Volume 3 - Classical Sanskrit Literature

2
The Plan of the Yogavāsiṣṭha
The Yogavāsistha is divided into six chapters which are titled as
Vairagya, Mumukṣu, Utpatti, Sthiti, Upaśama and Nirvāṇa. The
Nirvāṇa-prakaraṇa is the biggest of all and is divided into first
half (Pūrvārdha) and latter half (Uttarardha). According to a
statement in the Yogavāsistha itself the work contains 32000
verses,' but the vulgate edition of it as brought out by the Nirnaya
Sāgara Press does not contain more than 29289 verses, which are
divided into various chapters in the following manner: The
Vairagya has 1146, Mumukṣu 807, Utpatti 6304, Sthiti 2414,
Upaśama 4322, and Nirvana 14296 verses (in the first part of this
chapter there are 5331 verses, and in the latter part 8965).
In the beginning of the work the author gives his reason for
composing it. It is that the sage Valmiki composed a few Rāma-
stories
and taught them to his pupil Bharadvaja who, recited them
to Brahmā on
the mount Meru. Brahmā was highly pleased with
him and asked him
to choose a boon. Bharadvāja asked him to
show the path by
which people could be freed from misery.
Brahma told him to
go to Valmiki and request him to finish the
Rāmāyaṇa, which he had
begun to write in the form of a dialogue
between Rāma and
Vasistha, but had not completed. By reading
this people would attain
true knowledge which would lead them
to final absolution. Not
only does Brahmā ask Bharadvāja to go
to Valmiki with this request
, he himself goes to his Āśrama and
requests him to complete the
Yogavasistha Rāmāyaṇa which had
been left unfinished by hill. This
he should do, suggests Brahmā,
Collection, New Delhi: Digitized