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A passage for editorial review. g A TRANSLATION OP YOGA-VASISHTA LAGHU-(the smaller) BY K. MRMINSWSMI SIYER. Author of the Translation of " Yasudeva Manana" or " The Meditations of Vasudeva," &c. Copyright Reserved. PRINTED BY THOMPSON Co., AT THE "MINERVA PRESS," POPHAM'S BROADWAY. 1896. PRICE RS. 3. POSTAGE EXTRA. J mm l '*' f. L' - A TRANSLATION OF YOGA-VASISHTA LAGHU— (the smaller) BY K. NflRSY£NS¥flMI flIYER, Author of the .Translation of " Vasudeva Manana" or " The Meditations of Vasudeva," &c. Copyright Reserved. PRINTED BT THOMPSON AND Co., AT THE " MINERVA PRESS," POPHAM'S BROADWAY. 1896. PRICE RS- 3. POSTAGE EXTRA, PRINTED BY THOMPSON AND CO., AT THE H MINERVA PRESS. TO ALL TRUE LOVERS AND FOLLOWERS OF THE Hindu Religion and Truth BY THE AUTHOR. ERRATA. Page line for read 9 5 ' gullets' 'gullet.' 12 37 * sharp-poinetd' ' sharp- pointed' 16 27) 17 13 * Vatava' ' Vadava.' 58 36) 16 32 4 Vritta' * Vritra.' n t do do. 41 **} ' Adhi-Vahya' 'Adhi-Vahika.' 65 13 4 (with the left)' 4 (with the righi 182 32 (the last) 4 and' 'he.' PAGE. INTRODUCTION ... ... ... ... ... vii — xxiii I. VAIRAGGYA-PRAKARANA — the Chapter relating to the mental despondency of Rama ... ... i i. The Story of Sukha 22 II. MUMUKSHU-PRAKARANA — the Chapter relating to the longing after Salvation 28 III. UTPATHTHI-PRAKARANA — the Chapter on Origin — 1. The Story of Akasaja or Son of Akasa ... 37 2. The Story of Lila or Sport ... ... ... 46 3. The Story of Karkati 62 4. The Story of Aindhava — the son of Indhu or the Moon ... ... ... ... ... 72 5. The Story of the Deceitful Indra 74 6. The Story of Manas (mind) .. 76 7. The Story of a BSla (lad) 80 8. The Story of a Siddha ... 81 9. The Conclusion of this Prakarana ... ... 87 IV. STHITHI-PRAKARANA — the Chapter on Preservation — 1. The Story of Sukra or Venus ... ... ... 102 2. The Story of D£ma, Vyala and Kata 109 3. The Story of Bheema, Bhasa and Drudha .... 116 4. The Story of Dhasoora 120 5. The Story of Kacha 138 6. The Conclusion of this Prakarana 141 V, UPASA'NTHI-PRAKARANA — the Chapter on Quies cence — i. The Story of King Janaka , 143 i CONTENTS. PAGE. 2. The Story of Punnya and Pavana ... 149 3. The Story of the Great3ali *57 4 . The Story of Prahlada ... 165 5. The Story of Gadhi 176 6. The Story of Uddhalaka ..* 183 7. The Story of Suraghu *95 8. The Story of Bhasa and Vilasa 201 9. The Story of Veethahavya ... ... 204 10. The Conclusion ofthis Prakarana ... 216 VI. NIRVA'NA PRAKARANA — 1. The Story of Bhusunda ... 228 2. The Story of Deva-Pujah or the Worship of God ... 242 3. The Story of Bilwa Fruit ... 252 4. The Story of &ila— a Granite ... ... 255 5. The Story of Arjuna ... ... 256 6. The Story of Sata— the hundred— Rudras ... 260 7. The Story of Vetala— the Sphynx ... 263 8. The Story of Bhageeratha ... ... 267 9. The Story of S'ikhidwaja ... ... 272 10. The Story of Kacha ... ••• 310 11. The Story of Mithya-Purusha or the Illusory Personage ... 312 12. The Story of Bhringi ... ... 3!5 13. The Story of Ikshw£ku ... ... 3J7 14. The Story of a Muni and a Hunter 327 15. The Conclusion of Nirvana Prakarana 33° INDEX.. 34i INTRODUCTION. IT is intended to give herein a short introduction to, and an analysis of, Laghu-Yoga-Vasishta. Of course the analysis can not be an exhaustive one, as it will have then to run through many pages and form a book of its own. There are, as at present known to us, two works by the name of Yoga- Vasishta, the larger one going by the name of Brihat-Yoga- Vasishta and the smaller one, Laghu-Yoga-Vasishta. The term Brihat means great, while Laghu signifies small. Vasish- ta is because of this work emanating from Rishi Vasishta as will be seen later on. Though the book is dubbed with the appellation, Yoga- Vasishta, it treats ofjnana only though practical Yoga is dealt with in two stories in this work. Even there it says that the pure Raja- Yoga is meant and not Hata-Yoga. Rather the word Yoga seems to have been used in the title of this work in its generic sense of including Jnana-Yoga and other Yogas as in the Bagawatgita, Of the two above mentioned works, the smaller one is an abridgment of the bigger and contains about 6,000 Grand- has, whereas the latter contains 36,000. The commentary of the former has the same number of Grandhas as the original whereas that of the latter amounts to 74,000 Grandhas which with its original is a lakh on the whole. In the abridged text, almost all the words of the bigger one are reproduced verbatim ; the work of the author being generally to clip the bigger of its expansive descriptions and so on ; so that in the work before us, we have got the quintessence extracted. This work seems to have been undertaken by one Abhi- nandana, a great pandit of Cashmere. The authorship or rather writership is attributed to Rishi Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana who is said to have related the whole of Yoga- Vasishta to Rishi Bdradwaja as having occurred between Sri Rama and Rishi Vasishta. But of this later on. The Vlll INTRODUCTION. larger work seems to have been partially translated by a gentleman hailing from Bengal. But this one, though small, it is named, is yet big enough. This work is, in the words of Madame Blavatsky, " meant for the few only/' In the phraseology of this work, it is in- tended neither for those Ajnanis (or the worldly-minded), who welter in the sea of Samsara without being indifferent to the worldly things nor for those higher spiritual person ages who have reached a state of adeptship, so as to be above all advice. Hence it is written in the interests of those wbo have become indifferent to worldly things and crave for spirituality becoming a potent factor in their daily lives. Fancy a work like "The Voice of Silence" put into the hands of a worldly person of decidedly materialistic view and he will throw it away in sheer disgust. Similarly will this work appear to a person who has not caught a glimpse even of the higher life and principles. A person of true Vairaggya, should he wish to have not only some hints thrown on the nature of cosmos, Manas (mind) and Universal Spirit from the idealistic stand-point but also some rules of guidance in his daily practical life towards occult knowledge with the proper illustrations will herein find, in my opinion, a mine of know ledge to be guided by and to cogitate upon. There are some peculiar traits in the feature of this work as contradistinguished from other spiritual works in the Sanscrit literature. As all know, the Vedas and the Upa- nishads are so mystic in their nature in many places that their real meaning is not grasped clearly and all persons except true occultists — rare to find in this world — interpret them in different ways, one holding that the Vedas inculcate nature worship, another putting upon them a diametrically opposed view and so on. Even in the Ten Upanishads, all the meta physical — leaving aside for the present, as impossible, the occult theories — have not been worked out in a systematical manner except in the way of some clues vouchsafed thereupon. Taking the Pur&nas in their dead letter light, our Pandits generally have found them replete with indecent and absurd stories and thrown them into a corner ; and hence the nick name of Purdnas has been applied, in ordinary usage amongst us, to any thing that is a farrago of fictions and absurdities. INTRODUCTION. IX But for the timely resurrection of them by H. P. Blavatsky with the profound ray of light shed upon them by her, almost all of us should have unanimously buried, by this time, into oblivion all those savoring of Purdnas. Even she has not thrown full light on them, as she proba bly was not privileged so to do. As regard, Itihasas, vis.