॥ २.३.२९ ॥

ननु (indeed) अद्य अपि (even now) अनेन (by him) इह पुनः वार-अष्टकम् (eight more times) भाव्यम् (he must come); भूयः अपि (again) भारतं नाम स-इतिहासं करिष्यति (he will compose the Bhārata, with its histories).

Translation: "Indeed, he must come here eight times more; and again he will compose the Bhārata, with its histories."

Pointers for Reflection:

The Mahābhārata, again. Vyāsa's great work is not a one-time event; it is renewed each cycle. Scripture is spoken anew for each age.

Verse 2.3.30¶

कृत्वा वेदविभागं च नीत्वानेन कुलप्रथाम् ।
ब्रह्मत्वं च तथा कृत्वा भाव्यं वैदेहमोक्षणम् ॥ २.३.३० ॥

वेद-विभागं च कृत्वा (having divided the Veda) अनेन कुल-प्रथां नीत्वा (having spread his family's fame) तथा ब्रह्मत्वं च कृत्वा (and attained the state of Brahman) [अस्य] वैदेह-मोक्षणं भाव्यम् (his release from the body is to come).

Translation: "Having divided the Veda, carried his line to fame and realised Brahman, he will in time be released from the body."

Pointers for Reflection:

Vyāsa's work in the world. "Vyāsa" means "the arranger": he arranged the one Veda into four. His remaining embodiment is service, not bondage. Release from the body will come when the work is done.

Verse 2.3.31¶

वीतशोकभयः शान्तनिर्वाणो गतकल्पनः ।
जीवन्मुक्तो जितमना व्यासोऽयमिति वर्णितः ॥ २.३.३१ ॥

अयं व्यासः (this Vyāsa) वीत-शोक-भयः (free of grief and fear) शान्त-निर्वाणः (at peace in nirvāṇa) गत-कल्पनः (beyond mental construction) जीवन्मुक्तः (liberated while living) जित-मनाः (master of his mind) इति वर्णितः (is so described).

Translation: "This Vyāsa is said to be free of grief and fear, at peace in nirvāṇa, beyond all mental construction, liberated while living, the master of his mind."

Pointers for Reflection:

The answer to Rāma. Vyāsa is already free — a जीवन्मुक्त. Śuka is free without a body, Vyāsa free with one. No contradiction: Sarga 4 will say there is no difference.
Freedom does not end activity. Vyāsa writes, teaches and returns. Jaina tradition too has the kevalin who, having reached omniscience, continues to live and teach until his life-span ends.

Verse 2.3.32¶

वित्तक्तधुवयःकर्मविद्याविज्ञानचेष्टितैः ।
समानि सन्ति भूतानि कदाचिन्नतु तानि तु ॥ २.३.३२ ॥

भूतानि (beings) वित्त-…-वयः-कर्म-विद्या-विज्ञान-चेष्टितैः (in wealth, age, action, learning, knowledge and conduct) कदाचित् समानि सन्ति (are sometimes alike); न तु तानि तु [कदाचित्] (and sometimes they are not).

Translation: "Beings are sometimes alike in wealth, age, action, learning, knowledge and conduct, and sometimes not."

Pointers for Reflection:

Neither identical nor random. Recurrence brings likeness, not exact repetition. The lesson: do not judge anyone's inner state by outer resemblance.
Reading note. One word in the compound (वित्तक्तधु…) is corrupt in the online text; the list is translated from the clear parts.

Verse 2.3.33¶

क्वचित्सर्गशतैस्तानि भवन्ति न भवन्ति वा ।
कदाचिदपि मायेयमित्थमन्तविवर्जिता ॥ २.३.३३ ॥

क्वचित् (sometimes) सर्ग-शतैः (over hundreds of creations) तानि भवन्ति न भवन्ति वा (they come to be, or do not); इयं माया (this māyā) इत्थं (thus) कदाचित् अपि अन्त-विवर्जिता (never has an end).

Translation: "Sometimes, over hundreds of creations, they appear, and sometimes they do not. So this māyā has no end, ever."

Pointers for Reflection:

Endless māyā. As a process it has no end; but for one who sees through it, it ends at once. The Gītā: दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया । मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते — this divine māyā is hard to cross; those who take refuge in Me cross over it (7.14).

Verse 2.3.34¶

यच्छतीयं विपर्यासं भूरिभूतपरम्परा ।
बीजराशिरिवाजस्रं पूर्यमाणः पुनःपुनः ॥ २.३.३४ ॥

इयं भूरि-भूत-परम्परा (this vast succession of beings) विपर्यासं यच्छति (keeps changing), बीज-राशिः इव (like a heap of grain) अजस्रं पुनः पुनः पूर्यमाणः (constantly being filled up again and again).

Translation: "This vast succession of beings is ever changing, like a granary that is emptied and filled again and again."

Pointers for Reflection:

The granary. Grain goes out, grain comes in; the heap seems the same, yet is never the same grain. So the world.
Impermanence. The Buddha's anicca: everything that arises is subject to change. The Yoga Vasiṣṭha shares this observation fully, and places beneath it the changeless Self.

Verse 2.3.35¶

तेनैव संनिवेशेन तथान्येन पुनःपुनः ।
सर्गाकाराः प्रवर्तन्ते तरङ्गाः कालवारिधेः ॥ २.३.३५ ॥

कालवारिधेः तरङ्गाः (waves of the ocean of time) सर्ग-आकाराः (in the form of creations) तेन एव संनिवेशेन (in the same arrangement) तथा अन्येन (or in another) पुनः पुनः प्रवर्तन्ते (roll on again and again).

Translation: "The waves of the ocean of time roll on again and again in the form of creations — sometimes in the same pattern, sometimes in another."

Pointers for Reflection:

The ocean of time. Rāma described Time as a devouring force (1.23–25). Vasiṣṭha now shows it as an ocean whose waves are worlds. One need not fear the waves when one knows oneself as the water.

Verse 2.3.36¶

आश्वस्तान्तःकरणः शान्तविकल्पः स्वरूपसारमयः ।
परमशमामृततृप्तस्तिष्ठति विद्वान्निरावरणः ॥ २.३.३६ ॥

विद्वान् (the knower) आश्वस्त-अन्तःकरणः (his inner being at ease) शान्त-विकल्पः (his mental constructions stilled) स्वरूप-सार-मयः (made of the essence of his true nature) परम-शम-अमृत-तृप्तः (satisfied with the nectar of supreme calm) निरावरणः तिष्ठति (stands unveiled).

Translation: "The knower stands unveiled: his inner being at ease, his mental constructions stilled, made of the essence of his own nature, filled with the nectar of supreme calm."

Pointers for Reflection:

After the cosmic vision, the knower. Worlds come and go without end; the one who knows himself is untouched. This is why Vyāsa can be free while worlds recur around him.
निरावरण — unveiled. Nothing covers him any longer. The Gītā: आत्मन्येवात्मना तुष्टः — content in the Self, by the Self (2.55).