The stories of the Yoga Vasishtha

Vasishtha teaches Rama mostly by telling stories, and the people inside those stories tell more. These are the named narratives, each with the chapters it actually occupies.

The Story of Shuka's DoubtShuka, son of the sage Vyasa; his father Vyasa; and King Janaka of Videha, narrated by Vishvamitra to Rama.Book 2 · ch 1 The Story of Queen LilaQueen Lila and King Padma of the pavilion story; the goddess Sarasvati who guides Lila; the Brahmin Vasishtha and his wife Arundhati who are the earlier lives of Padma and Lila; King Viduratha, whom Padma's minister becomes in a further life.Book 3 · ch 15–59 The Story of Karkati the DemonessKarkati, a fierce demoness (daughter of the demon Karkata) who does penance and becomes a disease-spirit; Brahma, who grants her boons; a Kirata king and his minister, whom she meets in the forest and befriends; Indra and Narada, who discuss her penance partway through.Book 3 · ch 68–83 The Story of King LavanaKing Lavana (a righteous king descended from Harishchandra), the illusionist Shambarika sent by Indra, a Chandala (outcaste) woman and her father Pulkasa whom the king takes as family inside the vision, with sage Vasishtha narrating to Rama as witness.Book 3 · ch 104–121 The Story of Bhrigu and ShukraOne continuous story about father and son together: Bhrigu, a sage doing austerities on Mount Mandara, and his son Shukra, whose meditating mind wanders through an entire imagined lifetime; Kala (Time/Death) appears and explains the illusion to Bhrigu; narrated by Vasishtha to Rama as an example of how the mind builds the world.Book 4 · ch 5–16 The Story of Dama, Vyala and KataThe demon king Shambara, who rules from a cave in Patala; the gods (led in counsel by Brahma); and the three demons he creates, Dama, Vyala and Kata.Book 4 · ch 25–30 The Story of King Janaka's AwakeningKing Janaka of Videha; the invisible Siddhas whose voices he overhears; his palace gatekeeper; the story is narrated by Vasishtha to Rama.Book 5 · ch 8–12 The Story of BaliBali, the demon king, son of Virochana, taught earlier by his father and later guided in the assembly by his guru Shukra (Bhargava); narrated by Vasishtha to Rama.Book 5 · ch 22–29 The Story of PrahladaVasishtha narrates to Rama the story of Prahlada, son of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, and of Vishnu (Narasimha, Hari, Madhava).Book 5 · ch 30–43 The Story of GadhiGadhi, a virtuous Brahmin ascetic of Kosala who undergoes an illusory life as an outcaste and a king; Vishnu, who grants him the vision and later explains it; a Chandala household, a Kira kingdom, and a wandering guest named Durvasa who unknowingly confirms the illusion as fact.Book 5 · ch 44–49 The Story of UddalakaVasishtha narrates to Rama the story of the sage Uddalaka, a young ascetic who withdraws to a cave on Gandhamadana mountain to meditate.Book 5 · ch 51–55 The Story of Sage VitahavyaVasishtha narrates to Rama the story of the sage Vitahavya, who is helped by Pingala (the sun's radiance) sent by the sun-god SuryaBook 5 · ch 82–89 The Story of Bhushunda the CrowVasishtha narrates to Rama his meeting with Bhushunda, an immensely long-lived crow who lives in a nest in the wish-fulfilling tree on Mount Meru.Book 6 · ch 14–28 The Story of Krishna's Teaching to ArjunaVasishtha narrates to Rama how Vishnu, taking two bodies as Krishna and Arjuna, will teach Arjuna on the battlefield before the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas.Book 6 · ch 52–58 The Story of the Hundred RudrasVasishtha narrates to Rama the chain of a mendicant (who becomes 'Jivata'), a bird who becomes convinced it is Rudra, and the sleeping monk, Brahmin, and king that Rudra awakens and recognizes as himself.Book 6 · ch 62–64 The Story of the Vetala's QuestionsA hungry Vetala (a flesh-eating spirit) of the Vindhya forest, and an unnamed king he stops on his nightly rounds and questions; narrated by Vasishtha to Rama as an illustration.Book 6 · ch 70–73 The Story of BhagirathaKing Bhagiratha; his guru, the sage Tritala; narrated by Vasishtha to RamaBook 6 · ch 74–76 The Story of Shikhidhvaja and ChudalaKing Shikhidhvaja of the Malava country and his wife Queen Chudala, who also appears disguised as the young ascetic Kumbha and as the woman Madanika.Book 6 · ch 77–110 The Story of Kundadanta and the Eight BrothersKundadanta, a Brahmin ascetic from Videha, narrates his own story to Rama; his companion is one of eight brothers doing penance to rule the seven continents; a nameless old ascetic under a kadamba tree in Gauri's former forest hermitage instructs them; Rama then repeats the tale to Vasishtha at Ayodhya, where Kundadanta is present.Book 7 · ch 180–185

Every story links to the chapters it runs through, where the Sanskrit sits beside a plain English and Hindi translation of each verse. The full contents lists all 674 chapters.