Skandapurana 3.1.22

Glorious Sūta said:

In the auspicious Lakṣmītīrtha, the sole cause of all sovereignty for men,

a man having bathed should then go to Agnitīrtha, O best of the twice-born.

Agnitīrtha is greatly meritorious, the destroyer of great sins,

the highest sacred ford among sacred fords, the sole instrument for fulfilling all desires.

There a man should bathe with devotion for the complete purification of his own sins.

The seers said:

How did it obtain renown as 'Agnitīrtha', O lord of sages?

Where is this Agnitīrtha, and what is its grandeur?

You ought to tell this in detail to us who are full of faith.

Glorious Sūta said:

Properly indeed have you asked; listen, O bulls among sages!

Long ago, having slain Rāvaṇa along with his attendants,

and having installed Vibhīṣaṇa as lord in Laṅkā,

Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, accompanied by Sītā and the son of Sumitrā,

being praised by siddhas, cāraṇas, and gandharvas, by the gods and hosts of apsarases,

and by hosts of sages whose blessings are true, curious about sacred fords,

Rāma of irresistible prowess, effortlessly bearing his bow,

in order to establish his own purity and to test Jānakī,

along with the multitudes of gods led by Indra, with the sages and the ancestors,

accompanied by Vibhīṣaṇa and by all the monkeys,

came by way of the causeway to Mount Gandhamādana.

Stationed on the shore of Lakṣmītīrtha to test Jānakī,

he invoked Agni in the presence of the celestial seers and the ancestors.

Then, [Agni] arose from the great ocean, not far from Lakṣmītīrtha.

while all the worlds looked on, the purifier [Agni] arose, licking the waters,

his eyes coppery-red, clad in yellow garments, and holding a bow. (12)

Licking the ten directions with his seven tongues,

and seeing the heroic lord of the Raghus, who had assumed a human form in sport, (13)

he spoke these pleasing words to attest the purity of Jānakī:

“O Rāma, Rāma, mighty-armed one, terror of the rākṣasas! (14)

You have slain Rāvaṇa through the chastity of Jānakī.

Truly, truly, and again truly, let there be no doubt on this matter. (15)

She is Kamalā, the mother of the universe, who has assumed a human form in sport.

When [you assume] divinity, she assumes a divine body; and in humanity, she is human. (16)

Indeed, she fashions her own body to conform with the body of Viṣṇu.

Whenever, O Lord of the universe, God of gods, Janārdana, (17)

you take descents, she is then your companion.

When you were Rāma the descendant of Bhṛgu, she was the Earth; (18)

now she is born as Jānakī, and next she will be Rukmiṇī.

In other descents too, she is the companion of Viṣṇu. (19)

Therefore, O Rāghava, accept her at my word.”

Having heard those words of the purifier [Agni], the gods, great seers, (20)

vidyādharas, gandharvas, men, and serpents,

and other hosts of beings, praised Rāma the son of Daśaratha, (21)

as well as Jānakī, the princess of Mithilā, again and again.

At Agni’s word, Rāma accepted the stainless Sītā. (22)

Thus, for the sake of Sītā’s purity, by Rāma of untiring deeds,

when the invocation was performed, the fire [rose] not far from Lakṣmītīrtha. (23)

O best of brahmins, from that place in the ocean where he rose up,

know that peerless place to be Agnitīrtha. (24)

Because Agni came forth from there, it is called Agnitīrtha.

A man who bathes here with devotion in the fire’s sacred ford that grants liberation, (25)

having fasted, should feed brahmins who know the Vedas.

He should give them garments, wealth, land, and an adorned maiden. (26)

Freed from all sins, he attains union with Viṣṇu.

On this bank of Agnitīrtha, the gift of food is especially praised. (27)

There was never, nor will there ever be, a sacred ford equal to Agnitīrtha,

where even Duṣpaṇya, a great sinner, by bathing, cast off his dreadful ghosthood (28)

and attained a celestial form.

In ancient times, there lived in Pāṭaliputra a vaiśya named Paśumān. (29)

He was ever devoted to righteousness and intent on worshipping brahmins,

constantly engaged in agriculture and always protecting cattle, (30)

and selling gold and other goods righteously in the market row.

To that eminent merchant named Paśumān (31)

there were three wives, devoted to the service of their husband.

The eldest gave birth to three sons who increased the vaiśya lineage: (32)

Supaṇya, Paṇyavat, and likewise Cārupaṇya.

The middle one bore two sons, Sukośa and Bahukośa. (33)

To that vaiśya three sons were born of the third [wife],

famed as Mahāpaṇya, Mahākośa, and Duṣpaṇya. (34)

Thus, O best of brahmins, to that vaiśya Paśumān

there were eight sons born from those three wives. (35)

Led by Supaṇya, all those sons grew up in due course.

Playing in the dust, they delighted their parents. (36)

In time, those sons of the vaiśya reached the age of five years.

Paśumān, the chief of vaiśyas, (37)

trained all those sons continuously from childhood in their own duties.

Trained gradually in the tasks of agriculture, cattle protection, and trade, (38)

the seven [sons], led by Supaṇya, obeyed their father's command.

Whatever duty Paśumān spoke of, they performed it immediately. (39)

They attained great skill even in goldsmith work.

Duṣpaṇya, however, the eighth son, continuously from his childhood (40)

became devoted to evil ways and did not heed his father's words.

Starting from the time of playing in the dust, he was devoted to evil ways. (41)

Even while a boy, that son harassed other boys.

Seeing him devoted to evil deeds, his father Paśumant likewise,

simply overlooked it, saying, “He is just an ignorant child.”

Then all eight sons of the merchant reached youth.

Among them, this eighth son, Duṣpaṇya, the foremost of the strong,

seized the boys living in the city by the hands and throats,

and hurled them into wells, rivers, and lakes.

No one among the people knew of this evil conduct of his.

He threw them into the water until those boys died.

The fathers and mothers of those dead boys

searched for them everywhere through all the towns.

And seeing their sons dead, the people could only weep aloud.

Then, having seen the corpses in the waters, the people performed the proper rites.

Killing boys in the city in this manner every day,

Duṣpaṇya continued thus for a long time, unnoticed even by the people.

As boys were dying because of the merchant's son's deed,

the city became almost desolate due to the lack of growth among the citizens.

Then, having assembled, the citizens reported that matter to the king.

Hearing their words, the king summoned the village guardians

and commanded: “Let the cause of the boys' deaths be investigated!”

The village guardians agreed, saying, “So be it,” and, posted here and there,

they thoroughly searched for the cause of the slaughter of the boys.

Though searching, they did not discover the killer of the boys.

Approaching the king again, they spoke fearfully:

“O King, though we search, we do not discover

who it is that lives in the city and continually kills the boys.”

And again, all the citizens, distressed, approached the king;

choked with tears, they spoke again of the death of their children.

Not knowing the cause of it, the king remained silent, deep in thought.

Once this merchant's son, together with five little boys,

went near a pond under the pretext of gathering lotuses.

Seizing those boys by force while they cried out,

the cruel-hearted Duṣpaṇya submerged them in the neck-deep water of the lake.

Thinking them dead, Duṣpaṇya quickly went to his home.

The fathers of those five searched for their sons in the city.

While they were searching, the five very young boys thrown by him into the waters,

did not die, by stroke of chance.

Slowly reaching the shore, all five of them, their heads soaked,

were unable to go to the city and wandered right there out of childishness.

Hearing their names called from afar by their kinsmen,

all five boys called back in response.

Then their fathers, hearing them, came to the lake shore,

and seeing their sons alive, experienced incomparable joy.

When questioned by their fathers and elders, “What happened?”

the boys reported the wicked deed of Duṣpaṇya to their kinsmen.

Then the citizens, having learned the fact, approached the king

and reported the deed of Duṣpaṇya as told by the five [boys].

Then the king summoned Paśumant, the foremost merchant,

and spoke these words while the citizens were listening:

The king said:

“O Paśumant, see how this city of abundant folk

has been rendered nearly desolate by your wicked-minded son named Duṣpaṇya!

Just now, indeed, he plunged these innocent children into the water;

and by good fortune they have returned alive to the city.

The matter having come to this, tell [me] now: what should be done?

Today I ask you yourself, since you are devoted to dharma.”

Thus addressed by the king, Paśumant, who knew dharma, spoke fitting words:

Paśumant said:

“He who has emptied the city deserves nothing less than death.

Indeed, in this matter, there is nothing at all to be questioned, O King.”

"For this is no son of mine, but a foe who commits dreadful sins;

indeed, I see no expiation for him by whom the city was laid waste.

Let the wicked soul be put to death; I speak the very truth."

Having heard the words of Paśumān, all the citizens

praised the excellent merchant and spoke thus to the king:

"Let not this wicked one be put to death; let him quietly be banished from the city."

Then the king summoned Duṣpaṇya and spoke thus:

"You wicked soul, depart swiftly from this country at once!

If you remain right here, I shall certainly punish you with death."

Having been thus reprimanded by the king and banished from the city by messengers,

Duṣpaṇya, abandoning that country in fear,

then went to a forest crowded with assemblies of sages.

Even there, he drowned a son of a sage in the water.

The sons of the sages, having come to play and seeing the dead child,

approached his father and told him, deeply grieved.

Then Ugraśravas, hearing from them that his son had died in the water,

perceived through the power of his austerity that it was the deed of Duṣpaṇya.

Ugraśravas cursed that Duṣpaṇya, the son of the vaiśya:

Ugraśravas said:

"Since you have thrown my son into the water and killed him,

may your death also come about by drowning in water!

And when you are dead, you shall become a piśāca for a very long time."

When that curse was heard, Duṣpaṇya, dejected at heart,

at once abandoned that forest and went to another, dreadful forest,

abounding in fierce beasts such as lions. When he reached that other forest,

a great tempest wind blew, feeling like a thunderbolt's strike,

raining down a great shower of dust and constantly breaking down trees.

And there was an unbearable rain tearing at his limbs with its velocity.

Seeing that, Duṣpaṇya, reflecting and sorely distressed,

beheld a dead, dried-up elephant of enormous size.

Unable then to endure the great wind and the heavy downpour,

he entered the cavity of its belly through the opening of the elephant's mouth.

No sooner had he entered than the rain became exceedingly heavy.

Then, from all the rainwater, a tremendous flood arose;

that flood became a kind of river in that forest.

Then, with its belly filled by those rainwaters,

that elephant, floating in the great torrent, became swollen shut.

Then, from the belly of that elephant which had no opening left

and whose belly was filled with water, he was indeed unable to come out.

And then the torrent of rainwater, possessed of terrifying velocity,

carried the elephant, with Duṣpaṇya inside its belly, to the ocean.

Duṣpaṇya, submerged in the water, was in an instant deprived of life.

As soon as he died, Duṣpaṇya attained the state of a piśāca.

Afflicted by hunger and thirst, he took refuge in an impassable forest,

crying out terrifyingly during the dreadful hot seasons.

He stayed in the dense wilderness, experiencing many sorrows,

for tens of millions of thousands of kalpas, and hundreds of tens of millions of kalpas.

That piśāca lived in the dreadful forest, suffering great misery,

running from one forest to another, and likewise from country to country.

Experiencing sorrow everywhere, he eventually came to the Daṇḍaka forest.

Wandering not far from the sacred hermitage of Agastya,

roaring a terrifying roar, he spoke aloud these words:

"O ascetics, listen all of you to my words!

For you are compassionate and devoted to the welfare of all beings;

look upon me with a gaze of compassion and favor me, who am exceedingly afflicted by sorrows!