Once upon a time, there lived a brahmin named Śivasvāmī in a place called Avantī. He was the son of a person named Dharmasvāmī. Śivasvāmī was very pious and always indulged in righteous deeds. After his father Dharmasvāmī passed away, he decided to go on a pilgrimage. After visiting holy shrines in the Himālayas, Mandara etc and taking holy dip in the Ganga and other rivers, he completed his pilgrimage by visiting the hermitage of Nara and Nārāyaṇa in Gaṅgādvāra and by paying respects to the holy seers in that place.
Having reached near his native city Avantī, thinking about the transiency of the materialistic world and danger of getting caught in the bondage of relatives, Śivasvāmī did not want to go to Avantī once again. Then, he decided to visit the holy shrines situated in the southern part of Vindhya. He saw various towns and villages and entered the forest of Vindhya, which was the refuge of many wild animals, ghosts and demons. The earth was very dry and consisted of many thorny trees. Forest-fire was burning with tall flames.
It was mid-after-noon. Śivasvāmī became very tired due to hunger and thirst. There he saw the accumulation of human-bones. He repented of having come to the jungle and was clueless regarding the way to exit as there was no one to be seen. At that point of time, he saw five departed spirits before him. Trembled by the thought of being consumed by the spirits, meditating upon Lord Śiva, Śivasvāmī asked them “Who are you all? What are you doing here in the deserted jungle?” The spirits replied “We have come to eat you. Before you die, think about the one who is very dear to you”.
In reply, Śivasvāmī described about the greatness of Lord Śiva who is capable of destroying the miseries of old age and death and liberating the one who worships him with devotion from the clutches of birth and death. Immediately, the spirits ran towards him with their widely opened mouth to swallow. The mild touch of Śivasvāmī was felt by the spirts like a burning charcoal. Taken aback by the splendour of Śivasvāmī, which was similar to the effulgence of fire, the spirits asked about him. Śivasvāmī told them about himself briefly and expressed his desire to know about them.
The spirits started introducing themselves one by one. The first one said “My name is Sthūlaśarīra (one who is obese). I indulged in stealing the wealth of brahmins, women, children, elderly people and Gods, as the result of which I attained this miserable state.
The second one said “My name is Pīnameḍhra (One with large male organ). I was sexually involved with many women, as the result of which I attained this state. My body is filled with the discharge of pus, I am being bitten by the insects and feel burning sensation severely”.
The third one said “My name is Pūtivaktra (One with the foul smell in the mouth). I committed the sin of telling lies very often and speaking ill of others. Because of that sin, pus along with blood flow from my mouth. My tongue is bitten by the insects and feels like being burnt by the fire.
The fourth one said “My name is Kṛśaśarīra (One who is puny). I tortured my family besides being wealthy. I did not observe any ritual related to God and the ancestors. I, being greedy, neither donated anything and nor spent for myself. My present condition is because of that sin committed by me”.
The fifth one said “My name is Dīrghajihva (One with the long tongue). I was an atheist and an ungrateful person. I used to speak ill of Vedic scriptures, Gods and brahmins and tried to corrupt the minds of people. My current status is due to that sin only.
Having heard all of them, Śivasvāmī thought about the dreadful consequences of the bad deeds and said “Either grant me permission to leave or eat me”. Expressing their inability to eat him, the spirits granted Śivasvāmī permission to leave. Before granting permission, they requested him to liberate them from the terrible state of wandering ghosts.
On being asked about the mode of liberation, the spirits told about a holy place called Daṇḍakāraṇya in the southern part of Vindhya, where lies the holy river called Viraja. They requested to him to offer libations for them there in that holy river. Having said thus, all of them disappeared from that place.
On the auspicious day of Māghakṛṣṇacaturdaśī (January-February, fourteenth day of the dark half of lunar month), Śivasvāmī reached the holy river Viraja, took a holy dip, observed the vow of Śivarātri by being awake throughout the night and offered libations remembering his own ancestors and the five spirits. At that very moment, all the five spirits got liberated from the miserable state and expressed their gratitude to Śivasvāmī by saying that one who uplifts a person undergoing miseries in the hell and the suffering sinners by preaching about the righteous way of living, gets the noble fruit which is more than that of performing Aśvamedhayāga (Horse-sacrifice.
Then the liberated spirits proceeded to heavenly abode and Śivasvāmī reached his abode after visiting many holy shrines.
Moral of the story: One should lead the life in a righteous manner, as the righteousness bestows on a person with the best things in the life.