Story of the faithless wife who was present at her own Śráddha.
There was once a foolish man, and he had an unchaste wife. Once on a time, when her husband had gone away for some business to another country, she placed in charge of the house a confidential servant of hers, a truly unique maid, after giving her instructions as to what she was to do, and went away alone to the house of her paramour, intent on enjoying herself without being interfered with. When the lady’s husband returned, the maid, who had been well schooled beforehand, said with a voice choked with tears: “Your wife is dead and burnt.” She then took him to the burning-ghaut, and shewed him the bones belonging to the pyre of some other person; the fool brought them home with tears, and after bathing at the sacred bathing-places, and strewing her bones there, he proceeded to perform her śráddha. And he made his wife’s paramour the officiating Bráhman at the ceremony, as the maid brought him, saying that he was an excellent Bráhman. And every month his wife came with that Bráhman, splendidly dressed, and ate the sweetmeats. And then the maid said to him, “See, master, by virtue of her chastity your wife is enabled to return from the other world, and eat with the Bráhman.” And the matchless fool believed most implicitly what she said.
“In this way people of simple dispositions are easily imposed upon by wicked women. You have heard about the simpleton and the bones; now hear the story of the Chaṇḍála maiden.”