Skandapurana 3.1.9

Then at dawn that brahmin, afflicted by grief for his son,

lamented together with Aśokadatta and his wife.

Seeing Govindasvāmin lamenting, O brahmins,

a merchant named Samudradatta brought him to his own home.

Having brought him and consoled him, the excellent merchant, filled with compassion,

appointed him protector of all his wealth.

Remembering the words of the great ascetic and longing to see his son,

he remained in the merchant's home together with his son and his wife.

Now the second son of the brahmin, named Aśokadatta,

became exceedingly skilled both in weapons and in the sacred sciences.

In other branches of knowledge as well, there was no one on earth equal to him;

having completed his education, the brahmin's son became famous in the city.

Meanwhile, to the king named Pratāpamukuṭa,

there came a certain powerful wrestler, the ruler of the Kāśī country.

King Pratāpamukuṭa, in order to defeat that wrestler,

summoned that powerful brahmin's son through his servants.

Seeing him arrive, Pratāpamukuṭa said:

“Aśokadatta, quickly, this wrestler of fierce might,

who is difficult to conquer, slay him in combat! You indeed are the best of the strong.

When this lord of great southern wrestlers is conquered by you,

whatever is desired by you, all that I will give; there is no doubt.”

Hearing his words, the strong son of the brahmin

struck the ruler and great southern wrestler.

Struck by the strong son of the brahmin, that powerful wrestler,

with his eyes rolling instantly, fell lifeless to the ground.

Seeing that deed of the brahmin's son, very difficult even for gods to perform,

Pratāpamukuṭa became delighted in heart.

Having bestowed much wealth and villages, he kept him near himself then.

Once, O great king, together with that son of the brahmin,

he rode on horseback in a solitary region at twilight.

Accompanied by his friend, the son of the brahmin, he then heard a plaintive voice:

“O King, though my offense was slight, repeatedly instigated by enemies,

I was impaled on a stake by the pitiless warden of the rod.

Today is the fourth day that I am living upon the stake.

The vital breaths do not depart easily from doers of evil deeds.

Thirst torments me severely; relieve it, O king!”

Hearing this pitiful speech, the king spoke to the son of the brahmin,

the steadfast one named Aśokadatta:

“To this innocent living being fixed upon a stake,

afflicted by thirst, water must be given by you, O son of a brahmin.”

Thus commanded by the lord of men, the brahmin's son quickly

took a jar filled with water and swiftly went forth.

Reaching that cremation ground crowded with bhūtas and vetālas,

Eager to give water to the man impaled on the stake,

he then saw a woman standing there, endowed with fresh youth.

The twice-born looked upon her of great radiance, as if Rati incarnate.

Seeing her, the resolute son of a twice-born said to her:

“Who are you, good lady of shapely hips, standing in the deserted cremation ground?

Why are you standing beneath this man impaled on the stake?”

Hearing his words, the lovely-faced woman said:

“This man, my beloved, was impaled on the stake by the king.

Look, like a miser with his wealth, he does not give up his breath of life.

I stand here to follow him who is close to death.

Thirsty, he begs me for water, suffering again and again.

Impaled on the stake, his neck craned upward, my lord of life is about to die.

Standing below, I am unable to make him drink water.”

Aśokadatta, an ocean of compassion, hearing that,

then spoke words suited to the moment to that woman:

Aśokadatta said:

“Mother, climb upon my shoulders and give him cool water.”

Saying to him, “So be it,” the young woman, filled with haste,

climbed with her feet onto the shoulders of him who had bent his body down.

Then the son of the twice-born saw fresh blood falling.

“What is this?” he thought, and suddenly raising his face, he looked.

Realizing that he [the impaled man] was being devoured by her, the son of the twice-born,

Aśokadatta, seized her foot along with the anklet.

She then fled into the sky, leaving behind that anklet set with jewels.

Taking that anklet inlaid with many rich jewels,

Aśokadatta went from that cremation ground into the presence of the king.

Reporting that entire occurrence in the cremation ground to the king,

he then gave him the anklet inlaid with priceless jewels.

Recognizing that heroic deed, very difficult for other heroes to accomplish,

the lord of the earth gave him his daughter named Madanalekhā.

Then one day, beholding that divine anklet, the king

reflected earnestly: “Where indeed might a second anklet

equal to this excellent anklet be obtained?”

Aśokadatta, understanding the king's desire at that time,

thought in his mind to obtain the other anklet:

“Since this anklet was obtained by me in the cremation ground in the past,

where shall I now see her to obtain the other anklet?”

Reflecting thus in many ways, the highly intelligent man resolved:

“I will go to the cremation ground and sell human flesh.

There, when the rākṣasas, vetālas, piśācas, and others are summoned from all sides

by mantras, that rākṣasī too will come.

Seizing her by force when she has come, I will take that anklet from her.

Whether a thousand rākṣasas, or ten thousand piśācas,

or ten million vetālas—they are nothing to me, who am strong.”

Having so resolved in mind, he immediately went to the cremation ground,

selling human flesh and summoning the rākṣasas with mantras.

He walked about, making the directions resound with a loud voice: “Take!”

“Human flesh is being sold! Take it, take it!”

There, rākṣasas, vetālas, skeletons, and piśācas,

and other hordes of bhūtas assembled, exceedingly delighted,

[saying]: “We shall all eat this most beloved flesh!”

While all of them were arriving there, surrounded by rākṣasa maidens,

that rākṣasī also arrived, eager to eat flesh.

Searching then, the brahmin looked closely and saw that rākṣasī.

He recognized her, thinking: “She is the one seen previously.”

The twice-born's son said to her: “Give me the other anklet!”

Hearing his words, pleased, she then said:

“It was indeed my anklet, O best of heroes, that you took in the past.

Take the second anklet as well, gleaming with jewels.”

Having said this, she gave him the anklet and her beloved daughter.

Receiving his beloved, named Vidyutprabhā, who was then given by Vidyutkeśī,

the brahmin was delighted, having obtained her endowed with beauty and youth.

Moreover, Vidyutkeśī gave a golden lotus to her son-in-law.

Having obtained Vidyutprabhā, the anklet, and also the golden lotus,

he bid farewell to his mother-in-law and quickly went back to the king's presence.

Then Pratāpamukuṭa, gladdened by receiving the anklet,

praised the brahmin's son who was endowed with valor and fortitude.

Then the brahmin said in private to his beloved Vidyutprabhā:

"O dear one, from where did your mother obtain this golden lotus,

from where I too may obtain others like it, O fair-faced one?"

Then Vidyutprabhā spoke in secret to her husband, the brahmin's son:

"O lord, of the vetāla-king named Kapālavisphoṭa,

there is a divine lake adorned with golden lotuses.

This was brought by your mother-in-law while disporting in the water."

Hearing this speech, he said, "Take me there."

Then she quickly led the brahmin to that golden lake.

Then, desiring to take the golden lotuses, the brahmin's son

slew all who obstructed him there, the vetālas and others.

He himself saw Kapālavisphoṭa, whose entire army had been slain,

the lord of the vetālas, and set about to kill him.

Meanwhile, the mighty Vidyādhara lord named Vijñaptikautuka,

arriving by aerial chariot, said to him:

"O best of brahmins, Aśokadatta! Do not commit this rash act!"

Hearing that, the brahmin's son [looked up and] saw stationed in an excellent aerial chariot

the lord of Vidyādharas in the sky, endowed with radiant splendor.

By merely the sight of him, the brahmin's son was released from the curse;

abandoning his human form, he obtained a divine form.

To him, mounted on an excellent aerial chariot and adorned with divine ornaments,

to that Sukarṇa freed from the curse, Vijñaptikautuka spoke:

"O Sukarṇa, this brother of yours, by the curse of the great sage Gālava,

became a vetāla, guilty of touching his daughter.

And you were cursed formerly by him for having approved of that sin.

For you, whose sin was minor, this curse had as its end the darśana of me;

it was fixed by that muni, but no end to his curse was ordained.

Therefore come, you are freed from the curse, Sukarṇa; ascend to heaven."

Then Sukarṇa said to that lord of the Vidyādhara race:

"O lord of Vidyādharas, now without my elder brother

I have no desire at all to go to heaven endowed with all enjoyments.

Tell me how an end to my brother's curse may come about."

Then Vijñaptikautuka of great splendor spoke to him:

"Who else indeed could ward off this difficult-to-avert curse?

Nevertheless, I will tell you something most secret now.

It was told formerly by Brahmā to sages such as Sanaka:

On the holy shore of the southern ocean, the refuge of all sacred fords,

near Cakratīrtha, there is a most great sacred ford,

by the mere darśana of which multitudes of great sins

are destroyed in that very instant; I know not the fruit born of ritual ablution [there].

If your elder brother, going there, should bathe in that most great [tīrtha],

then he would certainly abandon the state of a vetāla born of Gālava's curse."

Hearing his speech, Sukarṇa, accompanied by his brother

in the form of a vetāla, quickly went to the shore of the southern ocean.

South of the one called Cakratīrtha and north of Gandhamādana,

he arrived at the sacred ford described by Brahmā to Sanaka and the others.

Reaching the bank of that sacred ford, he said this to his brother:

"O brother, for the cessation of this terrible curse of Gālava,

bathe without delay in this sacred ford, the highest and best of all sacred fords."

At that moment, O brahmins, spray from that sacred ford,

carried along by the wind, fell upon his limbs.

From the contact with that spray, abandoning the state of a vetāla then,

he attained that very same human nature, the state of being a brahmin's son.

Then, having made his resolve at once in that best of the best of sacred fords,

the brahmin's son plunged in so as to be freed from human existence.

Even as he was rising, he immediately attained a celestial form;

he mounted an excellent aerial chariot, surrounded by celestial women.

Adorned with every ornament, Sudarśana, together with his brother,

praising that sacred ford and bowing down repeatedly,

and showing wonderful gratitude, went to heaven.

From that time forth, that sacred ford has been called Vetālavarada,

because his ghoul-state was destroyed merely by the contact of its spray.

Whoever, having reached this sacred ford to the south of Cakratīrtha,

takes a ritual bath at any time, becomes liberated while living.

Merit equal to this sacred ford has never been nor ever will be,

since, shedding his terrifying ghoul-state, he attained divinity.

Having made a resolve here and bathed in the auspicious Vetālavarada,

one should indeed offer funeral cakes to the ancestors, observing the vows.

Thus has the majesty of that sacred ford been told to you, O brahmins,

and how its name Vetālavarada came about.

Whoever recites this chapter, or hears it, is liberated.

Thus ends the ninth chapter, titled 'Release from the Curse of Sudarśana and Sukarṇa' in praise of the Vetālavarada sacred ford, in the Setumāhātmya of the third section, Brahmakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].