Skandapurana 3.3.23.16

3.3.23.16

15 atha bhasmamāhātmyavarṇanam tatprasaṅgena vāmadevākhyaśivayogino vṛttāntavarṇanam, tatraikadā krauñcāraṇye vicaraṃtaṃ taṃ vāmadevaśivayoginaṃ prati bhakṣituṃ samāgacchatā brahmarākṣasena nijadorbhyāṃ dṛḍhanipīḍane kṛte tadaṃgasparśamātrādeva tasya sadyo vidhva- stakalmaṣatāprāptiḥ, tato nijapūrvaduṣkarmasmaraṇena nirviṇṇamānasena tena brahmarākṣa- sena vāmadevaśivayoginaṃ prati nijapūrvapañcaviṃśatitamajanmācaritaduṣkarmatatpari- pākayāmyayātanābrahmarākṣasatvaprāptyādivarṇanam, tataśca vāmadevaṃ prati 'tvaddeha- sparśamātreṇa me pūrvasahasrajanmasmṛtijātāsti, mama cittaṃ ca suprasannaṃ vartate'ta etādṛśaḥ prabhāvastvayā kathaṃ labdhaḥ' iti praśne kṛte vāmadevaśivayoginā nijadeha- liptasya bhasmano'yaṃ prabhāva iti kathayitvā bhasmasāmarthyavarṇanam, tatprasaṃgena ca draviḍadeśasthadurācāravartibrāhmaṇasya pretopari bhasmaliptapādasya śunoṃ'ghrilagnabhasma- sparśanamātreṇa tasya brāhmaṇasya śivalokāvāptivṛttāntavarṇanam, itthaṃ vāmadevoktaṃ
bhasmamāhātmyaṃ śrutvā brahmarākṣasena punarvistareṇa bhasmamāhātmyaṃ śrotuṃ vāmadevaṃ
prati praśnakaraṇam..... - ...... .... - - 201 2

15. Now begins the description of the greatness of holy ash, and in that connection, the story of the Śiva-yogin named Vāmadeva. There, when that Śiva-yogin Vāmadeva was once roaming in the Krauñca forest, a brahmarākṣasa who came to devour him gripped him firmly with both arms; by the mere touch of his body, the [demon's] sins were instantly destroyed. Then, his mind filled with despondency at the memory of his past misdeeds, the brahmarākṣasa related to the Śiva-yogin Vāmadeva his evil deeds committed in his twenty-fifth past life, their fruition in the tortures of Yama, his attainment of the state of a brahmarākṣasa, and so forth. And then he asked Vāmadeva: 'By the mere touch of your body, memory of my past thousand births has arisen, and my mind has become exceedingly serene; so how did you attain such power?' Being thus questioned, the Śiva-yogin Vāmadeva stated, 'This is the power of the holy ash smeared on my body,' and described the efficacy of holy ash; and in that connection he related the story of how an ill-behaved brahmin residing in the Draviḍa country attained the world of Śiva by the mere touch of holy ash adhering to the foot of a dog whose paws were smeared with holy ash upon his corpse. Having thus heard the greatness of holy ash spoken by Vāmadeva, the brahmarākṣasa questioned Vāmadeva again in order to hear the greatness of holy ash in detail. [201.2]