Yoga Vasishtha
योगवासिष्ठः (मोक्षोपायः)
— Vālmīki (attrib.); critical edition: Slaje / Hanneder / Krause-Stinner et al.
Yoga Vasishtha — Vālmīki's dialogue between sage Vasiṣṭha and prince Rāma. All six prakaraṇas: Vairāgya, Mumukṣu-vyavahāra, Utpatti, Sthiti, Upaśama, Nirvāṇa. Critical-edition recension (Mokṣopāya, Slaje et al.).
6 chapters · 24,235 verses
Chapters · अध्याय
- 1
Vairāgya (Dispassion)
वैराग्यप्रकरणम्
Rama returns from pilgrimage disillusioned with worldly life. He articulates dispassion (vairāgya) toward wealth, women, embodiment, time, and even virtue itself — setting the stage for Vasiṣṭha's teaching.
1078 verses
- 2
Mumukṣu-vyavahāra (Conduct of the Seeker of Liberation)
मुमुक्षुव्यवहारप्रकरणम्
The qualifications and conduct of the mumukṣu — śama, vicāra, santoṣa, satsaṅga — and the four gatekeepers of liberation. Vasiṣṭha begins the formal teaching of self-effort (puruṣārtha) over fate.
786 verses
- 3
Utpatti (Origination)
उत्पत्तिप्रकरणम्
How the world appears as an idea in consciousness. Long illustrative narratives — Lila, Karkati, Aindava, the hundred Rudras — demonstrating the unreality of the apparent world.
5981 verses
- 4
Sthiti (Sustenance)
स्थितिप्रकरणम्
How the appearance is sustained. The stories of Śukra, Bali, Prahlāda, Gādhi: the mind sustains its own bondage.
1768 verses
- 5
Upaśama (Quiescence)
उपशमप्रकरणम्
The dissolution of mental conditioning. Stories of Janaka, Punya-Pāvana, Bhāsa-Vilāsa, Vītahavya — the gradual quiescence of vāsanā.
4298 verses
- 6
Nirvāṇa (Liberation)
निर्वाणप्रकरणम्
The state of the liberated-in-life (jīvanmukti). The longest and most metaphysical prakaraṇa, culminating in Vasiṣṭha's description of Rāma's realisation.
10324 verses
Mokṣopāya, critical edition by Walter Slaje, Jürgen Hanneder, Susanne Krause-Stinner et al., distributed by GRETIL Göttingen (http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de). CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0.