Kuśala Brāhmaṇa

Kuśala was a poor brāhmaṇa. His wife was not faithful to him. After her death she was born again as a crocodile (nakra) in the waters of the Madhuvana tīrtha, within Indraprastha.

After Kuśala died, their son performed śrāddha (the rite for the ancestors) at the Madhuvana tīrtha, which is also called the Viśrānti tīrtha. By the puṇya of this rite at that very powerful place, his mother was freed from the birth as a crocodile and reached a higher state.

Background

Kuśala was a brāhmaṇa of small means who wished to follow dharma. His home life was hard, because his wife did not keep her vows. He is known above all as the father of the son whose śrāddha freed his mother.

The wife as a crocodile

Kuśala’s wife was unchaste. She gathered pāpa (sin) by breaking the pātivratā-dharma, the duty of a wife to be faithful to her husband. Because of the weight of this pāpa, she was born after her death as a crocodile. She lived in the waters near the Madhuvana tīrtha at Indraprastha.

Freed through śrāddha

After Kuśala himself died, his son came to the Madhuvana tīrtha, the Viśrānti tīrtha, at Indraprastha. The son cared deeply for the good of his parents. There he performed the śrāddha.

The Uttara Khaṇḍa declares the Madhuvana tīrtha to be the most rich in puṇya for rites for the ancestors. Offering piṇḍas (balls of rice offered to the ancestors) there multiplies the puṇya of the śrāddha without measure. The śrāddha done by Kuśala’s son passed on puṇya strong enough to free his mother’s ātmā from the birth as a crocodile. She was freed and reached a higher realm.

Sources

• Padma Mahāpurāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 213–214