翻譯名義集 3.264

3.264

[Sarpauṣadhi]: The Xiyu ji says: 'In the language of Tang, it is called snake medicine. In the past, when the Buddha was Śakra, there occurred a year of famine and widespread pestilence. Medical treatments had no effect, and corpses of those starved to death followed one upon another along the roads. Śakra took pity and considered how to rescue them; he then transformed his body into that of a great python, its dead carcass lying in the river valleys without decaying, and proclaimed this throughout the air. Those who heard it rejoiced with gratitude and rushed there together; as they cut off pieces, the flesh grew back immediately, curing their hunger and healing their disease.'