The below list gives an overview of the contents and stories in the ''
Yoga Vasistha'', as it appears in
Swami Venkatesananda
Venkatesananda Saraswati (or Swami Venkatesananda) 29 December 1921 in Tanjore, South India–2 December 1982 in Johannesburg, South Africa), known previously as Parthasarathy, was a disciple of Sivananda Saraswati. He received his spiritual trai ...
's translation. The same stories are included in the ''
Moksopaya
The ''Mokṣopāya'' or ''Mokṣopāyaśāstra'' is a Sanskrit philosophical text on salvation for non-ascetics (''mokṣa-upāya'': 'means to liberation'), written on the Pradyumna hill in Śrīnagar in the 10th century AD. It has the form of a ...
'', on which the ''Yoga Vasistha'' was based, as well.
In the beginning of the book Vasistha states that the stories have a "definite purpose and a limited intention. They are not to be taken literally, nor is their significance to be stretched beyond the intention."
[Swami Venkatesananda, 1984, pp. 36.]
Section One: On Dispassion
Section Two: On the Behavior of a Seeker
*The Story of
Śuka
Shuka ( sa, शुक , also Shukadeva ) is a rishi (sage) in Hinduism. He is the son of the sage Vyasa and the main narrator of the scripture ''Bhagavata Purana''. Most of the ''Bhagavata Purana'' consists of Shuka reciting the story to the ...
*Self Effort
Section Three: On Creation
*The Story of
Lila Lila or LILA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lila'' (album), debut album by American country music singer Lila McCann
* ''Lila'' (movie), a 1968 sexploitation film
* The Meaning of Lila, a comic strip written by John Forgetta and L. A. ...
*The Story of Karkati
*The Story of the Sons of Indu
*The Story of
Ahalya
*The Story of the Great Forest
*The Story of the Three Non-Existent Princes
*The Story of Lavana
Section Four: On Existence
*The Story of
Sukra
*The Story of Dama, Vyala and Kata
*The Story of Bhima, Bhasa and Drdha
*The Story of Dasura
*Kaca’s Story
Section Five: On Dissolution
*The Story of King
Janaka
Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hras ...
*The Story of Punya and Pavana
*The Story of
Bali
*The Story of
Prahlada
*The Story of Gadhi
*The Story of
Uddalaka
*The Story of Suraghu
*The Story of Bhasa and Vilasa
*The Story of Vitahavya
Section Six: On Liberation
*Discourse on
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
*The Story of
Bhusunda
*Description of the Lord
*Deva Puja
*The Story of the Wood-apple
*The Story of the Rock
*The Story of
Arjuna
*The Story of the Hundred Rudra
*The Story of the Vampire
*The Story of
Bhagiratha
*The Story of Sikhidvaja and Cudala
*The Story of the
Philosopher’s Stone
The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", ...
*The Story of the Foolish Elephant
*The Story of Kaca
*the Story of the Deluded Man
*The Story of Vipascit
*The Story of the Hunter and the Sage
*The World Within the Rock
*The Story of the Sage from Outer Space
*The Story of Bhrngisa
*The Story of lksvaku
*The Story of the Hunter and the Deer
*The Seven States of
Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...
References
*{{cite book , title=The Concise Yoga Vāsiṣṭha , publisher=State University of New York Press , location=Albany , first=Swami , last=Venkatesananda , authorlink=Swami Venkatesananda , year=1984 , isbn=0-87395-955-8 , oclc=11044869 , pages=430 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1FFdOj2dv8cC
Hindu texts
Sanskrit texts
Yoga Vasistha