Vasu of Kerala and the Prayāga Water

Chapter 129 of the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells of Vasu, a brāhmaṇa of Kerala. He died on the Vindhya mountain with no funeral rites and became a preta (a restless spirit). A pilgrim coming back from Prayāga took pity on him and gave him the water he had brought from the Māgha bath. At its touch Vasu was freed at once and went to svarga (heaven). The ṛshi Devadyuti told this account to King Citra of Drāviḍa, who was himself wandering as a preta.

Vasu’s life and death

In Kerala lived a brāhmaṇa named Vasu, who knew the Vedas well. His own relatives took his wealth. His kinsmen left him, and he became poor. In his grief he left his homeland and went from country to country. Illness and the hardships of the road wore him down.

At last he entered a great forest, on his way to another holy place. He was thin with hunger, and he died on the Vindhya mountain. No funeral rites were done for him. For this reason he became a preta in a cave on that same mountain, and he lived there in that state for a long time.

His suffering as a preta

The spirit of Vasu suffered from cold and heat. He had no food and no water. He was naked and had no shoes. Again and again he cried, “Oh, oh!” in his grief.

The Vindhya mountain had plenty of food everywhere: the flesh of animals killed by wolves and tigers, fruits dropped by parrots, honey and water in the streams. Yet he could find none of it, because fate kept all of it out of his reach. He lived on air alone, like the serpents. This was understood as the fruit of his faults in former births. He had never given gifts. He had not honoured Vishṇu. He had not gone to holy places. He had not given food or water to people in need.

The meeting with the pilgrim

As the spirit wandered over the Vindhya, he met a pious brāhmaṇa pilgrim coming back from Prayāga. The pilgrim carried water from the holy Māgha bath in two bamboo boxes. The spirit came near and begged: “Do not be afraid. O best of pilgrims, I want to drink water from you. If you do not give me water, my life will surely leave me.”

The sight of the spirit startled the pilgrim. He had no hair. He floated and did not touch the ground. His eyes were like hollow caves. His body was only bones and veins, thin down to the life inside. The spirit told who he was. He told of his former stinginess and his lack of dharma and what they had brought him. The pilgrim was moved.

The spirit also told the pilgrim a teaching he had heard from a crane, about how sure karma is and how important giving is. Those words had kept him from falling into full despair.

Then the pilgrim thought: “I brought this holy water from Prayāga for my parents at Bhṛgukshetra. But this spirit asks for it to save his life. The ṛshis and devas have said that protecting a life is greater than all yajñas (fire rituals), the aśvamedha too. What is not gained when one helps another? I will give him this water, and then I will bring more for my parents.” So the pilgrim gave the Prayāga water to the spirit.

Vasu is freed

The spirit drank the Prayāga water and sprinkled some on his own head. At that moment he left his ghost body and received a divine body. In wonder he said:

“Due to the drops of the water from Veṇī (Triveṇī), I am freed from the condition of an evil spirit. Even Brahmā cannot describe the merit of this water. Otherwise, why does Śiva have the water of Gaṅgā on his head? He who drinks even a small drop of Gaṅgā’s water would be a deva or a siddha.”

Vasu thanked the pilgrim with blessings for his kind act and went on to svarga. The pilgrim went back to fetch fresh water and then continued his journey to his parents.

Vasu in the account of King Citra

The ṛshi Devadyuti told the account of Vasu of Kerala to King Citra of Drāviḍa. Citra was wandering as a preta in the Plaksha forest. He had spent twenty-one yugas in naraka (hell) because of his fierce hatred of Vishṇu. Devadyuti used Vasu’s account to give Citra hope. He said: “I am not able to tell you the greatness of Prayāga, by touching a drop of which a brāhmaṇa from Kerala was freed.”

Devadyuti then told Citra to take the Māgha bath at Triveṇī in Prayāga, as the cure for his state. Citra followed this advice. He went to Prayāga in the month of Māgha and bathed at Triveṇī. He was freed and rose to Indra’s city in a divine vimāna (flying chariot).

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 129