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Being not able to attain Brahma Jnana directly, he performed (religious) Kar- mas alone ; but then with a mind that did not long for the fruits of actions, he performed Yajna for 12 years and offer ed oblation to the Devas (celestials). As all the Yajnas were performed without any obstacles, strictly according to the Vedic injunctions, such as Gomedha*, Aswamedha and Naramedha, his mind became steady, clear and full and at once the priceless Jnana took possession of it and pervaded it quite. This great personage becoming freed from the obscura tions of re-birth and having eradicated to the root all Vasanas was thus spending his days in the tendrils of a branch, teem ing with bee-hives, when one day before his pure eyes the sylvan goddess appeared visibly, clad in full-blown flowers whom he questioned as to who she was. To which the Goddess replied thus — " I have known that persons who are greatly devoted to the wise can without * Gomedha — the sacrifice of cows, Asv/amedha — that of horses, Naramedha — that oi men. 132 YOGA-VA'SISHTA. doubt encompass very easily things otherwise difficult of achievement. Oh Jnana conferring Muni, I have to inform you that I am the Goddess presiding over this forest. I always love to reside in the exquisite arbor of plants teeming with the blooming flowers. In the month of Chaitra (April- May) when the moon shines with 13 Kalas ^on the i3th day), I was in the group of sylvan goddesses, who had assembled together on the occasion of the grand festival of Kama (the .god of Love). All my companions rejoiced in the possession of sons ; being childless, my mind greatly gave way. While you, Lord, are here like a Kalpa tree yielding anything to those persons that long for it, why should I bewail over the want of a child, as if having no protector. Therefore please bless me with a son : else I will enter the flames through the grief of childlessness." At which the Muni laughed and handing over to her a flower, said thus — Oh Swan-like one, thou wilt in the course of a month be able to easily get a son ; but as thou im plored for a son through the vow of entering the flames in case thy request were not granted, thy begotten son will •attain Jnana, undergoing dire probation. Thereupon the moonlike face of the Goddess began to shine, radiant with lustre, in the prospect of begetting a son and asked permission of the Muni to sit at his feet and abide by his orders. The Muni being unwilling to abide by her request, she returned to her abode and there gave birth to a son who shone with the splendor of a full-moon. After the child had passed 12 years, the mother with her offspring went to the Muni and addressed him thus — " Oh thou God who having perceived Truth confers it upon all, this my son whom I begot through thy grace, became through my instruc tions well versed in all departments of knowledge ; and yet he has not attained Atma-Jnana. He is tossed about in this ocean of re-births. Please therefore bestow upon him that Jndna by which he may know his own Self. To which the Muni said — " Leaving thy son under me as my disciple, hie thee home." Accordingly the Goddess returned home leaving her son there. Thereupon the loving disciple prostrated before the two feet of the Guru and remained there steadfastly, Then THE STORY OF DHA's'oOKA. 133 this Muni initiated his disciple into the All-full Jnana by giving out the clear spiritual stories, the several evidences, the rationale of the Puranas and the underlying meaning of the sacred sentences in Vedanta as well as the many paths that lead to Jnana. While I was journeying on in the Akas incognito to bathe in the River Ganges, I one day went from the region of Sapta Rishis* to the Kadamba tree where the Muni Dhasoora was initiating his disciple in the night and heard the following from the Muni's mouth which I shall now communicate to you. " Now shalt thou hearken to the present story in order that thou mayest rightly understand the true nature of the Brahmic Reality. There was once a great and noble Em peror named Swottha (or that which arises of itself) who re joiced in the possession of immense courage and fame. Even the many protectors of the perishable universe would wear his commands over their heads, as if they (the commands) wereso many rubies and would be weighed by him according to their true deserts. This Emperor was a lover of Truth and wrought many wonders. One may rather count the ocean waves than the myriads of countless actions which he performed produc tive of good or evil to persons (good or bad). Neither sharp instruments nor wind nor fire was able to affect him in the least. How can the two hands of a person seize and affect the Akasa which is all-pervading ? Not even the eternal Trumurtisf who are ceaselessly engaged in all actions as if In sport, can out-strip this Emperor (in his efforts). Three persons there were, who formed the bodies of this great personage able to bear up any burden. These persons transcended even the powerful universe. They went by the names, Utthama (high), Madhyama (middle), and Adhama (low). This king abode in the Jnana- Akas out of which he arose and was triple-bodied in person. In this city of Jnana- Akas, there were 14 long streets. All things being triple in their nature, there were in that city Elysian pleasure gardens, groves, sporting resorts, tendril-like gardens, 7 tanks and * Sapta Rishis — The seven Rishis corresponding in Astronomy to Ursa Major. t The Hindu Trinity Bnihma, Vishnu and Rudra. 134 YOGA-VA S1SHTA. two lights which were both hot and cold (at the same moment). Tents were pitched, whirling in all the three worlds of the city filled with all things — the three worlds, Swarga Madhya and Pfitdla. Three massive pillars upbore these three worlds. It was intertwined with the trees of bones. It was coated over with soft skins filled with blood and thickset hairs above. This king created, with Maya which never is, big halls; each of them had nine windows through which the zephyrs played. It shone with the beautiful lights of the five Indryas (organs). External to it, appeared the two arms. The ghosts of Ahankara, extremely nervous at the approach of Brahmic meditation guarded and protected it. Having like a bird pent up in a cage, amused himself with the ghost of Ahankara in a number of halls and sported gleefully in diverse ways, the king migrates from one hall to another created by him and there dances ghost-like everywhere as he passes along. The moment he thinks of quitting one from another, he does so accordingly ; the moment he contemplates upon death, he puts an end to his existence. With his mind ever whirling, he will ever subject himself to the cycle of births and deaths. But the seat of all is Jnana-Akas alone. Though dead once, he will again recur like the waves of the ocean. This triple-bodied king will live pleasantly in his city shining like a Gandharva city and being ever oppressed by the ever-surging actions, will sometimes droop, sometimes rejoice ; will sometimes be carried away by the love of Self and sometimes reel giddily or be clear in mind ; will sometimes exclaim * Oh, I am poor, I am low, I am high, I am base, I am noble' and so on. Oh, how can I describe the state of the mind of that person which is tossed to and fro, like a light object in a stormy ocean." At these words of the Muni, the son asked his father as to what he meant to symbolize by the Emperor mentioned in the above story. To which Dhasoora replied thus — 'Should you know truly the real nature of the King, then you will also be a knower of the unreality of birth and death. In the story related above, I but emphasised upon the illusory character of births and deaths in this mundane existence which has spread itself far and wide through the paltry Sankalpa. It THE STORY OF DHA'S'OOKA, 135 is only Sankalpa that incarnated in the Param-Akas in the form of the King Swottha. It will of itself evolve and disappear at stated times. With the growth of the paltry Sankalpa, there will arise the universe ; with the extinction of the former, the latter also will disappear. Even the primeval Trumurti and other Gods are but the inseparable parts of the bodies of this Sankalpa. This Sankalpa, viz.