Vimala and the Rākshasīs

The brāhmaṇa Vimala wanted a second son. His first son, Haridatta, had left home to live as an ascetic. Brahmā came to Vimala in a dream and sent him to the Dvārakā tīrtha (holy bathing place) inside Indraprastha. Vimala bathed there and received a son. On the same pilgrimage, water from that tīrtha freed a group of women who had been born as rākshasīs (female rākshasas).

Haridatta’s renunciation

A brāhmaṇa named Vimala had a son named Haridatta. The boy was born through puṇya (merit) and was brought up with care. When Haridatta came of age, deep vairāgya (detachment from the world) seized him. He wanted to give up household life and live as an ascetic.

Haridatta left home to seek moksha. His father Vimala was left in grief. He longed for another son to carry on the family line and to perform the rites for the ancestors.

Brahmā’s dream and Dvārakā within Indraprastha

Vimala had no hope of another son by ordinary means. He did pūjā and prayer at Indraprastha, the very holy place on the Yamunā where Bhagavān Vishṇu had gathered all the great tīrthas by his command.

In a dream, Brahmā came to Vimala and said: “Go to the Dvārakā tīrtha that Bhagavān Vishṇu himself set up within Indraprastha. Bathe there, and your wish will be fulfilled.”

Vimala bathed at the Dvārakā tīrtha in Indraprastha. By its grace a son was born to him in due time. His family line went on, and the rites for his ancestors would be kept.

The liberation of the rākshasīs

A companion travelled with Vimala on the pilgrim road through the desert country of Maru. He carried some water from the Dvārakā tīrtha. On the road they met a group of women who had taken the forms of rākshasīs.

In a former birth these women had been ladies of a city. Their minds had been drawn by pāpa (sin) to a handsome brāhmaṇa who was known for his music. He had told them that their feelings were wrong. Their attachment came from pāpa and was turned toward a man who was not their husband. For this reason they were born again as rākshasīs.

Vimala’s companion sprinkled the holy water of the Dvārakā tīrtha on them. At once they were freed from their rākshasī forms. Made pure by the power of that water, they rose in divine vehicles to Vaikuṇṭha.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 207
• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 207–208