Rama

===''Yoga Vasistha''===
{{main|Yoga Vasistha}}
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''Yoga Vasistha'' is a Sanskrit text structured as a conversation between young Prince Rama and sage [[Vasistha]] who was called as the first sage of the [[Vedanta]] school of Hindu philosophy by [[Adi Shankara]]. The complete text contains over 29,000 verses.<ref name=chappleix>{{Harvnb|Chapple|1984|pp=ix–xi}}</ref> The short version of the text is called ''Laghu Yogavasistha'' and contains 6,000 verses.<ref name="Leslie2003-105">{{Harvnb|Leslie|2003|pp=105}}</ref> The exact century of its completion is unknown, but has been estimated to be somewhere between the 6{{Rp|th}} century to as late as the 14{{Rp|th}} century, but it is likely that a version of the text existed in the 1{{Rp|st}} millennium.<ref>{{Harvnb|Chapple|1984|p=x}}</ref>

The ''[[Yoga Vasistha]]'' text consists of six books. The first book presents Rama's frustration with the nature of life, human suffering and disdain for the world. The second describes, through the figure of Rama, the desire for liberation and the nature of those who seek such liberation. The third and fourth books assert that liberation comes through a spiritual life, one that requires self-effort, and present cosmology and metaphysical theories of existence embedded in stories.<ref name="Chapple1984-xii"/> These two books are known for emphasising free will and human creative power.<ref name="Chapple1984-xii"/><ref>Surendranath Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-04779-1}}, pages 252–253</ref> The fifth book discusses meditation and its powers in liberating the individual, while the last book describes the state of an enlightened and blissful Rama.<ref name="Chapple1984-xii">{{Harvnb|Chapple|1984|pp=xi–xii}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Valmiki |title=The Concise Yoga Vāsiṣṭha |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1984 |isbn=0-87395-955-8 |location=Albany |translator-last=Venkatesananda |translator-first=S}}</ref>

''Yoga Vasistha'' is considered one of the most important texts of the [[Vedantic]] philosophy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tigunait|first=Rajmani|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gukW2iojhrQC&q=The+Himalayan+Masters:+A+Living+Tradition|title=The Himalayan Masters: A Living Tradition|date=2002|publisher=[[Himalayan University|Himalayan Institute Press]]|isbn=978-0-89389-227-2|location=[[Itanagar]]|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gukW2iojhrQC&dq=The+Himalayan+Masters:+A+Living+Tradition&pg=PA33 33]|language=en|access-date=9 March 2021|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062742/https://books.google.com/books?id=gukW2iojhrQC&q=The+Himalayan+Masters:+A+Living+Tradition#v=snippet&q=The%20Himalayan%20Masters%3A%20A%20Living%20Tradition&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The text, states David Gordon White, served as a reference on [[Yoga]] for medieval era Advaita Vedanta scholars.<ref name="whiteysxvi">{{cite book|last=White|first=David Gordon|title=The "Yoga Sutra of Patanjali": A Biography|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-0-691-14377-4|pages=xvi–xvii, 51}}</ref> The Yoga Vasistha, according to White, was one of the popular texts on Yoga that dominated the Indian Yoga culture scene before the 12th century.<ref name=whiteysxvi/>