Philosophy and Religion / Yoga Vāsistha / Yoga-Vāsistha (4): Sthiti-Prakarana

Válmiki

Yoga-Vāsistha, Book 4: Sthiti-Prakarana (On Ontology or Existence). Chapter 30 - Account of the Subsequent Lives of the Demons

Vasistha continued- Upon destruction of the demons, the gods were exceedingly joyous; but Dāma and the other leaders of the Daityas, became immerged in sorrow and grief.

Upon this Śambara was full of wrath, and his anger was kindled like the all destroying fire against his generals, whom he called aloud by their names and said, where are they?

But they fled from their abodes for fear of his ire, and hid themselves in the seventh sphere of the infernal regions.

There dwelt the horrid myrmidons of death, formidable as their lord Pluto (Yama) himself; and who were glad with their charge of guarding the abyss of hell.

Dauntless warders of the hell-gate received them into their favour, and having given them shelter in the hell-pit, gave them their three maiden daughters in marriage.

They there passed in their company, a period of ten thousand years, and gave a free vent to their evil desires up to the end of their lives. ¹

Their time passed away in such thoughts as these, that, "this is my consort and this my daughter, and I am their lord": and they were bound together in the ties of mutual affections as strong as the chain of death.

It happened on one occasion that Yama- the god of retributive justice, gave his call to that spot, in order to survey the state of affairs in the doleful pits of hell.

The three Asuras, being unaware of his rank and dignity, ², failed to make their obeisance to the, lord of hell, by taking him to their peril as one of his servants.

Then a nod of his eyebrows, assigned to them a place in the burning furnace of hell; where they were immediately cast by the stern porters of hell gate.

There they lay burning with their wives and children, until they were consumed to death, like a straw-hut and withered trees.

The evil desires and wicked propensities, which they contracted in the company of the hellish train, caused their transmigration to the forms of Kirātas, for carrying on their slaughters and atrocities like the myrmidons of Yama.

Getting rid of that birth, they were next born as ravens, and then as vultures and falcons of mountain caves, ³.

They were then transformed to the forms of hogs in the land of Trigarta, and then as mountain rams in Magadha, and afterwards of heinous reptiles in caves and holes.

Thus after passing successively into a variety of other forms, they are now lying as fishes in the wood-land lakes of Kashmir.

Being burnt in hell fire at first, they have now their respite in the watery lake, and drink its filthy water, whereby they neither die nor live to their hearts content.

Having thus passed over and over into various births, and being transformed again and again to be reborn on earth, they are rolling like waves of the sea to all eternity.

Thus like their endless desires, they have been eternally rolling like weeds in the ocean of the earth; and there is no end of their pains until the end of their desires.

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