Relation with other literature

Vedas and Upanisads:

As a Brahmanical work Yoga-Vasistha has imbibed the essentials of Vedic literature (including older Upanisads) in its fundamental philosophy-obviously the echoes, nay even the wordings of Vedic texts are found throughout the work.

Thus:

Manascandramaso jatam
Manasascandra utthitah
- Yoga-Vasistha vi.ii (Uttarardha) 2.9

Is an obvious echo of RV x.90.13;

Candrama manaso jatah/

Yoga-Vasistha concludes its teaching with the following verse:

Yat sarvam khalvidam Brahma/
Tajjaln iti ca sphutam//
- Yoga-Vasistha vi.ii (Uttarardha) 216.25

It is nothing but a versified form of Chandogya Up. Iii. 14-1:

Sarvam khalvidam Brahma
Tajjalan iti santa upasita.

Some of the verses are bodily incorporated from the Upanisads. For example, the S vetasvatara Up. Iii. 16 is the same as Yoga-Vasistha vi. Ii (Uttarardha) 14.9.

About later Upanisads, B.L. Atreya has made a strong case to prove that the following minor Upanisads are either entirely or partially borrowed from Yoga-Vasistha.

He has further named seven more minor Upanisads such as the Jabala Darsana, the Maitrayani and other which have some textual portion common with Yoga-Vasistha. Dr. Atreya has also noted some of the verses from the minor Upanisads which are not traceable in Yoga-Vasistha but are found in its digest Yoga-Vasistha (Laghu Yoga Vasistha). For example, the Maha. Up. v. 55-58 missing from Yoga-Vasistha is found in Yoga-Vasistha iv. 14.2, 4-6.

Dr. Atreya has put in enormous labour to show that Yoga-Vasistha is the source of these minor Upanisads. But on the basis of the same data Dr. Mainkar comes to the opposite conclusion that Yoga-Vasistha is the borrower as it expresses the crude, simple Upanisadic expressions into better, more poetic yet appropriate words.

I believe that both the minor Upanisads and Yoga-Vasistha have used the enormous traditional ascetic literature (mainly gathas and anustubh verses) current in ancient India in Sanskrit, Pall and Prakrits. We must give due credit to the last redactor of Yoga-Vasistha for presenting that valuable oral tradition of ascetic poetry in a refined form.

Yoga-Vasistha’s self-designation of being the ‘digest’ Sara-Samhita, ‘Moksopaya’ (iii. 10.4, ii. 18.10) and Moksopayabhidhana-Samhita (11.17.6) is significant. It shows that it borrowed from other tracts of philosophy.

Brahmasutra:

Brahma-sutra of Badarayana is another Brahmanical Prasthana. It tries to synthesize the teachings of Upanisads to show the path of ‘non-return to samsara’ (i.e. Moksa). But Badarayaoa preached Bhedabhedavada (ii. 1.22, iii.2.27) and did not regard the world as ‘mithya’ as he advocates its ‘birth’ (1.1.2). But Yoga-Vasistha accepted the extreme idealism of Buddhists.

Yoga-Vasistha and Bhagavad-Gita:

The third Brahmanical Prasthana is BC (Bhagavad-Gita). As pointed out by Atreya2, some 25 verses are common to Yoga-Vasistha and BC. But the influence is not limited to those 25 verses, as the whole text of Yoga-Vasistha is “permeated through and through with the BC.” There are 163 borrowals from BC in Yoga-Vasistha4 and the BC text used by Yoga-Vasistha is a cross of the Kashmiri version and the vulgate of BC.

Yogavasistha and Valmiki Ramayana:

Traditionally, Valmiki Ramayana and Yoga-Vasistha are regarded as one work, Val. Ram. being the Purva Ramayana and Yoga-Vasistha, the Uttara Ramayana. God Brahma exhorted Valmiki to describe fully Rama’s nature (Yoga-Vasistha 1.2.13-15) which Valmiki complied in this exposition of Brahma-tattva with illustrative episodes etc. (Yoga-Vasistha vi.ii.215.17). As a matter of fact, the relation between Yoga-Vasistha and Val. Ram. is tenuous. In Val. Ram. i (Balakada) canto 21-22, sage Visvamitra comes to Dasaratha and requests him to send Rama and Laksmana to protect his proposed sacrifice. With some reluctance Daratija agrees and the boys gladly accompany Visvamitra. But there is no reference to Rama’s pilgrimage to sacred places, his consequent non-attachment to the world, Rama’s arrival in a dejected mood, Visvamitra’s surmise that Rama attained the requisite eligibility for learning the way to emancipation from Samsara and his (Visvamitra’s) request to Vasistha to convey to him the exposition of knowledge that both of them received from god Brahma on the peak of mount Naisadha (Yoga-Vasistha i.7-12 and ii.2. 13-17). In fact this episode should have formed a part of the Val. Ram. but it is used as a background story for this epic on Vedanta. The author of Yoga-Vasistha is fully acquainted with important episodes in Valmiki such as the characters related to Rama (Yoga-Vasistha ii.20, 21, 26-28). There is a specific reference to Valmiki’s composition of Ramayana (Yoga-Vasistha vi. i. 22. 22-25).

Now the fact that Yoga-Vasistha used Val. Ram. as one of its sources has been proved by Dr. V. Raghavan and T.G. Mainkar by quoting chapters and verses from both the works and have specifically pointed out that Yoga-Vasistha has used the North-Western edition of Val. Ram.

Yoga-Vasistha and Mahabharata:

Though the loan of Yoga-Vasistha from BO has been discussed and is enough to show that Yoga-Vasistha is the borrower from Mbh, its loan is not limited to BG. It refers to Vyasa’s Bharata all over the text (e.g. Yoga-Vasistha ii. 3.26, v.2.26, vi.i.22.27 etc.). The systematic treatment of the topics of Daiva (Fate) and Paurusa (Effort) and the superiority of the latter in Yoga-Vasistha ii. 4-10 are based on Mbh, Anusasana, 6. Mbh does not recognise Buddha as an Avatara of Visnu while Yoga-Vasistha clearly does so (vide i.15.l0, vi.i.93.61). This goes to show its chronological priority to Yoga-Vasistha.

Yoga Vasistha and Mandukya Karika of Gaudapada:

A number of Mandukya Karikas are found in Yoga-Vasistha either wholly or in parts, e.g.:

adavante ca yan nasti
vartamane pi tat tatha

Yoga-Vasistha iv.45.45 and Mandukya iii.48.

There are three views about the relation between Yoga-Vasistha and Gaudapada.

(1) Yoga-Vasistha is earlier (Atreya).
(2) Yoga-Vasistha is later (Vidhushekhar Bhattacharya).
(3) Both are contemporaries or Yoga-Vasistha is later by a century (S.N. Dasgupta).
(4) Yoga-Vasistha in its earlier stage as ‘Mokopaya, was probably contemporary (Mainkar).

We know little about the text of Mokopaya. The present text of Yoga-Vasistha appears to be later than that of Gaudapada’s Karikas.

Yoga-Vasistha and Sankara:

B.L. Atreya has traced a number of similar verses in Yoga-Vasistha and Sankara’s minor works. This is obviously due to their being Vedantic with Buddhistic background. P.C. Divanji appears to be correct in presuming that Yoga-Vasistha should be earlier than the 9th cent. A.D., as Sarvajiiatrnan hints at Yoga-Vasistha in Sahk1epafàrlraka ii. 182.

Yogavasistha and Trika Saivism:

Prof. S. Bhattacharya has discussed the relations of Yoga-Vasistha and the Trika system of Kashmir. Yoga-Vasistha’s non-recognition of Mayavada, its acceptance of Abhasavada (iv.39-43-44), Kalpanavada, doctrine of Kriyasakti, the Spanda doctrine, and Muktivada (theory of deliverance), the reference to thirty six Tattvas (Yoga-Vasistha vi. i. 39.15), and a number of points where Yoga-Vasistha differs from Sankara, show the influence of the Trika system. But as Trika system is based on Saiva Agamas, the pre-Yoga-Vasistha Mokopaya might have absorbed these views from the Agamas and hence we find parallels in post-Vasugupta Saiva authors like Abhinavagupta and Yoga-Vasistha. There is a very strong probability that the last redactor of Yoga-Vasistha was strongly under the influence of Trika Saivism.

In the discussion about the date of Yoga-Vasistha Dr. Raghavan mentions authors like Kumarila, Rajasekhara etc. If the verses said to be quoted by Yoga-Vasistha from these authors be not from a common independent source, we shall have to regard those authors as the sources of Yoga-Vasistha.