Tumburu Gandharva is an expert musician and excels in playing on the vina. There is a classic story of Tumburu Gandharva reciting Shiva Purana. Once, Goddess Parvati sent for Tumburu and asked him to accompany Cancuta, a chaperon of Goddess Parvati, to the Vindhya Mountains, where Cancuta’s husband was roaming in the form of a terrible ghost due to his many misdeeds.
Goddess Parvati asked Tumburu to recite the sanctifying story of Shiva Purana in front of the terrible ghost so that it would be purged of all this sins and would cease to be a ghost.
Accordingly, Tumburu enthusiastically took up the assignment and went to the Vindhyas. Many divine sages also rushed there to listen to the recital of Shiva Purana by Tumburu. The latter recited the entire Purana, consisting of seven compendia together with the mahatmya.
After listening to the Shiva Purana, the ghost cast off its terrible form, assumed a divine form and went to Kailash Mountain accompanied by Tumburu and performed the worship of Shiva and Goddess Parvati.