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I have undoubtedly the power to confer Atma-Jnana on him at this instant ; yet, lest he should spurn me if I, his young wife, should appear in my present form, I will assume another form suitable to accom plish my end. Moreover, the King is in a state of mind which permits of his Ajnana (ignorance) being dissipated. At a single word from me, JnAna will reflect itself in his now ripened mind.' Therefore, availing herself of this most opportune hour, she changed her bodily form by her incomparable Dhyana, and descended from the Akasa before her husband under the form of the son of a great Brahmin. The King at once arose, and paid him all due respect. This young Brahmin had a beauteous form, and, upon his breast, was a garland of pearls ; he wore a white cloth and a sacred thread ; and stood in the air at some distance from the ground. The King showed the newly. arrived guest to a seat beside him. The young Brahmin returned the salutations of this royal Rishi of true Tapas, and took a seat by his side ; when the King, with a full heart, thus spoke : — ' It is only now with your advent, son of a Deva, that I have reaped the fruits of Atma.' So saying, he showered on the youngBrahmin more devotions, regarding him as his holy tutelary god. The Brahmin, advocating the King, said : — 4 Who in the world has the graceful qualities and modesty which you evince ? May you live long ! Did you, with a ste.-xdfast mind and with all worldly delusions extinct in you, perform Tapas only for the sake of obtaining salvation ? Your abode in this forest, after abandoning the state of a King like unto Indra, may well be likened to Tapas performed on the point of a sword !' At these words of the Brahmin, the King said : — ' Being a god, thou hast well understood my condition. This thy know ledge surprizes me ; whose son art thou, and what is thy name? What occasion has brought thee here ? Be pleased to tell me all this.' To this the Brahmin, consenting to answer him fully, thus began :— ' There was a Brahmin of the name ofNdrada, like unto the true Jnana-light, and he sat in a delightful spot on the banks of the Ganges of holy waters, absorbed in Nishta (meditation). In the transition stage from that highest Samadhi down to the normal state, a sportive 286 YOGA-VA'SISHTA. sound fell upon his ears, and he directed his gaze in the direc tion whence it came. There he saw some Deva-girls, like unto Arambha and Tilothama*, of matchless beauty. Seeing them thus alone, and not ashamed of their nudity, his Prana began to fluctuate, and he experienced the effects of sensual desire in himself.' When the Brahmin had said this, the King remarked :— ' I have attained perfect equilibrium of mind through the sweet nectar of your words. It is difficult for me to follow their meaning as they are mystical like those per taining to Paramarta (the reality of the Higher Self). Therefore please inform me plainly of your origin/ To which Chudalai, the Brahmin's son, continued to reply: — 'Then, having fastened the must-elephant of the ever-fluctuating mind to the great pillar of true discrimination with the strong rope of love by the aid of the goad of true intelligence, the Muni N3rada (caused that to be done, which produced the embryo). Then the embryo began to grow like the luxuri ant moon in the Milky Ocean. Having been endowed by Narada with a never-failing wealth of knowledge and other gifts, I, who issued out of the Pot, as the son of N&rada, was taken over to the presence of Brahma, who, as in duty bound to me, his own grandson, paved my way to the attainment of the goal of Brahma-Jnana. Immediately my grandfather called me by the title of Kumbha-Muni, as I was born in a Kumbhaf (pot). The noble Saraswati is my mother; Gaya- tri I my junior mother. I was always engaged in sporting with my friends, the four stainless Vedas.' At these words of Kumbha-Muni, the King said that he had reaped great benefit from the Muni's present visit to him, and felt assured that all he said was true. Kumbha-Muni said that he had truly related his own life, and desired the King to inform him of his identity and origin. The King made reply: — 'Being afraid of the worries of existence, I sought freedom from actions in this * These are the female powers in Swarloka. f This probably refers to the advent of all egos which are so only through their limitation, just as things are deposited in a limited recep tacle as that of a pot. Hence, Chudalai does not make a false report of herself, as in describing- the origin of all egoes she describes that of herself too. Kumbha-Muni is the name of Agastya Rishi. J Gayatri, Savitri, and Saraswati, are said to be the wives of Rudra, Vishnu and Brahma ; hence the negative aspects of the trinity of nature. THE STORY OF s'lKHIDWAJA. 287 forest. I go by the name of &ikhid\vaja, and am here, after having relinquished my regal duties. My mind stands aghast at this ever-recurring cycle of re-births. Though I made Tapas here after obtaining all things necessary for that pur pose, I have but enhanced beyond description my pains in the endeavour to do away with them. Oh incomparable Muni, milk has indeed been converted into poison !' Then Kumbha-Muni, addressing the King, replied : — 'There will be true bliss only when the Jnana instilled into a disciple by the Acharya (Guru) truly fructifies in him. Are not all acts of Tapas simply diversions to while away the time ? Oh King, to those without Jnana, Karma is alone their security. Virtuous actions serve, but to remove the impure Vasanas. Therefore, Karmas are useful only in so far as they confer upon us heavenly and other pleasures. If the impure Vasanas are destroyed, then the effects of all Karmas cease alike, as the effects of one season cease when another sets in. Like reeds which never produce fruit, Karmas freed from the varying Vasanas never fructify. If, through the sure conviction that all is Brahma, Ajn&na is destroyed, impure Vasanas will never arise. Who is so foolish as to suppose there is water in a mirage? If the Vasanas alone are destroyed, then birth, old age or death, will not affect one, and he will reach the immaculate Brahmic seat. All minds associated with Vasanas are but differentiated Ajnana itself; but a mind -without them" is the unborn Atma-Jnana itself. If through the immaculate Jnana, the Jiva (ego) cognizes Brahman, then all births cease. Since even Brahma and the other Great Ones have said that Jnana alone is the most excellent of all things, how is it that you do not long after it ? How is it that you do not question yourself as to who you are, whence came the Universe, and into what it will be absorbed ? Why do you repine at your lot like the ignorant ? Why is it, that after having prostrated yourself at the feet of a great Guru, you do not try to understand from him the nature of bondage and Moksha ? If, approach ing those persons who look equally upon all things through their abundant Jnana you are ceaselessly engaged in the noble pursuits of enquiry, then you will surely gain that subtile Jnana which leads to emancipation !' 288 YOGA-VA'SISHTA. " At these words of Kumbha-Muni, the king1 shed tears of joy and said : — ' Oh Acharya, I, poor soul, have learnt all this (the attainment of bliss through Atma-Jnana) by thy grace. I am here in this solitary forest, having left the company of great men through Ajnana. I have this moment been released from the pains of existence. Since thou deigned to be pre sent with me in this forest, and hast deemed it thy duty to point out the path to me, thou alone art my Acharya, my parent and my friend. Therefore, do I prostrate myself be fore thee as thy steadfast disciple. Be thou graciously pleased to accept me as thy Chela. Be pleased, O thou equal unto Brahma, to enlighten me upon that One Principle which thou hast cognized as the most bounteous, the One which, if known by a person, relieves him from all pains, and confers the blissful Sat." To which Kumbha-Muni replied : — ' I can enlighten you, only if you will concentrate your mind, which now runs quick ly from one object to another, with singleness of purpose. Otherwise the Guru's words, taken lightly and not conceived and meditated upon, would be of no avail even though heard. How can the eyes perceive objects in the darkness ?