Philosophy and Religion / Yoga Vāsistha / Yoga-Vāsistha (6.2): Nirvāna-Prakarana

Válmiki

Yoga-Vāsistha, Book 6: Nirvāna-Prakarana (On ultimate extinction) - part 2. Chapter 71 - Description of Final Dissolution

Vasistha added: So saying, Brahma-the personified Brāhmana, sat in his posture of devotion-padmāsana, and resumed his intense meditation of the samādhi meditation; and so did his celestial companions also.

He fixed his mind on the pause santa, which is placed at the end of half syllable m-the final letter of the holy mantra of omkāra; and sat sedate with his steady attention ¹, as an unmoved picture in painting.

His concupiscent consort-vāsana or desire, followed his example also; and sat reclined at the end of all her endless wishes, as an empty and formless vacuity. ²

When I saw them growing thin for want of their desires, I also reduced myself by means of my meditation, until I found myself as one with all pervading Intellect; in the form of endless vacuity: ³.

I saw that as the desires of Brahma were drying up in himself, so I found all nature to be fading away, with the contraction of the earth and ocean, together with the diminution of their hills and islands.

I saw the trees and plants and all sorts of vegetables, were fading away with the decay of their growth; and all creation seemed to come to its end in a short time.

It seemed that the stupendous body of Virāt, which contained the whole universe, was sick in every part; and the great earth which was borne in his body, was now fulling insensibly into decline and decay.

She is now stricken with years, and grown dull and dry without her genial moisture, and is wasting away as a withered tree in the cold season ⁴.

As the insensibility of our hearts, stupifies the members of our bodies; so did the anaesthesia of One produce the obtuseness of all things in the world. ⁵

The world was threatened by many a portent and ill omen on all sides, and men were hastening to hell-fire; and burning in the flame of their sins. ⁶

The earth was a scene of oppression and famine, troubles, calamities and poverty, waited on mankind every where; and as women trespassed the bounds of decorum, so did men transgress the bounds of order and conduct.

The sun was obscured by mist and frost, resembling gusts of ashes and dust; and the people were greatly and equally afflicted by the excess of heat and cold, the two opposites which they knew not how to prevent. ⁷

The Pāmaras or Pariahs, were tormented by burning fires on one side, and floods and draughts of rain water on the other; while waging wars were devastating whole provinces altogether.

Tremendous portents were accompanied, with the falling mountains and cities all around; and loud uproars of the people rose around, for the destruction of their children and many good and great men under them. ⁸

The land burst into deep ditches, where there was no water course before; and the peoples and rulers of men, indulged themselves in promiscuous marriages.

All men living as wayfarers or pedlars, and all paths full of tailor shops; all women dealing in their hairs and head-dressess, and all rulers imposing head taxes on their people.

All men living by hard labour, and the reyets living upon litigation only; women living in impiety and impurity, and the rulers of men addicted to drinking.

The earth was full of unrighteousness, and its people were misled by heretical doctrines and vicious śāstras; all wicked men were wealthy and fortunate, and good people all in distress and misery.

The vile non-aryans, were the rulers of earth, and the respectable and learned men had fallen into disrepute and disregard; and the people all were guided by their evil passions of anger, avarice and animosity, envy, malice and the like.

All men were apostates from their religion, and inclined to the faith of others; the Brāhmanas were furious in their deportation, and the vile borderers were persecutors of others. ⁹

Robbers infested the cities and villages, and robbed the temples of gods and the houses of good people; and there were parasites, pampered with the dainties of others, but short lived and sickly with their gluttony.

All men indulging themselves in their idleness and luxury, and neglecting their rituals and duties; and all the quarters of the globe, presented a scene of dangers and difficulties, woe and grief.

Cities and villages were reduced to ashes, and the districts were laid waste on all sides; the sky appeared to be weeping with its vaporous clouds, and the air disturbed by its whirling tornadoes.

The land resounded with the loud crying and wailing of widows and unförtunate women, and they who remained at last, compelled to live by beggary.

The country was dry and an hydrous, and lying bare and barren in all parts; the seasons were unproductive of season-fruits and flowers; so every part of this earthly body of Brahma, was out of order and painful to him.

There was a great dearth on earth, upon her approaching dissolution, and the body of Brahma grew senseless, owing to the loss of the watery element, in all its canals of rivers and seas.

The spirit of Brahma being disturbed, there occurred a disorder in the course of nature; and it brought on a transgression of good manners, as when the waters of rivers and seas overflew their boundaries.

Then the furious and sounding surges begin to break down their bounds, and run mad upon the ground; and the floods overflow the land, and lay waste the woodlands.

There were whirlpools, whirling with hoarse noise, and turning about on every side, with tremendous violence; and huge surges rose as high, as to wash the face of the heavy clouds in the sky.

The mountain caverns, were resounding to the loud roars of huge clouds on high, and heavy showers of rain fell in torrents from the sky, and over-flooded the mountain tops afar and nigh.

Gigantic whales, were rolling along with the whirling waves of the ocean; and the bosom of the deep appeared as a deep forest, with the huge bodies of the whales floating upon the upheaving waves.

The mountain caves were strewn over with the bodies of marine animals, which were killed there by rapacious lions and tigers; and the sky glittered with marine gems, which were borne on high by the rising waters.

The dashing of the rising waves of the sea, against the falling showers of the sky; and the dashing of the uplifted whales with elephantine clouds on high, raised a loud uproar in the air.

The elephants floating on the deluvian waters, washed the faces of the luminaries, with the waters spouted out of their nozzles; and their jostling against one another, hurled the hills a ground. ¹⁰

The sounding surges of the sea, dashed against the rocks on the shore, emitted a noise like the loud roar of elephants, contending in the caverns of mountains.

The nether sea invaded the upper sky and its turbulent waves drove the celestial from their abode; as an earthly potentate attacks another and his triumphant host, dispossesses the inhabi­tants with loud outcry.

The overflowing waters covered the woods, both in the earth and air; and the overspreading waves filled the skies like the winged mountains of yore.

High sounding winds were breaking the breakers of the sea and driving them ashore as fragments of mountains; while their splashing waters, dashed against the rocks on the shore, and washed the fossil shells on the coast.

Whirling whirlpools, were hurling the huge whales into them; and in gulping the falling rocks in their fathomless depth.

Big water elephants or whales were carried with the torrents and drowned in the depths of the caverns on the mountain tops; and these they attempted to break, with their hideous teeth or tusks.

The tortoise and crocodile hang suspended on the trees, and extended their full length and breadth thereon; and the vehicles of Yama and Indra ¹¹, stood aghast with their erect ears.

They listened the fragments of rocks, falling with hideous noise on the sea-shore; and beheld fishes with their broken fins, tossed up and down by the falling stones.

The forests shook no more in their dancing mood, and the waters on earth were all still and cold; but the marine waters were flaming with the submarine fire, smiting a dismal glare.

The sea elephants or whales being afraid of the extinction of marine fire, by the primeval waters, ¹²; fell upon the waters on the mountain tops, and contented with the earthly and mountainous elephants.

The rocks carried away by the rapid current, appeared as dancing on the tops of the waves; and there was a loud concussion of the swimming and drowned rocks (mainākas), as they dashed against the mountains on land.

Large mountains and woods, were now resorted to by men and wild animals; and the driving droves of wild elephant, were roaring as loud, as the high sounding trumpets at a distance.

The infernal regions were disturbed by the torrents of water, as by the infernal demons; and the elephants of the eight quarters, raised loud cries with their uplifted trunks and nozzles.

The nether world emitted a growling noise, from their mouths of infernal caverns; and the earth which is fastened to its polar axis, turned as a wheel upon its axle.

The over flowing waters of the ocean, broke their bounds with as much ease, as they tear as under the marine plants; and the breathless skies resounded to the roaring of the clouds all around.

The sky was split into pieces, and fell down in fragments; and the regents of the skies fled afar with loud cries. And comets and meteors were hurled from heaven, in the forms of whirlpools.

There were fires and fire-brands, seen to be burning on all sides of the skies, earth and heaven; and flaming and flashing as liquid gold and luminous gems, and as snakes with colour of vermilion.

My flaming and flying portents, with their burning crests and tails, were seen to be flashing all about, and flung by the hands of Brahma, both in the heaven above and earth below.

All the great elementary bodies, were disturbed and put out of order; and the sun and moon and the regents of air and fire, with the gods of heaven and hell, ¹³, were all in great confusion.

The gods seated even in the abode of Brahma, were afraid of their impending fall; when they heard the gigantic trees of the forests falling headlong, with the tremendous crash of pata-­pata noise.

The mountains standing on the surface of the earth, were shaking and tottering on all sides; and a great earthquake shook the mountains of Kailāsa, and Meru, to their very bottom and caverns and forests.

The ominous tornadoes at the end of the kalpa period, overthrew the mountains and cities and forests, and overwhelmed the earth and all in a general ruin and confusion.

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