Crow, Serpent and Tree at Kāśī

Chapter 222 of the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells how a crow, a serpent and a tree were freed together at the Kāśī tīrtha (holy place) in Indraprastha. In earlier births they were a hunter named Śravaṇa, a brāhmaṇa named Kurantaka and a woman named Kundā.

Their earlier births

Śravaṇa had been a hunter. He gathered pāpa (sin) by killing animals for his living.

Kurantaka had been a brāhmaṇa. He fell into pāpa through certain offences.

Kundā had been a woman. She did pāpa that led to her birth as a tree.

Their karma (action and its result) brought them these births as a crow, a serpent and a tree.

Liberation at Kāśī in Indraprastha

Śravaṇa the crow, Kurantaka the serpent and Kundā the tree were all near the Kāśī tīrtha in Indraprastha. Bhagavān Śiva set it up there at the command of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

When the time of their liberation came, they gave up their animal and plant forms there. Being at the Kāśī tīrtha in Indraprastha was enough to free them. This is a likeness of the great Kāśī, where Bhagavān Śiva rules and where dying gives moksha (liberation). All three were taken to the divine worlds that were right for them.

What this shows

The Purāṇa uses these three accounts to show that the power of Kāśī is fully present at the Kāśī tīrtha in Indraprastha.

At Kāśī, Bhagavān Śiva gives the tāraka mantra to every being who dies there, and that being crosses beyond saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death). In the same way, dying near the Kāśī of Indraprastha frees beings born as animals and plants, whatever form the body has and whatever karma has gathered.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 222