Sri Vasista

1. O Rāma, Listen to the story after the demise of Dāma and others.  I shall narrate what happened to the great Sambara in his mighty country.

2. -3. After the ‘dānavas’ fell from the sky, the armies of Sambara vanishe dlike an autumn cloud.  Leading his armies conquered by ‘devas’, Sambara spent several years thinking of the ways of vanquishing the gods.

4. He thought: ‘I have created Dāma and others by my ‘māya’ powers.  Foolishly they went into a mood of nonexistent anog.. egotism (and lost the battle).

5. ‘I shall now create another set of ‘dānavas’ with my ‘māya’ power.  I shall endow with discrimination and knowledge of scriptures’.

6. ‘Then they shall not fall into the grip of ego due to their awareness of unreality.  Then they can vanquish the gods’.

7. Thinking thus, he created such kind of ‘dānava’s.  They rose like bubbles in a sea.

8. They were detached knowers of truth.  They were inclined to do the works that come to them, ignoring their own intentions like perfect beings.

9. They were called, Bhima, Bhāsu and Dridha.  They were of pure heart.  They looked upon the world as a trifle.

10. They entered the atmosphere of the earth and started thundering like a lightning with all their weaponing and arman around them.

11. They did not fall into the grip of ‘ego’ even though fought the gods for years.

12. As soon as a deep thought like ‘I and mine’ entered them, at the same instant the inquiring thought ‘who am I?’ used to enter.

13. ‘Even the wise men are unreal.  This body is unreal.  What are we’ – such thoughts were constantly in their minds.  And so fear and such cowardly emotions were never touching them.

14. ‘This body is unreal.  This world is unreal.  Only the pure Self of Consciousness exists.  Nothing like I exists.’ – This was the confident opinion of those three ‘asuras’.           

15. Thus they had no ego.  They were not afraid of old age or death.  They were conscious of only the works that come to them.  Courageous they were, they lived in the present.

16. Their mind was always unattached.  And so even when they killed anyone, it was as if they did not kill. As such they were totally free of the mesh of ‘vāsanas’.  They were doing what they should so without any doership.

17. They engaged themselves in war with the sole thought ‘ This is the mark of the Lord’.  With such freedom from malice and attachment, they had always a perception of equality.

18. The armies of gods were hurt, vanquished and killed by such trio of Bhima, Bhāsa and Dridha.  It was like an enjoyer indulging in enjoyable things.

19. Vanquished by the trio, the armies of gods took flight like Ganga waters flowing down the slopes of Himalayas.

20. -21. Then they sought refuge with the Great Vishnu, reclining on the waters of ocean of milk.  Then Vishnu assured them of protection like a husband assuring a wife surrounded by men of adulterous intentions.

22. The armies of gods took shelter in the ocean of milk till Vishnu got ready to attack the ‘dānava’ armies.

23. -26. Then ensued a great and fierce battle between Vishnu and Sambara.  It was like at the end of a aeon Vaikuntha since he was killed by Nārāyana.  In the same battle Vishnu conferred liberation even to the trio.  It was like wind blowing off a lamp.  Because the trio were free of ‘Vāsanas’, there was no further births for them.

27. Therefore O Rama, mind is bound by vāsanas.  Without vāsanas, mind is free.  So try to achieve that with discrimination.

28. Truth and an integrated perception will dissolve vāsanās.  When vāsanās subside, mind will be completely quiet like a lamp.

29. ‘Nothing is real’ – think of such good ideas.  And so there is really no state of mind.  This is the integrated outlook.

30. When all this world is self, what is there to think of anything?  There is nothing like idea or ideation or imagination.  This is integrated (right) perception.

31. Where thinking mind (citta) is understood as vāsanas (which is a name and work merely) and that gets dissolved in truth perception, that is the perfect state.

32. Thinking mind (i.e.) Chitta is enveloped by vāsanas.  That is prevalent in this world.  When one is free from such ‘chitta’, then such a state is called liberation.

33. This mind is abroad in this world as many bodies like cloth and pots.  That is to be quitened.

34. O Rāma, evolve into the mental mode of Bhima trio getting out of the Damā trio kind of (vāsanas enveloped) mind.

35. -37. O Rāma, my father Brahma advised me long ago that I should not entertain the topic of Dāma trio.  And so you too get established in the logic of Bhima trio.  This is what I am telling you, who are my beloved disciple.  You shall then attain the prosperous state of overcoming the cycle of mutable world.