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After shaking off his stupor fully, the king replied thus — 'When the Siddha revolved the circle of peacock's feathers and uttered some words, I got giddy and noticed a horse which I ascended with full memory and jour neyed on speedily a long distance on account of chase. Like Ajnanis who wallow amidst their painful wealth through a non-discriminative mind, I entered, on horseback, a desolate waste with a seething heat that scorched all things and even the senses. There I and my charger became quite jaded through our peregrinations in the forest with despondent heart and ceaseless pains, till the sun set in the west. Like a Jnani who frees himself from the load of Samsara and pro ceeds onward in his path, 1 after crossing the waste reached a delicious forest teeming with many kinds of trees such as Jambu, Kadamba and lime and rever berating with the songs of feathered songsters. Whilst I was thus riding on the horse, a creeper high up in a tree twined round my neck and immediately the speedy horse bolt ed out of my sight, like sins from a bather in the Ganges, leaving me rocking to and fro aloft in the air with the creep er encircling my neck. Thus dangling down, my body be came stiffened with the cool winds blowing on it and my mind became paralysed. Without bath, worship, meditation or food during the day, I saw night approach with her grim attendants of darkness, pains and extreme shivering which set my teeth against one another." " At dawn of day the glorious orb arose, dispelling that darkness like Jnanis driving away their mental gloom. Then 84 YOGA-VA'SISHTA. I cast my eyes around and cut asunder the creeper that twin ed round my throat and then having descended from there, looked about for some living person but in vain. After an hour and a half had elasped, an outcaste girl quite an alien to me arrived on the scene, like darkness facing the moon. This girl, who had a dark skin and sable vesture, approached me with some nectary viands in her hand. Unable to control my hunger, I entreated of her thus — * Oh Swan-like one, please bestow on me that which thou hast in thy hand.' But I paid the penalty of all those poverty stricken persons who go and beg of another in haste through their extreme hunger ; for this girl did not vouchsafe to give it to me, as if I had not earned the right to get it through my Tapas, and took to her heels. Then ensued a chase in which I hunted her through out the forest and after getting at her, piteously complained to her of my extreme hunger. To which the dark skinned one replied thus — * I am an outcaste and it is not meet that thou shouldst taste the food I have. But if thou deignest to do so, thou shouldst first promise to wed me in my own place before my parents and live with me there. If so, I will give thee this very instant what I have in my hand.' To which I nodded assent reluctantly ; and instantly she handed to me with great avidity what she had. After having partaken of a moiety of this nectar and tasted the juice of Jambu fruits to quench my thirst, my sharp appetite was appeased. Then she took hold of my hand, saying ' I was a good fellow' and led me on to her parents, like the subtle body of a person conducted to the terrific hell. There she asked leave of her father to bestow her hand upon this lover of hers. Finding no obstacles in the way on the part of the father, the pair left this forest laden with ghosts, and were taken over to the village — by this dark Neecha (outcaste) of a father who was like Yama's servant — the village which was redolent of the stench of flesh. In order to celebrate their marriage, he killed for flesh the bodies of monkeys, horses, fowls, crows and pi^s and dried them like festoons in the strings of nerves. Birds were pouncing upon them as they were exposed. Swarms of flies were buzzing in the pieces of flesh held by boys in their hands as they trudged along in the streets. In this hamlet bespattered with blood and bones, a pan- THE STORY OF A SIDDHA. 85 ddl (shed) was erected with plantain trees as the four pillars." " Then with great hilarity, the marriage festivities began. The old hunch-backed grand-mother of the house surveyed, through her large fleshy eyes, me, her son-in-law and was greatly pleased with the choice. All the out-castes being as sembled on the occasion, the drums were caused to be bea. ten. Toddy and flesh were distributed freely among the audience. Like sin which produces a Yathana-sarira vbody of suffering) for men in hell, the Neecha father gave me this girl in marriage. As usual with these low-caste people, the wedding lasted seven days.* After it was over, I passed eight months in the company of this lady who was as if all sins had solidified themselves in her. Through my union with this lady of budding breast, a child was born like pains, the offspring of dire accidents. The complexion of this child was like that of a burnt brand and it grew up like the minds of the ignorant. Then in the course of three years she bore me a son, like birth generating ignor ance. Then again another child was born of her through me, as if human miseries arising out of excessive desires in carnated in the form of that child. With these, spouse and children I lived for a long time. Then what with the cares of Sarnsara and the pains I and my family had to undergo, my body became old and emaciated. And when I was thus enfeebled through dotage, the whole earth near the base of the Vindhya mountains, became parched up through drought and all lives about there palpitated through hunger. The verdant foliage of trees with long branches, creepers, grass and others were not to be met with there, The whole air was saturated with volumes of dust raised through heat. Then one by one began to perish my new relatives, and a few that were alive fled to foreign dominions." " In order to survive this shock, I and my wife abandoned my country under the scorching rays of the sun, myself bearing two of my children on my two shoulders and the third on my head. Having crossed my country I saw a big palmyra tree under the shadows of which I dismounted my * Among1 Brahmins it lasts 4 days generally. 86 YOGA-VA'SISHTA. children and rested myself along with my wife for some time, like one who, having crossed the terrible hell of vicious deeds, enjoys the happiness resulting from his past good deeds. There my wife expired in the very embrace of her children, having been quite jaded through dotage and the efforts of a long travel under a tropical sun, though to all appearances she was like one, faint or asleep. At this, my heart gave away. One of my younger children mounted on my lap without a wink of sleep and weeping incessantly with his two eyes ever trickling down tears, demanded of me flesh and blood to eat, as he was unable to endure his hunger. Unable to find out any means to appease the hunger of him who was greatly distressed with it in my very presence, I was like a lifeless carcase ignorant what to do. Thus did the piteous and incessant weepings of my boy break my heart and the misgivings about his life rise to a certainty in m?. There fore I resolved to put an end to my life, by rearing a great forest fire and falling into it. Thus I approached the flames and rose up to fall into it, when I tumbled down from the throne here and woke up to see you, courtiers, uplifting me and pronouncing the words Jaya, (victory to thee) Jaya (victory to thee) and to hear the sound of musical instruments herein. Thus did I find myself here not as a Neecha but as the king Lavana. I lost my senses only through the fasci nating power of this Siddha. Now did I learn that the ego of man has different states of experiences to undergo." Whilst he was saying thus, the ministers in Court enquired as to who this Siddha was, whereupon Sambarika, the Siddha disappeared from view then and there, in the twinkling of an eye. Vasishta continued. — This personage is no other than the Divine Maya, sent here to illustrate clearly the fact that this universe is no other than the mind itself. Know also, oh valiant Prince, the wise say that the self-light of Para Brahm alone is, appearing as mind or this universe. THE CONCLUSION OF UTPATHITHIPRAKARANA. 87 THE CONCLUSION OF UTPATHTHI-PRAKARANA OR THE CHAPTER ON ORIGIN.