Stories of Vasishtha

Background

The date of the Yoga Vasishtha’s composition is disputed among scholars. Some place it in the 6th century CE, some in the 14th. But consider this: by the Valmiki Ramayana’s account, King Rama lived some eleven thousand years, and several thousand more had passed after his departure when Krishna’s avatar came. Since Krishna’s leaving, another five to seven thousand years have now gone by. By that arithmetic, this text cannot belong to the sixth century or the fourteenth.

The original language of the text is Sanskrit. Its shorter form, the “Laghu Yoga Vasishtha”, was compiled in the eleventh century by Abhinanda, a disciple of Abhinavagupta, and holds six thousand shlokas. That this text appears on this website today does not mean it was written today. Old stories are retold in the language of the present all the time, and their original age stays exactly what it was.

The text is divided into six prakaranas: vairagya, mumukshu, utpatti, sthiti, upashama, and nirvana. The first two prakaranas speak of the seeker’s mental preparation. The remaining four give the philosophical view of creation, sustenance, dissolution, and liberation. The whole teaching is from the standpoint of Advaita Vedanta.

But the real signature of the Yoga Vasishtha is that it teaches philosophy through stories. Every single story rests on one philosophical point. King Lavana lives a whole life in one night. Bhushunda the crow has lived through many kalpas. Chudala comes in disguise and teaches her own husband, King Shikhidhvaja. Each story is an experiment, a thought experiment, that nudges the reader toward loosening his grip.

Here are forty stories, in Hindi, in plain language. Each story has its own manthan, its churning. No reading order is required. Whichever title pulls you, begin right there.