Vasu of Kerala

Vasu was a brāhmaṇa who had lived in Kerala, the south-western coastal region of Bhārata. He died carrying a heavy load of pāpa (sin). Because of this he became an evil spirit, a piśāca or preta, near the meeting place of the rivers Kṛshṇā and Veṇī.

He was freed in an unexpected way. A pilgrim on his way to Prayāga felt compassion and sprinkled water from Prayāga on Vasu’s spirit. The puṇya (merit) of that water ended his ghostly state, and Vasu was taken to a higher realm. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells his story to show how great the power of the Prayāga tīrtha (pilgrimage place) is.

His state as an evil spirit

Vasu had gathered so much pāpa in his human life that he was denied the normal journey after death. He lived as a ghostly presence at the meeting of the Kṛshṇā and the Veṇī. This holy place had become for him a place of wandering and misery, not of liberation.

In this state he could do no good act for himself. His freedom had to come as grace from outside.

The dialogue of the crane and the monkey

Near the meeting of the Kṛshṇā and the Veṇī, the Purāṇa records a dialogue between a crane and a monkey. It is about karma and the means of liberation for beings who suffer after death. This dialogue is part of the teaching in which Vasu’s liberation is told.

Freed by water from Prayāga

A pilgrim was travelling to Prayāga to take the Māgha bath. He met the spirit of Vasu near the meeting of the Kṛshṇā and the Veṇī. The pilgrim carried water from the Triveṇī, the meeting of three rivers at Prayāga.

The pilgrim saw the suffering of the trapped spirit and felt compassion. He sprinkled the water from Prayāga on Vasu. The touch of this water freed Vasu from his ghostly state. His spirit was released at once, and he was taken to a higher realm.

Why the story is told

The Purāṇa does not tell Vasu’s story on its own. The ṛshi Devadyuti tells it when he meets the evil spirit of King Citra of Drāviḍa. Devadyuti uses Vasu’s case to show Citra’s spirit that the power of Prayāga can free even the beings with the most pāpa.

The two cases are alike. Vasu was a brāhmaṇa from Kerala full of pāpa, and Citra was a king of Drāviḍa who was also full of pāpa. Prayāga water freed Vasu. In the same way, Devadyuti says, the Māgha bath can free Citra, if he takes it.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 129