Five Pretas at Pushkara

Chapter 32 of the Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells of five pretas (spirits of the dead) at Pushkara, the holy tīrtha where Brahmā performed his great yajña. A kind brāhmaṇa named Vṛtha spoke with them. He heard each one tell the wrong that had put him in that state. He taught them dharma, and with the power of the tīrtha all five were set free. The chapter also tells of the meeting of the Gaṅgā and the Sarasvatī at Pushkara and of the greatness of the tīrtha.

The five pretas

At Pushkara, where Brahmā himself performed his great yajña, five pretas wandered in misery. Their names were Paryushita, Sūchīmukha, Śīghraguda, Rohaka and Lekhaka. Each had been a human being in an earlier life. Each had fallen into the preta state through acts of adharma and by neglecting the duties of dharma.

Vṛtha’s compassion

A brāhmaṇa named Vṛtha, a man of dharma and kindness, came to Pushkara. He saw the five pretas in their pain. He did not shrink from them. He went up to them with compassion and asked about their state.

He was willing to speak with the pretas. He gave them satpurusha-sambhāshaṇa (talk with a righteous man). This was a great act of compassion, and it became the means of their freedom.

What the pretas told him

Each preta told what he had done that led to his fall.

• Paryushita had eaten food that had gone stale by standing overnight (paryushita means day-old food). He had also lived without keeping proper āchāra (good conduct) in his house.
• Sūchīmukha (needle-mouthed) had been cruel in speech. His words were sharp as needles and pierced others. He spoke harshly and did not care how much pain it caused.
• Śīghraguda had not kept control of his bodily functions and had broken the rules of śaucha (purity).
• Rohaka had blocked and stopped dharmic activities in his community.
• Lekhaka had used writing wrongly. He forged papers, made false records and used the power of reading and writing to deceive.

Each now suffered the very torment that matched his old wrong. They wandered in hunger and pain in the preta state.

Vṛtha’s teaching and their freedom

Vṛtha taught them the main points of dharma: the value of āchāra, the power of a tīrtha, the grace of satpurusha-sambhāshaṇa and the freeing power that is found at Pushkara. He explained that even those who had fallen into the preta state through adharma can be set free. This comes through truly hearing dharma and through the grace of a holy tīrtha such as Pushkara.

The pretas were touched by his compassion and by his teaching. They received his words with full śraddhā (faith). Three things together were enough to dissolve the karma that bound them to the preta state: the power of the holy tīrtha, the teaching of dharma by a righteous brāhmaṇa, and their own true acceptance of that teaching. All five were set free and went to higher worlds.

The meeting of the Gaṅgā and the Sarasvatī

The chapter also tells of the meeting of the holy rivers Gaṅgā and Sarasvatī at Pushkara. Because these two great rivers meet at the holy lake, Pushkara is a tīrtha of very great power. It joins the cleansing power of the Gaṅgā with the Sarasvatī. This meeting is declared to be among the strongest holy powers open to a pilgrim.

The greatness of Pushkara

The Purāṇa uses this account to speak of the māhātmya (greatness) of Pushkara. This is the tīrtha where Brahmā performed his first yajña. It is where the Gaṅgā and the Sarasvatī meet. It is where even pretas can be set free through satpurusha-sambhāshaṇa. The great ṛshis and devas are always present there, and so is the divine. A single bath at Pushkara, taken with true bhakti (devotion), destroys the pāpa (sin) gathered over many births.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Sṛshṭi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 32