Sudarśana at Vetāla Varada Tīrtha

Sudarśana was a vidyādhara (a heavenly being of the air, a master of knowledge). The ṛshi Gālava gave him a śāpa (a curse) because of an episode with Gālava’s daughter Kāntimatī. The śāpa took away his vidyādhara form and made him wander as a vetāla (a ghost). He was known as Kapālasphoṭa. He was freed at Vetāla Varada Tīrtha in the Setu region, after meeting a young man named Aśokadatta. The Setu Māhātmya of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa tells this in chapters 8 and 9.

Gālava’s śāpa on Sudarśana

Sudarśana the vidyādhara was drawn into an episode with Kāntimatī, the daughter of the ṛshi Gālava. Gālava gave Sudarśana a strong śāpa. It took away his vidyādhara form and made him wander as a vetāla.

He came to be known by the name Kapālasphoṭa (skull-splitter), a fearsome name for the state into which the śāpa had thrown him. The fallen state was to last until a means of freedom was found. (Chapter 8)

Aśokadatta

While he wandered as the vetāla Kapālasphoṭa, Sudarśana met a devoted young man named Aśokadatta. They had a series of strange adventures. Through them Aśokadatta became the means by which Sudarśana’s freedom was arranged. The meeting between them led Sudarśana towards the tīrtha (sacred bathing place) that would free him. (Chapter 9)

Moksha at Vetāla Varada Tīrtha

At last, led by the chain of events that began with Aśokadatta and by the power of the Setu region, Sudarśana came to Vetāla Varada Tīrtha. This is the tīrtha that gives a vara (a boon) to the vetāla.

Sudarśana bathed at this tīrtha. He was freed from Gālava’s śāpa and from the vetāla form, and he was given back his own divine nature as a vidyādhara. The name of the tīrtha, Vetāla Varada, keeps this event in memory. It is the tīrtha that gave the vara to the vetāla Sudarśana. (Chapter 9)

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Setu Māhātmya, chapters 8 and 9