The Vetala told King Vikrama"

 

On the banks of River Yamuna, there is a city called Dharmasthalam (धर्मस्थलम्). A Vedic Brahmana named Agniswami (अग्निस्वामी) lived there with his daughter Mandaravati (मन्दारवती). 

 

One day, three Brahmanas came to their house seeking Mandaravati's hand in marriage. The Vedic Brahmana was pleased with all three of them, but left the choice to Mandaravati. 

 

Mandaravati replied, "By choosing one of them, I don"t want to offend the other two. Please give me some time to make my decision."

 

Days passed while Mandaravati pondered. The three Brahmanas lived in the same house awaiting her decision. In that time, they grew very fond of her. Each of them wished to marry Mandaravati. 

 

One day, Mandaravati was struck by a severe illness. And she died. The three Brahmanas were heartbroken. They took her body to a nearby cremation ground and burnt it. One of the Brahamanas made a hut in the cremation ground and stayed with her ashes. Another Brahmana took Mandaravati's bones to deposit them in the holy waters of River Ganga. The third Brahamana was depressed and became a wandering mendicant. As he travelled aimlessly he came to the town of Vajralokam (वज्रलोकम्). There, he stayed as a guest in someone's house. 

 

The householder greeted his guest respectfully and asked his wife to serve him food. As the wife was serving food to the mendicant, the householder's baby started crying. The householder's wife tried to pacify her son, but the crying did not stop. It grew louder and louder. The mother grew impatient. She grew angry. She took the baby in her arms and threw him into a blazing fire. Within moments, the baby was reduced to ashes. 

 

The householder turned to the mendicant and said, "Dear Sir! Why have you stopped eating? Please eat."

 

The mendicant replied in shock, "Are you crazy? How can I eat? I just witnessed the horrible killing of a baby by your wife."

 

The householder smiled and said, "Let me show you something." He got up from his seat and retrieved a book from the shelf. Then, he read a few Mantras from the book and sprinkled some water on the ashes of his dead son. Immediately, the ashes formed themselves into a child's body and came back to life. The mother picked up her son and hugged him. The mendicant was astonished.

 

The householder told the mendicant, "I am a master of Mritasanjivani (मृतसञ्जीवनी) – the art of bringing back the dead to life. This book contains the Mantras. 

 

The mendicant was awestruck. He finished his dinner and stayed in the same house for the night. Once the householder and his wife had gone to sleep, the mendicant retrieved the sacred book from the shelf and escaped. 

 

As he left the town, he met the second Brahmana who had gone away with Mandaravati's bones. Together they went to the cremation ground and met the third Brahmana. The mendicant quickly opened the book and read out the Mantras. Then, he sprinkled water on Mandaravati's ashes. Immediately, Mandaravati came back to life. The other two Brahmanas were astonished. 

 

The third Brahmana who had turned into a mendicant exclaimed, "I will marry her now."

 

"No you won"t", said the second Brahmana. "I will marry her."

 

The Brahmana who stayed in the cremation ground interrupted, "Of course not. I will marry her."

 

The three of them argued by making their cases. 

 

"I gave her life."

 

"I went away to ensure she got to heaven."

 

"I stayed by her ashes."

 

The Vetala finished the story and questioned Vikrama, "O King! Tell me! Which of the three should marry Mandaravati? Who is truly deserving of her? If you know the answer and yet remain silent, your head will burst into a thousand pieces. But if you speak, I will at once return to the tree."

 

Vikrama came out with the answer, "Of course, it is the Brahmana who stayed in the cremation ground with her ashes that should marry her."

 

The Vetala asked, "Why him? He's the one who did nothing. One of them made the journey to Ganga in the hopes of taking her to heaven. The other gave back her very life. What did this fellow do?"

 

Vikrama replied, "The one who wanted to drown her bones in the Ganga had good intentions. That is an act of a son. He who gave her life back became her father by such an act. To lie down beside his beloved night after night even after she had turned to ashes – to never forsake her under any circumstances – is the true act of a husband. Thus, the Brahmana who stayed back deserves to marry her."

 

As soon as Vikrama told the answer, the Vetala flew back to the Shimshapa tree in the cremation ground. Vikrama ran back, sword in hand and found the Vetala hanging from the tree as before. Once more, he wrestled with the Vetala, threw him on his shoulder and started walking. 

 

The Vetala told the king, "It is wonderful, O King, that you are not tired of this going back and forth all night. So I will tell you another story to entertain you. Listen."

 

And the Vetala started narrating the third story.