Skandapurana 5.183

Sūta said:
When the third day arrived, on the thirteenth lunar day, O best of brahmins,
the sacrificial priests, undertaking the morning pressing of soma, all of them
engaged in their respective duties pertaining to the sacrificial acts.

Then proceeded that great sacrifice of the Grandfather,
rich in fulfilling all desires, accompanied by all excellences.

“Let it be given! Let it be given! Eat! Eat!”—
this one sound was heard there; the second was the sound made by brahmins;

there was no third [sound] in that auspicious sacrifice of the Grandfather.
Whatever desire one cherished, consisting of gold or gems,

one obtained it without a doubt, fourfold what was wished for.
Auspicious mountains made of cooked food were seen there,

and great rivers of ghee and milk, and heaps of wealth for donation.
At that moment, O best of brahmins, a certain wise man arrived,

who always knew the past, the future, and the present.
Having bowed to Brahmā, he sat down before him.

During intervals between the rituals of the brahmins, O best of brahmins,
he recounted everything that had happened [to each of them] from childhood onwards.

Then all those sacrificial priests, their minds filled with wonder,
and their eyes wide with amazement, questioned that wise man.

Remembering their own forgotten deeds,
innumerable and blameworthy in all respects, which he had spoken of,

they then questioned that wise man again:
“How did this extraordinary knowledge come to reside in you, O brahmin?

Who is your guru? Tell us, for our curiosity is immense.
Ah, what knowledge! Ah, what knowledge! We have neither seen nor heard of such [knowledge],

such as is seen dwelling in you, O best of brahmins, on this earth.
Were you thus awakened by Brahmā himself, O brahmin,

or by pleased Hara, or by the discus-bearing God [Viṣṇu]?
Certainly, such knowledge cannot arise in one awakened by anyone else.”

The guest said:
“Piṅgalā, the osprey, the snake, the bee that wanders in the forest,
the arrow-maker, and the maiden: these six are my gurus.

Observing their behavior, knowledge arose in me.”

The brahmins said:
“Tell us, O fortunate one, how they became your gurus,
and what conduct of theirs was observed by you?

In which country were you born? In what place? Tell us.
What is your name? What is your lineage? Tell us everything in detail.”

The guest said:
“In the city of Navapura, there were four brahmins who had been banished:
Śunaḥśepa, Śākreya, Bauddha, and Dānta was the fourth.

Among them, he who was Bauddha was known as calm and self-restrained,
famous in the Chandoga gotra, a master of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas,

born among the Nāgaras, and in the last stage of life.
I was his first son, dearer to him than his own life-breaths.

Then, when I attained youth, O best among the foremost brahmins,
my beloved father departed this life.

At that juncture, the king, the ruler of Ānarta, O brahmins,
[named] Sutapas, appointed me to the office of the chamberlain.

Seeing me calm and self-controlled, that noble one trusted me.
And in his inner apartment there was a courtesan named Piṅgalā,

beset with misfortune, yet endowed with beauty.
Now, hundreds of his other wives stayed in the inner apartment;

they all fell into agitation at nightfall,
bringing excellent perfumes, incenses, and flowers,

and before [him] prominent, fragrant ointments,
and multicolored blossoms, while others brought fine garments,

until the time for bed arrived,
filled with the excitement of desire and bristling with goosebumps.

One thinks, ‘Surely he will summon me who am asleep!’
Another thinks, ‘He will summon me!’—out of mutual jealousy,

they rival, fight, and speak unpleasant words.
Then, from among them, one goes into the king's presence.

The rest, failing to reach the mark, sighed and fell asleep; / afflicted with sorrow, they did not find sleep because of their humiliation.

With limbs tormented by desire, they remained with eyes filled with tears.

For expectation is supreme suffering, and freedom from expectation is supreme happiness. / Having turned expectation into freedom from expectation, Piṅgalā sleeps happily.

She makes no adornment, nor ever any rivalry; / she underwent no distress: Piṅgalā sleeps happily.

Then, having seen that excellent conduct of hers, / I too abandoned all expectations, and therefore sleep here happily.

For those who sleep happily at night, their bodily fire is kindled. / Then it receives food that gives the highest nourishment.

That became the cause for the increase of my vigor. / Therefore, O best of brahmins, Piṅgalā became a guru to me.

Afflicted men whose limbs are bound by the snares of expectation / do not sleep at night, worrying over failing to attain it.

And their gastric fire does not burn beyond that; / they have no appetite for food, and thus there is no increase of vigor.

Everything has a limit, but desire has none whatever.

In whatever manner the attainment of the desired thing happens for men here, / in that very manner it grows, like fire fed with clarified butter.

Just as the horn of a ruru deer grows on its growing body, / so also thirst [of desire] grows with growing exertion.

Knowing thus, O fortunate one, by a discerning man / that deed must be done by day whereby he may sleep happily at night.

Thus ends the one hundred and eighty-fourth chapter, titled 'The Description of the Story of Piṅgalā on the Third Day of the Brahmayajña,' in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara Sacred Field, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [section], in the Mahāpurāṇa of Skanda, consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.