Skandapurana 14.7

Pulastya said: / Then one should go, O best of kings, to the most sacred Acaleśvara, / by seeing whom a person endowed with faith attains perfection.

A man who performs a śrāddha there on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, / either in Āśvina or in Phālguna, attains the supreme destination.

One who worships with devotion while facing the southern direction, / with flowers, leaves, and fruits, obtains the fruit of a horse sacrifice.

A man who performs a propitiation there with the five nectars, / he too attains presence with the god and the realm of Śiva.

A man who bows down to him at the end of circumambulation— / all his sins are destroyed with every step of the circumambulation.

A wonder occurred there in the past; hear it in truth, O wise one, / as it was previously heard by me in heaven from Nārada, in the presence of Śakra.

In ancient times a parrot, a bird, built a nest there in a tree. / By going and coming from the nest, he performed circumambulation around him.

It was not out of devotion, O great king, since he was born from the womb of a bird. / Then, after a long time, that parrot met his death.

He was born in a royal lineage as a king known as Veṇu, / remembering his previous births, O great king, a destroyer of all enemies.

Remembering indeed the power arising from circumambulation, / he approached Acaleśvara and then performed circumambulation.

Day and night, O great king, he did nothing else at all; / he made no effort for austerity in that way, nor for food offerings by any means,

nor for flowers and the offering of incense; he was always devoted solely to circumambulation. / Then, after some time, sages arrived there:

Nārada, Śaunaka, Hārīta, Devala, / Gālava, Kapila, Nanda, Suhotra, and the king Kaśyapa.

These and many others devoted to divine vows [arrived]. / Some performed the ablution of that liṅga with devotion;

others performed various kinds of worship; others, concentrated, recited prayers; / some danced, O lord of kings, and others likewise sang;

others offered oblations, and others offered hymns of praise. / Then, seeing the extraordinary wonder of the king devoted to circumambulation,

struck with extreme curiosity, they spoke this word, / wishing to know the reason born of circumambulation.

The seers said: / Why, O best of kings, are you constantly devoted to circumambulation / of this god especially? You ought to tell us the truth.

You do not offer abundant, captivating water on the liṅga, / nor flowers, incense, and the like, nor various hymns of praise.

"You are capable of other gifts as well, O lord of the earth. / You ought to tell us truly the reason for this whole wonder."

Veṇu said: / "Listen, O best among the twice-born, to what I shall declare: / what occurred in a previous body, all entirely true.

"Formerly, in this temple, I lived as a bird, a parrot; / and then I performed circumambulation around the deity day and night.

"By his grace and by the power thereof, I was born with memory of past lives; / that I now perform circumambulation with supreme devotion—

"I know not what fruit awaits me today through the favor of this god. / For this reason, O sirs, I do nothing else."

Pulastya said: / Then, having heard the words of Veṇu, the sages of celebrated vows, / their eyes wide with wonder, said, "Well done! Well done!"

Then all the great seers there became devoted to circumambulation; / all the sages were filled with supreme faith.

And that noble king, Veṇu, by the favor of Śambhu, / attained the eternal abode, difficult to attain even for the gods.

Thus ends the seventh chapter, named 'Description of the Power of Acaleśvara', in the third [part], the Arbudakhaṇḍa, of the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].