Essay name: Discovery of Sanskrit Treasures (seven volumes)
Author:
Satya Vrat Shastri
Affiliation: Karnatak University / Department of Sanskrit
The series called "Discovery of Sanskrit Treasures" represents a comprehensive seven-volume compendium of Dr. Satya Vrat Shastri's research on Sanskrit and Indology. They feature a wide range of studies across major disciplines in these fields, showcasing Shastri's pioneering work. They include detailed analyses like the linguistic appraisal of Yogavasishtha, etymological studies in the Mahabharata and the Devibhagavata-purana, as well as explorations of human values as defined in ancient texts.
Volume 3 - Classical Sanskrit Literature
48 (of 328)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collection, New Delhi. Digitized by S3 Foundation USA.
44
Classical Sanskrit Literature
the reader engrossed. It is these which are introduced
intermittently, not to allow the interest of the reader to flag at
any time.
The first two sargas of the Vairagya-prakaraṇa form an
introduction to the Yogavāsistha. The actual dialogue between
Rāma and Vasistha which begins from the third canto of the
second chapter called Mumukṣu is prefaced by a description of
the state of despondency of Rāma when Viśvāmitra comes to take
him to the forest, his advice to him to behave like King Janaka
who would perform his duty without any feeling of attachment
or sorrow and his request to Vasistha to tell him how he should
behave, which he (Vasistha) complies with readily. This is the
subject-matter of the work from the 3rd canto of the Vairagya-
prakarana to the 2nd canto of the Mumukṣu-prakaraṇa. From the
3rd canto of the Mumukṣuprakarana to the 213th Canto of the
Second half (Uttarardha) of the Nirvāṇa-prakaraṇa is the real
Yogavāsistha, the dialogue between Rāma and Vasistha. From the
214th canto the story is given a finishing touch. In it King
Daśaratha, Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Nārada, and Satrughna, express their
gratitude to Vasistha for the upadeśa and there is a description
in detail as to how King Daśaratha honoured the Brāhmaṇas, fed
them and worshipped them. In the 215th canto, Valmiki winds
up his dialogue with Bharadvāja. 216th is the last canto of the
Yogavāsistha and serves as the finale to the incidents with which
the work is introduced. In the first two verses of this canto the
dialogue between Valmiki and Ariṣṭanemi comes to an end, the
latter telling the former in verses 3-8 that his ignorance is now
removed and he, therefore, is ready to go to Indra's abode. In
verses 9 and 10, the Apsaras expresses her satisfaction and allows
the Devaduta to go. In verses 11-12 Agniveśya winds up his talk
with his son Karunya, the latter informing him on a query from
the former that he would henceforth behave in an unconcerned
manner, neither insisting upon the performance of the rites nor
avoiding them. And then comes the end. The dialogue between
Agasti and Sutikṣṇa is wound up. Agasti tells Sutikṣṇa that he
should
not entertain a doubt about jñānakarman and think that
actions do
not lead to bondage after true knowledge has been
Shastri Collection, New
