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The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki, Vol. 3 (of 4), Part 2 (of 2) — Context and Discussion
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Project Gutenberg
2014
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Religious life -- Hinduism -- Early works to 1800; Hinduism -- Doctrines -- Early works to 1800
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Edition facts
Words
230,055
Reading time
1001 min
Text sections
22
This digital edition of The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki, Vol. 3 (of 4), Part 2 (of 2) — Context and Discussion is described by source-level measurements including 230,055 words, 16 hr 41 min estimated reading time, and 22 detected text sections.
The text analysis averages about 28.9 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.
Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Religious life -- Hinduism -- Early works to 1800,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.
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Project Gutenberg record #46531
This volume of the Yoga-Vasishtha translation presents the Nirvána Prakarana, focusing on ultimate extinction and liberation. Through dialogues and stories like that of the mendicant Jívata, it explores the nature of reality, ignorance, and the path to spiritual freedom, blending philosophical reasoning with allegorical narratives.
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- Description quality20 pts
- Title & short description10 pts
- Source metadata20 pts
- Text length15 pts
- Chapters / structure15 pts
- EPUB file integrity20 pts
Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.
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Description of the Evening and Breaking of the assembly 1
On the perfect calm and composure of the mind 7
On the unity and Universality of Brahma 15
Want of anxiety in the way of Salvation 18
The narration of Ráma's perfect rest 20
The narration of Delirium (moha) 22
Magnitude or preponderance of ignorance 29
Allegory of the spreading arbour of Ignorance 39
Ascertainment of True knowledge 44
Removal of Ignorance 50
Ascertainment of Living Liberation 58
Reasoning on the doubts of the living liberation 69
The Two Yogas of Knowledge and Reasoning 73
Narration of Bhusunda and description of Mount Meru 75
Vasishtha's visit to Bhusunda 79
Conversation of Vasishtha and Bhusunda 84
Description of Bhusunda's Person 87
Manners of the Mátrika Goddesses 88
Bhusunda's nativity and habitation 93
Explication of the mysterious character of Bhusunda 99
Explanation of the cause of the crow's longevity 105
Account of past ages 112
Desire of Tranquillity and Quiescence of the Mind 119
Investigation of the Living Principle 124
Relation of the cause of Longevity 137
Conclusion of the narrative of Bhusunda 143
Lecture on Theopathy or spiritual meditation 146
Pantheism or Description of the world as full with the Supreme Soul 158
Inquiry into the nature of the Intellect 176
Identity of the mind and living soul 189
On the sustentation and dissolution of the body 197
Resolution of duality into unity 204
Sermon of Siva on the same subject 211
Adoration of the great god Mahádeva 216
Description of the supreme Deity Parameswara 220
The stage play and dance of destiny 223
On the external worship of the Deity 227
Mode of the Internal worship of the Deity 231
Inquiry into the nature of the Deity 238
Vanity of world and worldly things 240
The supreme soul and its phases and names 247
On rest and Tranquillity 251
Inquiry into the essence of the mind 256
Story of the vilva or Belfruit 261
Parable of the stony sheath of the soul 266
Lecture on the density of the Intellect 272
On the Unity and Identity of Brahmá and the world 277
Contemplation of the course of the world 280
On sensation and the objects of senses 285
On the perception of the sensible objects 291
Story of Arjuna, as the Incarnation of Nara-Naráyana 299
Admonition of Arjuna 304
Admonition of Arjuna in the spiritual knowledge 313
Lecture on the Living soul or Jívatatwa 316
Description of the mind 324
On Abandonment of desire and its result of Tranquillity 329
Arjuna's satisfaction at the sermon 331
Knowledge of the latent and inscrutable soul 334
Knowledge of the majesty and grandeur of God 340
Description of the world as a passing dream 343
In the narration of Jívata an example of domestic and mendicant life 344
On the attainment of attendantship on the God Rudra 359
Ráma's wonder at the error of men 364
The wonderings of the mendicant 367
On the virtue of Taciturnity 376
Union of the mind with the breath of life 380
Interrogatories of Vitála 388
The prince's reply to the first question of the Vitála 391
Answers to the remaining questions 394
End of the story of the Vitála Demon 396
Account and admonition of Bhagíratha 398
Supineness of Bhagíratha 403
The Descent of Gangá on earth 406
Narrative of Chúdálá and Sikhidhwaja 409
Beautification of Chúdálá 416
Princess coming to the sight of the supreme soul 423
Display of the quintuple Elements 427
Inquiry into Agni, Soma or fire and moon 438
Yoga instructions for acquirement of the supernatural powers of Animá-minuteness &c. 454
Story of the miserly Kiráta 455
Pilgrimage of prince Sikhidhwaja 463
Investigation into true happiness 471
The production of the Pot (or the embryonic cell) 488
Continuation of the same and enlightenment of 492 Sikhidhwaja
The tale of the Crystal gem 498
The Parable of an Elephant 502
Way to obtain the Philosopher's stone 506
Interpretation of the parable of the Elephant 510
The Prince's Abjuration of his Asceticism 513
Admonition of Sikhidhwaja 518
Enlightenment of Sikhidhwaja 526
The anaesthetic Platonism of Sikhidhwaja 534
Enlightenment of Sikhidhwaja 537
Enlightenment of the prince in Theosophy 544
Admonition of Sikhidhwaja continued 547
Remonstration of Sikhidhwaja 551
Continuation of the same subject 555
Admonition of Chúdálá 559
Repose of Sikhidhwaja in the divine spirit 566
Return of Kumbha to the Hermitage of Sikhidhwaja 568
On the conduct of living-liberated men 575
Metamorphoses of Kumbha to a female form 580
Marriage of Chúdálá with Sikhidhwaja 586
The advent of false Indra in the cottage of the happy pair 593
Manifestation of Chúdálá in her own form 597
Appearance of Chúdálá in her presence of her Lord 601
Final extinction of Sikhidhwaja 610
Story of Kacha and his enlightment by the Brihaspati 614
A fanciful Being and his occupation of air drawn and air-built abodes 619
The parable of the vain man continued 623
Sermon on Divine and Holy knowledge 626
Description of the triple conduct of men 630
Melting down of the mind 636
Dialogue between Manu and Ikshaku 638
Continuation of the same 640
The same subject continued 643
Continuation of the same. On the seven stages of Edification 645
Continuation of the same 649
The same. Manu's admonition to Ikshaku 652
On the difference between the knowing and unknowing 655
The third volume of Viharilala Mitra's translation of the Yoga-Vasishtha opens the Nirvána Prakarana, or Book on Ultimate Extinction, with a series of chapters that immediately establish a dual focus: metaphysical inquiry and narrative illustration. Chapter I sets the scene with a description of evening and the breaking of an assembly, a framing device that recurs throughout the text. The translator's footnotes, such as the reference to Patanjali's definition of Samádhi as 'the forgetting of one's self in the object of his meditation,' reveal an effort to anchor the Sanskrit concepts in recognizable philosophical terminology.
The excerpts show a text that moves between abstract reasoning—such as the enumeration of thirty-one 'rules' about erroneous dreams and the nature of reality—and concrete stories, like the tale of the mendicant Jívata, whose lingering desire causes him to wander through many births. This interplay between doctrine and parable is a structural hallmark of the work, though the excerpts provide only fragments of the larger narrative arc.
The Catalog Subjects and the Text's Actual Focus
The Project Gutenberg record assigns this volume to the subjects 'Religious life -- Hinduism -- Early works to 1800' and 'Hinduism -- Doctrines -- Early works to 1800.' While these categories are not inaccurate, the excerpts suggest a more specific emphasis. The text is not a general manual of religious practice but a sustained philosophical dialogue aimed at achieving nirvána or ultimate extinction. The chapter titles—'On the perfect calm and composure of the mind,' 'On the unity and Universality of Brahma,' 'Ascertainment of True knowledge'—indicate a preoccupation with epistemology and metaphysics rather than ritual or ethics.
Moreover, the translator's footnotes occasionally introduce Christian parallels, as when he glosses a passage about desire with 'the lord says in the Gospel, He that loveth anything more than me, is not worthy of me.' This interpretive layer, while not part of the original Sanskrit, shapes how the text is presented to an English-speaking audience. Readers should be aware that the catalog subjects provide a broad container, but the work's core is a rigorous, often paradoxical exploration of the nature of reality and the self.
Recurring Imagery and Argumentative Patterns
The excerpts reveal several recurring motifs. One is the use of dream and illusion as central explanatory metaphors. The text enumerates 'rules of the erroneous dream,' asserting that 'the erroneous dream though it appears as real is in fact unreal' and that 'by passing from one error to another error... one firm faithful being comes out.' This language suggests a progressive epistemology where truth is approached through the systematic negation of false appearances.
Another pattern is the catalogue of impossible objects—'fire burning in the water,' 'cities exist in vacuity,' 'lotus in a stone'—used to illustrate the power of erroneous perception. These examples are not merely decorative; they function as logical tools to destabilize the reader's assumptions about what is possible. The text also employs animal imagery, such as the 'stray deer falls into the pit repeatedly for green grass' to describe ignorant attachment. These recurring figures give the philosophical argument a concrete, almost poetic texture.
The Role of Narrative: The Mendicant Jívata
One of the most substantial excerpts is the beginning of Chapter LXII, which introduces the story of the mendicant Jívata. This narrative is explicitly offered as an illustration of 'the transmigration of the soul in various births, according to the variety of its insatiable Desire.' The mendicant, despite his advanced practice of Samádhi, is described as having 'fostered some desire in his mind,' which then causes his wandering. The text thus uses a cautionary tale to dramatize a philosophical point: even advanced practitioners remain vulnerable to subtle attachments.
The translator's footnote expands the application: 'This story applies to all men, who are in some way or other devoted to some profession for acquiring the necessaries of life.' This interpretive move broadens the story's relevance beyond the monastic context. However, the excerpt breaks off before the narrative concludes, so the reader cannot know how Jívata's journey resolves. The incomplete state of the excerpt underscores the importance of reading the full text to understand how such stories function within the larger argumentative structure.
Readers approaching this volume should be prepared for a text that demands close attention to both its abstract reasoning and its narrative interludes. The translator's footnotes, while occasionally anachronistic, provide a useful bridge for those unfamiliar with Sanskrit philosophical terms. Because the excerpts are fragmentary, it is advisable to read the work sequentially, noting how each chapter builds on the previous one. The volume's length—over 230,000 words—means that patience is required, but the reward is a detailed encounter with a major work of Indian philosophy in a Victorian-era translation that itself has become a historical document.
Reading the story of Jívata’s slow disentangling from ignorance, I remembered sitting with my grandfather’s old copy of A Review of Edwards's "Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will" — Text and Context, where the weight of choice felt equally vast. Both books left me staring out a window, not seeking answers, just letting the questions settle. That unhurried silence afterward was the real lesson.
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