Wife becomes ghost, obtains liberation:
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RaghunAtha welcomed SudhIndra tIrtha and VenkatanAtha into the court with utmost devotion and respect. The ordination took place on durmati nAma samvatsara Phalguna Shukla dvitiya (the second day of the bright half of PAlguNa mAsa in the Hindu year durmati), corresponding to 1621 AD. Sudhindra tIrtha initiated VenkatanAtha into sanyAsa and gave him the Ashrama nAma of Raghavendra. This name had been indicated to him by Moola Rama devaru in a dream. The assembled group of scholars, courtiers, chieftains, pundits and the King went into raptures seeing this divine ceremony. They were indeed blessed to have personally witnessed the initiation this great saint.
Saraswathi could not bear the pangs of separation from her husband. Every living moment was a torture for her because she could not take a breath without remembering her husband. Even though she had been taught all the shAstras by her husband and knew that suicide was a very great sin, she preferred the torture of hell to the anguish of separation. She jumped into a well and committed suicide. Because of the grave nature of her sin, she became a ghost. Even as a ghost, her only desire was to see her husband, so she went to the maTha.
With his divine perception, RAyaru sensed saraswati’s presence, even though she was a ghost not visible to human eyes. His heart full of mercy, he sprinkled water from his kamanDala on her. The power of his penance was such that her prArabda karma ended and she became eligible for moksha or liberation from the cycle of births and deaths. This was her reward for a lifetime of dedicated and selfless service to a noble soul. A meritorious tradition is practiced in orthodox homes even to this day, i.e., during auspicious functions, married ladies are specially honored. This is basically to honor Saraswathi’s memory and her great sacrifice.