Sarga 1¶

Utpatti Prakaraṇa · The seer and the seen (48 verses)

Sarga 1 at a glance

Vasiṣṭha begins the book on origination with a summary of its teaching.

To the knower, Brahman shines in itself like a dream; "I" and "you" are part of that dream. This book tells how the world comes to appear (3.1.1–3.1.9).
At the end of an age, all vanishes; the nameless real remains. From it, as if becoming other, come the individual soul and the mind; the mind imagines the world, as gold is shaped into a bracelet (3.1.10–3.1.21).
Bondage is taking the seen as real; freedom is its absence. "Not this, not this" as mere words, argument, ritual — none removes it while it is held real (3.1.22–3.1.28). As the Gītā says, the unreal has no being.
Stone-like samādhi only suspends the world, which returns on rising; the seed of the seen lies in the seer like a lotus in its seed (3.1.29–3.1.47).
Within pure consciousness the world exists as its own nature (3.1.48).

Verse 3.1.1¶

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच ।
वाग्भाभिर्ब्रह्मविद्ब्रह्म भाति स्वप्न इवात्मनि ।
यदिदं तत्स्वशब्दोत्थैर्यो यद्वेत्ति स वेत्ति तत् ॥ ३.१.१ ॥

ब्रह्म-वित् (the knower of Brahman) वाक्-भाभिः (through the light of words [sees that]) ब्रह्म (Brahman) आत्मनि स्वप्नः इव भाति (shines in itself like a dream); यत् इदं तत् (this and that) स्व-शब्द-उत्थैः [भाति] (appears through the words that arise for it); यः यत् वेत्ति (whoever knows a thing) सः तत् वेत्ति (knows it [as he names it]).

Translation: Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: "For the knower of Brahman, Brahman shines within itself like a dream, and through the light of words appears as 'this' and 'that'. Whatever a person knows, he knows according to the words he gives it."

Pointers for Reflection:

The third book begins. Book 2 prepared the seeker; Book 3 begins the knowledge itself. Its subject is उत्पत्ति — how the world comes to appear.
Like a dream. The first image of the book is the one it will return to most: the world is to consciousness what a dream is to the dreamer — vivid, and made of the dreamer.
The power of words. We know things through names. "This" and "that" arise with the words for them. The Chāndogya: वाचारम्भणं विकारो नामधेयम् — the change is only a name, a matter of speech (6.1.4).
Reading note. The online text prints यदिदंतत्; corrected here to यदिदं तत्.

Verse 3.1.2¶

न्यायेनानेन लोकेऽस्मिन्सर्गे ब्रह्माम्बरे सति ।
किमिदं कस्य कुत्रेति चोद्यमूचे निराकृतम् ॥ ३.१.२ ॥

अनेन न्यायेन (by this principle) अस्मिन् लोके सर्गे (in this world and its creation) ब्रह्म-अम्बरे सति (being [only] the space of Brahman) "किम् इदं कस्य कुत्र" इति चोद्यम् (the question "what is this, whose is it, where is it") निराकृतम् ऊचे (is declared answered).

Translation: "By this principle, since the world and its creation are only the space of Brahman, the questions 'What is this? Whose is it? Where is it?' are answered."

Pointers for Reflection:

Śuka's questions answered. At 2.1.14 Śuka asked of saṃsāra "how far, whose, when?". Seen as Brahman's own dream, the world has no separate owner or place; the questions dissolve rather than receive new facts.

Verse 3.1.3¶

अहं तावद्यथाज्ञानं यथावस्तु यथाक्रमम् ।
यथास्वभावं तत्सर्वं वच्मीदं श्रूयतां बुध ॥ ३.१.३ ॥

बुध (O wise one), अहं तावत् (now I) यथा-ज्ञानं (as it is known) यथा-वस्तु (as it really is) यथा-क्रमम् (in due order) यथा-स्वभावं (according to its nature) तत् सर्वम् इदं वच्मि (shall tell all this); श्रूयताम् (let it be heard).

Translation: "Wise one, I shall now tell you all of this in order — as it is known, as it really is, and according to its own nature. Listen."

Pointers for Reflection:

In due order. Book 3 is systematic: first a summary (vv. 9–48), then the stories and arguments at length (v. 9).

Verse 3.1.4¶

स्वप्नवत्पश्यति जगच्चिन्नभोदेहवित्स्वयम् ।
स्वप्नसंसारदृष्टान्त एवाहं त्वं समन्वितम् ॥ ३.१.४ ॥

चित्-नभः-देह-वित् (the one who knows himself as a body of the sky of consciousness) स्वयं (himself) जगत् स्वप्नवत् पश्यति (sees the world as a dream); स्वप्न-संसार-दृष्टान्तः एव (the very example of the dream-world) अहं त्वं समन्वितम् (includes "I" and "you").

Translation: "One who knows that his body is the sky of consciousness sees the world as a dream. And the dream-world includes 'I' and 'you' too."

Pointers for Reflection:

I and you are in the dream. Not only mountains and cities, but the dreamer's own figure and those he meets appear within the dream. So with the ego in waking life.
चिन्नभस् — sky of consciousness. One of the text's central terms, close to चिदाकाश, the space of consciousness.

Verse 3.1.5¶

मुमुक्षुव्यवहारोक्तिमयात्प्रकरणात्परम् ।
अथोत्पत्तिप्रकरणं मयेदं परिकथ्यते ॥ ३.१.५ ॥

अथ (now) मुमुक्षु-व्यवहार-उक्ति-मयात् प्रकरणात् परम् (after the book on the conduct of the seeker) इदम् उत्पत्ति-प्रकरणं (this book on origination) मया परिकथ्यते (is told by me).

Translation: "Now, after the book on the conduct of the seeker, I tell you this book on origination."

Pointers for Reflection:

The text names its own structure, as announced in Sarga 2.17: seven thousand verses, full of stories, showing how the world seems to arise though it was never born.

Verse 3.1.6¶

बन्धोऽयं दृश्यसद्भावाद्दृश्याभावेन बन्धनम् ।
न संभवति दृश्यं तु यथेदं तच्छ्रणु क्रमात् ॥ ३.१.६ ॥

अयं बन्धः (this bondage) दृश्य-सत्-भावात् (is due to [taking] the seen as real); दृश्य-अभावे (when the seen is absent) न बन्धनम् (there is no bondage); दृश्यं तु न संभवति (but the seen does not truly exist) — यथा इदं (how this is) तत् क्रमात् शृणु (hear in order).

Translation: "Bondage comes from taking the seen as real; when the seen is no longer taken so, bondage is gone. But the seen does not truly exist — hear in order how this is."

Pointers for Reflection:

The thesis of the book in one verse. Bondage = belief in the reality of the दृश्य, the object-world. Freedom = seeing that it never truly existed. Everything in Book 3 serves this.
Splitting the words. दृश्याभावेन बन्धनम् is read as दृश्याभावे न बन्धनम् — "where the seen is absent, there is no bondage".

Verse 3.1.7¶

उत्पद्यते यो जगति स एव किल वर्धते ।
स एव मोक्षमाप्नोति स्वर्गं वा नरकं च वा ॥ ३.१.७ ॥

यः (whoever) जगति उत्पद्यते (is born in the world) सः एव किल वर्धते (he alone grows); सः एव (he alone) मोक्षम् आप्नोति (attains liberation), स्वर्गं वा नरकं च वा (or heaven, or hell).

Translation: "Only what is born in the world grows; and it is that same one who reaches liberation — or heaven, or hell."

Pointers for Reflection:

Why begin with birth. To understand who is bound and freed, one must first see how that "one" came to be. Hence a book on origination.

Verse 3.1.8¶

अतस्ते स्वावबोधार्थं तत्तावत्कथयाम्यहम् ।
उत्पत्तिः संसृतावेति पूर्वमेव हि यो यथा ॥ ३.१.८ ॥

अतः (therefore) ते स्व-अवबोध-अर्थं (for your own understanding) तत् तावत् कथयामि अहम् (I shall first tell this): यः यथा (who, and how) संसृतौ पूर्वम् एव (first of all, in saṃsāra) उत्पत्तिः एति (comes to be born).

Translation: "So, for your own understanding, I shall first tell how anyone comes to be born into saṃsāra in the first place."

Pointers for Reflection:

For your own understanding. स्वावबोध — the aim is self-knowledge, not cosmology for its own sake.

Verse 3.1.9¶

इदं प्रकरणार्थं त्वं संक्षेपाच्छृणु राघव ।
ततः संकथयिष्यामि विस्तरं ते यथेप्सितम् ॥ ३.१.९ ॥

राघव (O Rāghava), इदं प्रकरण-अर्थं (the gist of this book) त्वं संक्षेपात् शृणु (hear in brief); ततः (then) ते यथा-ईप्सितं विस्तरं संकथयिष्यामि (I shall tell you in detail, as you wish).

Translation: "Rāghava, first hear the gist of this book in brief; afterwards I shall tell it at whatever length you wish."

Pointers for Reflection:

Summary first. Verses 10–48 are a compressed map of the whole Utpatti Prakaraṇa. The stories that follow fill it in.

Verse 3.1.10¶

यदिदं दृश्यते सर्वं जगत्स्थावरजंगमम् ।
तत्सुषुप्ताविव स्वप्नः कल्पान्ते प्रविनश्यति ॥ ३.१.१० ॥

यत् इदं सर्वं (all this that) स्थावर-जङ्गमं जगत् दृश्यते (is seen as the world of moving and unmoving things) तत् (that) कल्प-अन्ते (at the end of a cosmic age) प्रविनश्यति (vanishes), सुषुप्तौ स्वप्नः इव (as a dream in deep sleep).

Translation: "This whole world of moving and unmoving things that is seen vanishes at the end of the cosmic age, as a dream vanishes in deep sleep."

Pointers for Reflection:

Dissolution as deep sleep. Each night the dream-world vanishes into sleep; at the end of an age the universe does the same. The Gītā: अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत । अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव — beings are unmanifest at the start, manifest in the middle, unmanifest at the end (2.28).

Verse 3.1.11¶

ततः स्तिमितगम्भीरं न तेजो न तमस्ततम् ।
अनाख्यमनभिव्यक्तं सत्किंचिदवशिष्यते ॥ ३.१.११ ॥

ततः (then) स्तिमित-गम्भीरं (still and deep) न तेजः न तमः (neither light nor darkness) ततम् (all-pervading) अनाख्यम् (nameless) अनभिव्यक्तं (unmanifest) सत् किंचित् अवशिष्यते (a something that is real remains).

Translation: "Then there remains something real — still and deep, neither light nor darkness, all-pervading, nameless, unmanifest."

Pointers for Reflection:

What remains. The Ṛg Veda's hymn of creation: नासदासीन्नो सदासीत्तदानीम् … तम आसीत्तमसा गूळ्हमग्रे — then there was neither non-being nor being … darkness hidden in darkness (10.129). Vasiṣṭha says: not even darkness — only the nameless real.

Verse 3.1.12¶

ऋतमात्मा परं ब्रह्म सत्यमित्यादिका बुधैः ।
कल्पिता व्यवहारार्थं तस्य संज्ञा महात्मनः ॥ ३.१.१२ ॥

तस्य महा-आत्मनः (of that great Self) बुधैः व्यवहार-अर्थं (by the wise, for the purposes of speech) ऋतम् आत्मा परं ब्रह्म सत्यम् इति-आदिकाः संज्ञाः कल्पिताः (names such as Ṛta, Ātman, the supreme Brahman, Truth were made up).

Translation: "For the sake of speaking about it, the wise have given that great Self names such as Ṛta, Ātman, the supreme Brahman and Truth."

Pointers for Reflection:

Names for the nameless. Every name is a convenience (व्यवहार).
ऋत — the cosmic order of the Veda; सत्य — truth. The Taittirīya: सत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं ब्रह्म — Brahman is truth, knowledge, infinite (2.1.1).

Verse 3.1.13¶

स तथाभूत एवात्मा स्वयमन्य इवोल्लसन् ।
जीवतामुपयातीव भाविनाम्ना कदर्थिताम् ॥ ३.१.१३ ॥

सः आत्मा (that Self) तथा-भूतः एव (remaining just as it is) स्वयम् अन्यः इव उल्लसन् (unfolding as if it were something else) भावि-नाम्ना कदर्थितां (troubled by the name it will bear) जीवताम् उपयाति इव (seems to become an individual soul).

Translation: "That Self, while remaining just as it is, unfolds as though it were something else, and seems to become an individual soul, burdened by the name it is to bear."

Pointers for Reflection:

Step 1: Self → jīva. Nothing actually changes; it only seems (इव) to become an individual. The repeated इव, "as if", is the key word of the whole account.

Verse 3.1.14¶

ततः स जीवशब्दार्थकलनाकुलतां गतः ।
मनो भवति भूतात्मा मननान्मन्थरीभवन् ॥ ३.१.१४ ॥

ततः (then) सः (it) जीव-शब्द-अर्थ-कलना-आकुलतां गतः (troubled by imagining the meaning of the word "jīva") भूत-आत्मा (the self of beings) मननात् मन्थरी-भवन् (growing heavy through thinking) मनः भवति (becomes mind).

Translation: "Then, troubled by imagining what the word 'jīva' means, the self of beings grows heavy with thinking and becomes mind."

Pointers for Reflection:

Step 2: jīva → mind. मनस् comes from मनन, "thinking". The self thickens into mind by thinking.

Verse 3.1.15¶

मनः संपद्यते तेन महतः परमात्मनः ।
सुस्थिरादस्थिराकारस्तरङ्ग इव वारिधेः ॥ ३.१.१५ ॥

तेन (thus) महतः सु-स्थिरात् परम-आत्मनः (from the great, utterly still supreme Self) अस्थिर-आकारः (unsteady in form) मनः संपद्यते (mind comes about), वारिधेः तरङ्गः इव (like a wave from the ocean).

Translation: "So mind, restless in form, comes from the great, utterly still supreme Self, as a wave rises from the ocean."

Pointers for Reflection:

Still ocean, restless wave. The same water. Mind is not a second substance beside the Self.

Verse 3.1.16¶

तत्स्वयं स्वैरमेवाशु संकल्पयति नित्यशः ।
तेनेत्थमिन्द्रजालश्रीर्विततेयं वितन्यते ॥ ३.१.१६ ॥

तत् (that [mind]) स्वयं स्वैरम् एव (by itself, freely) आशु (swiftly) नित्यशः संकल्पयति (constantly imagines); तेन (by that) इत्थम् इयं वितता इन्द्रजाल-श्रीः वितन्यते (this vast magic display is spread out).

Translation: "That mind, of its own accord, swiftly and constantly imagines; and so this vast magic display is spread out."

Pointers for Reflection:

Step 3: mind → world. संकल्प — imagining, intending — is the creative act. The world is the mind's ongoing imagination. The Taittirīya: सोऽकामयत । बहु स्यां प्रजायेयेति — He desired: may I be many, may I be born (2.6.1).

Verse 3.1.17¶

यथा कटकशब्दार्थः पृथक्त्वार्हो न काञ्चनात् ।
न हेम कटकात्तद्वज्जगच्छब्दार्थता परे ॥ ३.१.१७ ॥

यथा (as) कटक-शब्द-अर्थः (what the word "bracelet" means) काञ्चनात् पृथक्त्व-अर्हः न (cannot be separate from gold), न हेम कटकात् (nor gold from the bracelet), तद्वत् (so) परे (in the Supreme) जगत्-शब्द-अर्थता (what the word "world" means).

Translation: "As what the word 'bracelet' means cannot be separated from gold, nor the gold from the bracelet, so is what the word 'world' means in the Supreme."

Pointers for Reflection:

Gold and bracelet — the image the Home page calls the text's favourite. "Bracelet" is a name for a shape; there is only gold. "World" is a name; there is only Brahman.

Verse 3.1.18¶

ब्रह्मण्येवास्त्यनन्तात्म यथास्थितमिदं जगत् ।
न जगच्छब्दकार्थेऽस्ति हेम्नीव कटकात्मता ॥ ३.१.१८ ॥

इदं जगत् (this world) यथा-स्थितं (just as it is) अनन्त-आत्म (infinite in nature) ब्रह्मणि एव अस्ति (exists in Brahman alone); जगत्-शब्दक-अर्थे न अस्ति (it does not exist as what the word "world" means), हेम्नि कटक-आत्मता इव (as bracelet-ness does not [exist] in gold).

Translation: "This world, just as it is, exists infinitely in Brahman alone; it does not exist as the thing the word 'world' suggests — as 'bracelet-ness' does not exist in gold."

Pointers for Reflection:

Not denied, but relocated. The world is not nothing; it is Brahman. What does not exist is a world apart from Brahman.

Verse 3.1.19¶

सती वाप्यसती तापनद्येव लहरी चला ।
मनसेहेन्द्रजालश्रीर्जागती प्रवितन्यते ॥ ३.१.१९ ॥

इह (here) सती वा अपि असती (whether real or unreal) तापनद्याम् एव चला लहरी (a moving wave in a mirage-river) [इव] — मनसा (by the mind) जागती इन्द्रजाल-श्रीः प्रवितन्यते (the magic display of the world is spread out).

Translation: "Whether one calls it real or unreal, the world's magic display is spread out by the mind, like moving ripples on a river in a mirage."

Pointers for Reflection:

Ripples on a mirage. Even the movement is part of the illusion. The world's change and activity are no proof of its independent reality.

Verse 3.1.20¶

अविद्या संसृतिर्बन्धो माया मोहो महत्तमः ।
कल्पितानीति नामानि यस्याः सकलवेदिभिः ॥ ३.१.२० ॥

यस्याः (of which) सकल-वेदिभिः (by all who know) अविद्या संसृतिः बन्धः माया मोहः महत् तमः इति नामानि कल्पितानि (names have been given: ignorance, saṃsāra, bondage, māyā, delusion, the great darkness).

Translation: "Those who know have given it many names: ignorance, saṃsāra, bondage, māyā, delusion, the great darkness."

Pointers for Reflection:

Six names, one thing. As the Self has many names (v. 12), so does its seeming opposite.

Verse 3.1.21¶

बन्धस्य तावद्रूपं त्वं कथ्यमानमिदं श्रृणु ।
ततः स्वरूपं मोक्षस्य ज्ञास्यसीन्दुनिभानन ॥ ३.१.२१ ॥

इन्दु-निभ-आनन (O moon-faced one), त्वं (you) तावत् (first) कथ्यमानं बन्धस्य इदं रूपं शृणु (hear the nature of bondage, as I describe it); ततः (then) मोक्षस्य स्वरूपं ज्ञास्यसि (you will know the nature of liberation).

Translation: "Moon-faced one, first hear what bondage is, as I describe it; then you will understand what liberation is."

Pointers for Reflection:

Diagnosis first. As in medicine, and as in the Buddha's four truths: first suffering and its cause, then its ending.

Verse 3.1.22¶

द्रष्टुर्दृश्यस्य सत्ताङ्ग बन्ध इत्यभिधीयते ।
द्रष्टा दृश्यबलाद्बद्धो दृश्याभावे विमुच्यते ॥ ३.१.२२ ॥

अङ्ग (dear one), द्रष्टुः (for the seer) दृश्यस्य सत्ता (the reality of the seen) बन्धः इति अभिधीयते (is called bondage); द्रष्टा (the seer) दृश्य-बलात् बद्धः (is bound by the force of the seen); दृश्य-अभावे विमुच्यते (with the absence of the seen, he is freed).

Translation: "Dear one, what is called bondage is this: that, to the seer, the seen is real. Held by the seen, the seer is bound; once it is gone, he is free."

Pointers for Reflection:

Seer and seen (द्रष्टा, दृश्य). The key pair of Book 3. Patañjali: द्रष्टृदृश्ययोः संयोगो हेयहेतुः — the cause of what is to be avoided is the union of seer and seen (Yoga Sūtra 2.17).
Absence of the seen does not mean the world must vanish from view; it means its separate reality is no longer granted (see v. 26).

Verse 3.1.23¶

जगत्त्वमहमित्यादिर्मिथ्यात्मा दृश्यमुच्यते ।
यावदेतत्संभवति तावन्मोक्षो न विद्यते ॥ ३.१.२३ ॥

"जगत् त्वम् अहम्" इति-आदिः ("world, you, I" and so on) मिथ्या-आत्मा (false in nature) दृश्यम् उच्यते (is called the seen); यावत् एतत् संभवति (as long as this exists) तावत् मोक्षः न विद्यते (so long there is no liberation).

Translation: "'World', 'you', 'I' and the rest — false in nature — are what is called the seen. As long as this seems real, there is no liberation."

Pointers for Reflection:

"I" is part of the seen. Surprisingly, the ego belongs to the object side. The true seer is not the ego but the consciousness in which even the ego appears — the insight of Sarga 1.15.

Verse 3.1.24¶

नेदं नेदमिति व्यर्थप्रलापैर्नोपशाम्यति ।
संकल्पजनकैर्दृश्यव्याधिः प्रत्युत वर्धते ॥ ३.१.२४ ॥

"न इदं न इदम्" इति ("not this, not this") व्यर्थ-प्रलापैः (by empty chatter) न उपशाम्यति (it does not cease); संकल्प-जनकैः (by [words] that breed further imagining) दृश्य-व्याधिः प्रत्युत वर्धते (the disease of the seen only grows).

Translation: "It does not cease through the empty chatter of 'not this, not this'. Such talk only breeds more imagining, and the disease of the seen grows worse."

Pointers for Reflection:

A warning about method. "Neti neti" — the Bṛhadāraṇyaka's नेति नेति (2.3.6) — is a true teaching; but repeated as mere words it becomes one more thought. Negation must become seeing, not a slogan.

Verse 3.1.25¶

न च तर्कभरक्षोदैर्न तीर्थनियमादिभिः ।
सतो दृश्यस्य जगतो यस्मादेति विचारकाः ॥ ३.१.२५ ॥

न च तर्क-भर-क्षोदैः (nor by the pounding of heavy arguments) न तीर्थ-नियम-आदिभिः (nor by pilgrimages, vows and the like) [शाम्यति] (does it cease) — यस्मात् (since) विचारकाः (inquirers) सतः दृश्यस्य जगतः (from the seen world [taken as] real) एति (are said to [hold this]).

Translation: "Nor does it end by pounding away with arguments, or by pilgrimages, vows and the like, so long as the seen world is taken to be real."

Pointers for Reflection:

Neither logic nor ritual alone. Both work within the assumption that the world is real. What is needed is to question that assumption itself.
Reading note. The second line is obscure in the online text; the sense — that none of these help while the seen is held to be real — is carried by the following verse.

Verse 3.1.26¶

जगद्दृश्यं तु यद्यस्ति न शाम्यत्येव कस्यचित् ।
नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः ॥ ३.१.२६ ॥

जगत् दृश्यं तु यदि अस्ति (if the seen world truly existed) कस्यचित् न एव शाम्यति (it would never cease for anyone); असतः भावः न विद्यते (the unreal has no being) सतः अभावः न विद्यते (the real has no non-being).

Translation: "If the seen world really existed, it could never cease for anyone. For the unreal has no being, and the real never ceases to be."

Pointers for Reflection:

The Gītā quoted. The second line is Gītā 2.16 word for word: नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः. Vasiṣṭha uses it as a logical lever: if the world were real, liberation from it would be impossible. Since liberation is possible, the world's separate reality must be unreal.

Verse 3.1.27¶

अचेत्यचित्स्वरूपात्मा यत्र यत्रैव तिष्ठति ।
द्रष्टा तत्रास्य दृश्यश्रीः समुदेत्यप्यणूदरे ॥ ३.१.२७ ॥

अचेत्य-चित्-स्वरूप-आत्मा (the Self whose nature is consciousness that is never an object) द्रष्टा (the seer) यत्र यत्र एव तिष्ठति (wherever it is), तत्र (there) अणु-उदरे अपि (even within an atom) अस्य दृश्य-श्रीः समुदेति (the splendour of its seen rises).

Translation: "Wherever the seer — the Self, consciousness that is never an object — is present, there, even within an atom, the display of the seen arises for it."

Pointers for Reflection:

The seen goes with the seer. As long as the seed of seeing-objects remains in the seer, a world will appear wherever it is — even inside an atom. This is why mere withdrawal does not free (vv. 32–41).

Verse 3.1.28¶

तस्मादस्ति जगद्दृश्यं तत्प्रमृष्टमिदं मया ।
त्यक्तं तपोध्यानजपैरिति काञ्जिकतृप्तिवत् ॥ ३.१.२८ ॥

तस्मात् (therefore) [यदि] जगत् दृश्यम् अस्ति (if the seen world is real), "तत् इदं मया प्रमृष्टं (I have wiped it away) तपः-ध्यान-जपैः त्यक्तम्" (I have given it up through austerity, meditation and recitation) इति (such [a claim]) काञ्जिक-तृप्तिवत् (is like being satisfied with sour gruel).

Translation: "So if the seen world is real, the claim 'I have wiped it away; I have renounced it through austerity, meditation and recitation' is like being satisfied with sour gruel."

Pointers for Reflection:

Sour gruel for a feast. काञ्जिक — rice-water gone sour, the poor man's drink. Thinking one has renounced the world while still believing it real is a poor substitute for freedom.
Not against practice. Vasiṣṭha does not dismiss tapas or meditation; he says they cannot remove what is taken to be real. Understanding must accompany them.

Verse 3.1.29¶

यदि राम जगद्दृश्यमस्ति तत्प्रतिबिम्बति ।
परमाणूदरेऽप्यस्मिंश्चिदादर्शे तथैव हि ॥ ३.१.२९ ॥

राम (O Rāma), यदि जगत् दृश्यम् अस्ति (if the seen world is real), तत् (it) अस्मिन् परमाणु-उदरे अपि चित्-आदर्शे (even within an atom, in the mirror of consciousness) तथा एव हि प्रतिबिम्बति (is reflected just the same).

Translation: "Rāma, if the seen world is real, it will be reflected just the same in the mirror of consciousness, even inside an atom."

Pointers for Reflection:

The mirror of consciousness. Wherever consciousness is, the world-image appears in it. Shrinking or withdrawing does not help; only seeing the image as image.

Verse 3.1.30¶

यत्र तत्र स्थिते यद्वद्दर्पणे प्रतिबिम्बति ।
अद्र्यब्ध्युर्वीनदीवारि चिदादर्शे तथैव हि ॥ ३.१.३० ॥

यद्वत् (as) यत्र तत्र स्थिते दर्पणे (in a mirror placed anywhere) अद्रि-अब्धि-उर्वी-नदी-वारि प्रतिबिम्बति (mountains, oceans, earth, rivers and water are reflected), तथा एव हि चित्-आदर्शे (so too in the mirror of consciousness).

Translation: "As a mirror, wherever it is placed, reflects mountains, seas, land and rivers, so does the mirror of consciousness."

Pointers for Reflection:

Whatever is before it. The mirror is not changed by what it shows. Neither is consciousness.
Reading note. The online text prints अद्यब्ध्युर्वी; corrected here to अद्र्यब्ध्युर्वी ("mountains, oceans, earth").

Verse 3.1.31¶

ततस्तत्र पुनर्दुःखं जरा मरणजन्मनी ।
भावाभावग्रहोत्सर्गः स्थूलसूक्ष्मचलाचलः ॥ ३.१.३१ ॥

ततः (then) तत्र पुनः (there again) दुःखं जरा मरण-जन्मनी (sorrow, old age, death and birth) भाव-अभाव-ग्रह-उत्सर्गः (taking and leaving, being and not being) स्थूल-सूक्ष्म-चल-अचलः (gross and subtle, moving and still) [भवति] (arise).

Translation: "And there again come sorrow, old age, death and birth; grasping and letting go, being and not-being; the gross and the subtle, the moving and the still."

Pointers for Reflection:

The whole of saṃsāra returns with the reflected world. Escape that leaves the seed intact is no escape.

Verse 3.1.32¶

इदं प्रमार्जितं दृश्यं मया चात्राहमास्थितः ।
एतदेवाक्षयं बीजं समाधौ संसृतिस्मृतेः ॥ ३.१.३२ ॥

"मया इदं दृश्यं प्रमार्जितम् (I have wiped away this seen) अत्र च अहम् आस्थितः" (and here I am established) — एतत् एव (this very [thought]) समाधौ (in samādhi) संसृति-स्मृतेः अक्षयं बीजम् (is the undying seed of the memory of saṃsāra).

Translation: "The very thought 'I have wiped away the seen, and here I am established' is, even in samādhi, the undying seed from which saṃsāra is remembered."

Pointers for Reflection:

The subtle seed. The meditator's sense of "I have succeeded" is itself an object, a trace of ego. From it the whole world can sprout again (compare Sarga 1.15 on ahaṅkāra).

Verse 3.1.33¶

सति त्वस्मिन्कुतो दृश्ये निर्विकल्पसमाधिता ।
समाधौ चेतनत्वं तु तुर्यं चाप्युपपद्यते ॥ ३.१.३३ ॥

अस्मिन् दृश्ये सति तु (while this seen remains) निर्विकल्प-समाधिता कुतः (how can there be samādhi free of mental forms)? समाधौ (in [true] samādhi) चेतनत्वं तु तुर्यं च अपि उपपद्यते (awareness and the fourth state are found).

Translation: "While the seen remains real, how can there be samādhi free of all mental forms? In true samādhi there is awareness, and the fourth state."

Pointers for Reflection:

True samādhi is aware. Not a blank, but तुर्य, the fourth state beyond waking, dream and sleep (2.19.9), in which consciousness is fully present.

Verse 3.1.34¶

व्युत्थाने हि समाधानात्सुषुप्तान्त इवाखिलम् ।
जगद्दुःखमिदं भाति यथास्थितमखण्डितम् ॥ ३.१.३४ ॥

समाधानात् व्युत्थाने हि (on rising from samādhi) सुषुप्त-अन्ते इव (as at the end of deep sleep) इदम् अखिलं जगत्-दुःखम् (this whole world of sorrow) यथा-स्थितम् अखण्डितम् भाति (appears just as it was, unbroken).

Translation: "For when one rises from such samādhi, as when one wakes from deep sleep, this whole world of sorrow appears again just as it was, unbroken."

Pointers for Reflection:

Waking from sleep changes nothing. Deep sleep removes the world for a while; it returns on waking. A samādhi that merely suspends the world is like that.

Verse 3.1.35¶

प्राप्तं भवति हे राम तत्किं नाम समाधिभिः ।
भूयोऽनर्थनिपाते हि क्षणसाम्ये हि किं सुखम् ॥ ३.१.३५ ॥

हे राम (O Rāma), तत् (then) समाधिभिः किं नाम प्राप्तं भवति (what is gained by such samādhis)? भूयः अनर्थ-निपाते हि (when misfortune falls again) क्षण-साम्ये किं सुखम् (what joy is there in a moment's evenness)?

Translation: "Rāma, what then is gained by such samādhis? If misfortune falls on one again afterwards, what joy is there in a moment of calm?"

Pointers for Reflection:

A bold critique. Vasiṣṭha distinguishes temporary absorption from liberation. The Buddha too left his teachers Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta because their deep absorptions did not end suffering once one emerged (Majjhima Nikāya 26).

Verse 3.1.36¶

यदि वापि समाधाने निर्विकल्पे स्थितिं व्रजेत् ।
तदक्षयसुषुप्ताभं तन्मन्येतामलं पदम् ॥ ३.१.३६ ॥

यदि वा अपि (or even if) निर्विकल्पे समाधाने स्थितिं व्रजेत् (one were to remain in samādhi without mental forms), तत् (that) अक्षय-सुषुप्त-आभं (would be like endless deep sleep); तत् (that) अमलं पदम् मन्येत (one might [wrongly] think the pure state).

Translation: "And even if one were to stay in a samādhi free of mental forms, it would be like an endless deep sleep — and one might mistake that for the pure state."

Pointers for Reflection:

Not the goal. Endless sleep is not awakening. The goal is wakeful freedom, the जीवन्मुक्त who lives and acts.

Verse 3.1.37¶

प्राप्यते सति दृश्येऽस्मिन्न च किंनाम केनचित् ।
यत्र यत्र किलायाति चित्ततास्य जगद्भ्रमः ॥ ३.१.३७ ॥

अस्मिन् दृश्ये सति (while this seen remains real) केनचित् किं नाम प्राप्यते (what is gained by anyone)? न च (nothing); यत्र यत्र किल अस्य चित्तता आयाति (wherever its mind arises) [तत्र] जगत्-भ्रमः (there the illusion of the world [arises]).

Translation: "While the seen remains real, what can anyone gain? Nothing. Wherever mind arises in him, there the illusion of a world arises with it."

Pointers for Reflection:

The world follows the mind. Not the other way round. Mind and world arise together.

Verse 3.1.38¶

द्रष्टाथ यदि पाषाणरूपतां भावयन्बलात् ।
किलास्ते तत्तदन्तेऽपि भूयोऽस्योदेति दृश्यता ॥ ३.१.३८ ॥

अथ यदि (and if) द्रष्टा (the seer) बलात् पाषाण-रूपतां भावयन् आस्ते किल (sits forcibly imagining himself a stone), तत्-तत्-अन्ते अपि (at the end of each such [period]) अस्य भूयः दृश्यता उदेति (the seen arises for him again).

Translation: "And if the seer sits, forcing himself to be like a stone, then at the end of each such spell the seen rises up for him again."

Pointers for Reflection:

Forced blankness. Suppression is not dissolution. The Gītā: कर्मेन्द्रियाणि संयम्य य आस्ते मनसा स्मरन् । इन्द्रियार्थान्विमूढात्मा मिथ्याचारः स उच्यते — one who restrains the organs but sits dwelling on objects in the mind is called a hypocrite (3.6).

Verse 3.1.39¶

न च पाषाणतातुल्या निर्विकल्पसमाधयः ।
केषांचित्स्थितिमायान्ति सर्वैरित्यनुभूयते ॥ ३.१.३९ ॥

पाषाणता-तुल्याः निर्विकल्प-समाधयः (samādhis without mental forms that are like being a stone) केषांचित् च स्थितिं न आयान्ति (do not last for anyone) — इति सर्वैः अनुभूयते (this is everyone's experience).

Translation: "Stone-like samādhis without mental forms do not last for anyone; everyone experiences this."

Pointers for Reflection:

Experience as evidence. Vasiṣṭha appeals to what practitioners actually find.

Verse 3.1.40¶

न च पाषाणतातुल्या रूढिं याताः समाधयः ।
भवन्त्यग्रपदं शान्तं चिद्रूपमजमक्षयम् ॥ ३.१.४० ॥

पाषाणता-तुल्याः समाधयः (stone-like samādhis) रूढिं याताः (even when established) शान्तम् अजम् अक्षयं चित्-रूपम् अग्र-पदं न च भवन्ति (do not become the supreme state, which is peace, unborn, imperishable, of the nature of consciousness).

Translation: "Even when they become settled, such stone-like samādhis do not become the highest state, which is peace, unborn and imperishable, of the nature of consciousness."

Pointers for Reflection:

The highest state is consciousness, not stone. चिद्रूप — its nature is awareness. Blankness is the opposite of the goal, not a step towards it.

Verse 3.1.41¶

तस्माद्यदीदं सद्दृश्यं तन्न शाम्येत्कदाचन ।
शाम्येत्तपोजपध्यानैर्दृश्यमित्यज्ञकल्पना ॥ ३.१.४१ ॥

तस्मात् (therefore) यदि इदं दृश्यं सत् (if this seen were real) तत् कदाचन न शाम्येत् (it would never cease); "तपः-जप-ध्यानैः दृश्यं शाम्येत्" इति ("the seen will cease through austerity, recitation and meditation") अज्ञ-कल्पना (is an idea of the ignorant).

Translation: "So if the seen were real it would never cease; and the idea that it will cease through austerity, recitation and meditation alone is the notion of the ignorant."

Pointers for Reflection:

Practice serves understanding. The Muṇḍaka: परीक्ष्य लोकान्कर्मचितान्ब्राह्मणो निर्वेदमायान्नास्त्यकृतः कृतेन — examining the worlds gained by action, let the seeker grow dispassionate: the uncreated is not reached by what is done (1.2.12).

Verse 3.1.42¶

आलीनवल्लरीरूपं यथा पद्माक्षकोटरे ।
आस्ते कमलिनीबीजं तथा द्रष्टरि दृश्यधीः ॥ ३.१.४२ ॥

यथा (as) पद्म-अक्ष-कोटरे (inside the lotus-seed) आलीन-वल्लरी-रूपं (with the form of the creeper hidden within) कमलिनी-बीजम् आस्ते (the seed of the lotus plant lies), तथा (so) द्रष्टरि दृश्य-धीः (the notion of the seen lies in the seer).

Translation: "As the whole lotus plant lies hidden inside its seed, so the notion of the seen lies hidden in the seer."

Pointers for Reflection:

The seed within. The world-notion is not outside but latent in consciousness. Removing outer objects does not remove the seed. Compare the seed of vāsanā throughout Book 2.

Verse 3.1.43¶

यथा रसः पदार्थेषु यथा तैलं तिलादिषु ।
कुसुमेषु यथाऽऽमोदस्तथा द्रष्टरि दृश्यधीः ॥ ३.१.४३ ॥

यथा पदार्थेषु रसः (as flavour in things) यथा तिल-आदिषु तैलम् (as oil in sesame) यथा कुसुमेषु आमोदः (as fragrance in flowers), तथा द्रष्टरि दृश्य-धीः (so the notion of the seen in the seer).

Translation: "The notion of the seen dwells in the seer the way savour dwells in what we eat, oil in sesame seeds and perfume in blossoms."

Pointers for Reflection:

Inseparable while unexamined. Oil cannot be removed from sesame without pressing; the notion of the seen cannot be removed without inquiry.

Verse 3.1.44¶

यत्र तत्र स्थितस्यापि कर्पूरादेः सुगन्धिता ।
यथोदेति तथा दृश्यं चिद्धातोरुदरे जगत् ॥ ३.१.४४ ॥

यथा (as) यत्र तत्र स्थितस्य अपि कर्पूर-आदेः (of camphor and the like, wherever placed) सुगन्धिता उदेति (fragrance arises), तथा (so) चित्-धातोः उदरे (within the substance of consciousness) दृश्यं जगत् [उदेति] (the seen world arises).

Translation: "As camphor gives off fragrance wherever it is placed, so the seen world arises within the substance of consciousness."

Pointers for Reflection:

Fragrance spreads by itself. Consciousness, carrying the seed of the seen, gives rise to a world anywhere.

Verse 3.1.45¶

यथा चात्र तव स्वप्नः संकल्पश्चित्तराज्यधीः ।
स्वानुभूत्यैव दृष्टान्तस्तथा हृद्यस्ति दृश्यभूः ॥ ३.१.४५ ॥

यथा च अत्र (and as here) तव स्वप्नः संकल्पः चित्त-राज्य-धीः (your dream, your imagining, your daydream-kingdom) स्व-अनुभूत्या एव दृष्टान्तः (are examples from your own experience), तथा (so) हृदि दृश्य-भूः अस्ति (the ground of the seen is in the heart).

Translation: "Your own dreams, imaginings and daydreams are examples from your own experience; in the same way, the ground of the seen lies within the heart."

Pointers for Reflection:

Test it yourself. Every night one creates a world. The teaching rests on experience everyone has (compare Sarga 2.19, direct experience).

Verse 3.1.46¶

तस्माच्चित्तविकल्पस्थपिशाचो बालकं यथा ।
विनिहन्त्येवमप्येतं द्रष्टारं दृश्यरूपिका ॥ ३.१.४६ ॥

तस्मात् (therefore) यथा चित्त-विकल्प-स्थ-पिशाचः बालकम् (as a ghost in its own imagination [kills] a child), एवम् अपि (so too) दृश्य-रूपिका (the seen) एतं द्रष्टारं विनिहन्ति (destroys this seer).

Translation: "So, as the ghost a child imagines can frighten him to death, so the seen destroys the seer."

Pointers for Reflection:

Killed by one's own fancy. The child's fear is real though the ghost is not. The suffering of saṃsāra is real in the same way.

Verse 3.1.47¶

यथाङ्कुरोऽन्तर्बीजस्य संस्थितो देशकालतः ।
करोति भासुरं देहं तनोत्येवं हि दृश्यधीः ॥ ३.१.४७ ॥

यथा (as) अन्तः-बीजस्य संस्थितः अङ्कुरः (the sprout lying within the seed) देश-कालतः (given place and time) भासुरं देहं करोति (produces a shining body [of a plant]), एवं हि (so) दृश्य-धीः तनोति (the notion of the seen unfolds).

Translation: "As the sprout hidden in a seed, given the right place and time, grows into a splendid plant, so the notion of the seen unfolds into a world."

Pointers for Reflection:

Place and time. Seeds need conditions; so does the world-notion. But the seed is the root. Remove the seed — the notion — and no conditions can make a world sprout.

Verse 3.1.48¶

द्रव्यस्य हृद्येव चमत्कृतिर्यथा सदोदितास्त्यस्तमितोज्झितोदरे ।
द्रव्यस्य चिन्मात्रशरीरिणस्तथा स्वभावभूतास्त्युदरे जगत्स्थितिः ॥ ३.१.४८ ॥

यथा (as) अस्तमित-उज्झित-उदरे (within [it], whether hidden or shown) द्रव्यस्य हृदि एव (in the very heart of a substance) चमत्कृतिः सदा उदिता अस्ति (its marvellous potential is always present), तथा (so) चित्-मात्र-शरीरिणः द्रव्यस्य (in the substance whose body is pure consciousness) उदरे (within) स्वभाव-भूता जगत्-स्थितिः अस्ति (the world exists as its own nature).

Translation: "As a substance always holds its marvellous potential within it, whether showing or hidden, so within that substance whose body is pure consciousness, the world exists as its own nature."

Pointers for Reflection:

The closing verse in a longer metre. The world is not an intruder in consciousness but its own potential — its play (स्पन्द), as Kashmir Śaivism would say. Freedom is not destroying the world but knowing it as consciousness.
Two sides of the teaching. Verses 22–41 say the seen is unreal; this verse says it is consciousness's own nature. Both together: unreal as something separate, real as consciousness.