Skandapurana 2.7.21

"The story of Vālmīki's previous birth.
Śrutadeva said:
'Then Śaṅkha, accompanied by the hunter, became astonished
and said to him: "Who are you, and whence comes this condition of yours? 1
Or by what deed, gentle one, has your mind become bearer of good fortune?
How did your liberation come about suddenly? Tell this in detail." 2
Being then asked thus by Śaṅkha, falling like a stick upon the earth,
bowed in modesty, he spoke this word with joined palms: 3
"Formerly I was a certain talkative twice-born in Prayāga,
endowed with beauty and youth, very arrogant with the pride of learning, 4
rich in wealth, rich in many sons, constantly corrupted by egotism,
the son of the sage Kusīda, Rocana by name. 5
Sitting, lying down, sleeping, intercourse, playing dice,
gossip of the world, or usury—those were my occupations. 6
Fearing the censure of people, I always performed only superficial actions
with hypocrisy, and never had any faith. 7
Some time passed for me, wicked and of corrupt intellect.
Then, in this month of Vaiśākha, a certain twice-born named Jayanta 8
caused the virtues of that month, dear to the devotees of the Lord,
to be heard by the twice-born residents of that holy field, performers of meritorious deeds. 9
Women, men, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras in the thousands,
having bathed in the morning and fully worshipped the imperishable Madhusūdana..." 2.7.21.10

continually listened to the narrative recited by Jayanta,
having become pure and observing silence, devoted to the stories of Vāsudeva, (11)
intent on the duties of Vaiśākha, free from hypocrisy and indolence.
And I entered that assembly out of curiosity and from a desire to see. (12)
With my head covered with a turban, I did not even offer a greeting;
and having betel in my mouth, I wore a tunic. (13)
I caused distraction from the narration by amusing [them] with idle worldly talk;
there arose agitation in the minds of everyone on account of that gossip. (14)
Stretching out my garment in one place, censuring someone in another, laughing elsewhere,
in this manner time was spent by me until the story came to an end. (15)

Afterwards, by that very fault, my intellect ruined and short-lived, / I met death from high fever on the very next day.
Reaching the hell named Halāhala, filled with waters of molten lead, / and suffering torment for fourteen Manvantaras,
and then in eighty-four lakhs / of wombs in succession, I was born; and now I was dwelling in a tree
ten yojanas wide and a hundred yojanas high, / a cruel, dark serpent in a hollow of seven yojanas.
Having become that, I have lived there, O brahmin seer, afflicted by former karma; / ten thousand years have passed as I remained fasting in the tree-hollow.
By fortune, having heard with both eyes from the lotus of your mouth the nectar of the narrative, / my misfortune was instantly destroyed, O sage.
Casting off the serpent-birth, I have become a man bearing a divine form; / folding my hands in reverence and bowing, I have taken refuge at your feet.
I do not know in which lifetime you were my relative, O best of sages. / I never rendered you any service; whence this compassion of the virtuous?
The nature of virtuous people, whose minds are impartial and who always have pity for living beings, / is doing good to others, and their thought is never otherwise.
Bless me today so that my mind may dwell on righteousness, / and that forgetfulness of Lord Viṣṇu, the wielder of the discus, may never occur anywhere.
May there always be fellowship with the great who act virtuously! / Poverty alone can be the supreme collyrium for one blinded by pride.'
Having praised him in many ways thus, and bowing again and again, / he stood quietly before him with folded hands, bowing down.
Śaṅkha, raising him with his arms, overflowing with complete love, / touched his body with his hand, most auspicious and dispelling weariness.
He bestowed grace on that brahmin who possessed a divine form, / and filled with compassion, he directly told him the future events:
'O brahmin, from hearing the māhātmya of the month and from hearing the māhātmya / of Hari, all your bonds have been instantly shattered.
Having cast off your stain and going again to the earth in due course, / you will become an excellent brahmin in the uneven, sacred Daśārṇa country.

Renowned by the name Vedaśarman, expert in all the Vedas, / you will have the continuous, auspicious memory of your past births there.
Thus bound to remembrance, having abandoned all desires, auspicious, / you will perform all the religious duties enjoined in Vaiśākha, dear to Hari.
Free from dualities, without longing, unattached, devoted to the guru, having conquered the senses, / always conversing on the narratives of Viṣṇu, you will be in that birth.
Then, having attained perfection and all bonds being shattered, / you will reach the supreme abode, difficult to attain even through yogas.
Do not fear, my son; good fortune will be yours through my grace. / Out of jest, out of fear, likewise out of anger, malice, or even desire,
or out of affection, having uttered once the name of Viṣṇu which removes sins, / even the most sinful go to the disease-free abode of Viṣṇu.
How much more then, O best of brahmins, do they go who, endowed with faith, / with anger subdued and senses mastered, and full of compassion, hear the sacred narrative!
Some, through devotion alone, intent solely on the discourse of his stories, / though devoid of all other duties, go to the supreme foot of Viṣṇu.
Some worship Viṣṇu through hatred and the like, or through devotion; / they too go to the supreme abode, just like Pūtanā who took away his life.
Constant association with the great and speech dedicated to taking refuge in him / must be maintained by those desiring liberation; this is the rule enjoined by the scriptures.
That utterance of words destroys the sins of the people, in which, though each verse may be poorly composed, / the names of the Infinite One, marked by his glory, are heard, sung, and recited by the virtuous.
Which compassionate one would one take refuge in, other than the all-pervading Lord, who desires neither strenuous service, / nor immense wealth, nor beauty and youth, but when remembered even once, leads to the radiant abode?
Go to him alone for refuge, the unblemished Nārāyaṇa, / who is affectionate to his devotees, unmanifest, accessible to the intellect, an ocean of compassion.
Perform all these religious duties declared in Vaiśākha, O highly intelligent one; / pleased thereby, the Lord of the Universe will bestow happiness upon you.'
Having spoken thus, he fell silent, and seeing the hunter, he was greatly amazed; / that divine person again spoke to that foremost of sages:

The divine person said:

"I am blessed, I am favored by you, O compassionate Śaṅkha!

Fortunately, my wretched birth has ended, and I go indeed to the supreme destination." 47.

Having thus circumambulated him and received permission, he went to heaven.

Then it became evening, O King; Śaṅkha, pleased by the hunter,

performed the evening twilight prayers and passed the rest of the night

with various stories of kings and noble deities,

with the pastimes of the incarnations, and with visible assemblies.

Arising at the hour sacred to Brahmā, washing his feet, restraining his speech, / meditating on the saving Brahman, and performing purification and proper rites,

having bathed in Vaiśākha while the sun was in Aries and before the rising of the stars,

performing the twilight rituals and other rites, and satisfying all [the gods and ancestors],

he called the hunter, joyful in mind, sprinkled [water] on his head, looked at him,

and gave the two-syllabled, auspicious name 'Rāma', which is superior to the Vedas.

Even each single name of Viṣṇu is considered superior to all the Vedas;

and superior to those infinite names is the thousand names.

The name of Rāma is considered equal to such a thousand names.

"Therefore, O hunter, mutter that name 'Rāma' continuously;

perform these duties, O hunter, until the end of your life.

Then your birth will take place in the family of the seer Valmīka,

and you will attain fame on earth by the name Vālmīki."

Having thus instructed the hunter, he set out towards the southern direction.

The hunter too, having circumambulated him and bowed again and again,

followed him for some distance, weeping and afflicted by separation.

As far as the path of sight extended, he watched his departure again,

and returned with difficulty, contemplating him alone in his heart.

Constructing a forest dwelling and making a pure water booth on that path,

He performed indeed these most fitting duties prescribed for the month of Vaiśākha,

with wild wood-apples, jackfruits, rose-apples, mangoes, and other fruits,

providing food for those suffering fatigue on the road;

and with sandals, sandalwood, umbrellas, and even fans,

and here and there with shades provided with layers of sand,

he dispelled the weariness and sweat born of exertion in travelers.

Bathing at dawn and murmuring day and night the mantra, 'Rāma',

in his hunter's birth he became known as the son of Valmīka.

A certain sage named Kṛṇu, at that very lake,

practiced indeed severe austerity, devoid of external activity.

In course of long time, an anthill (valmīka) formed over his body;

therefore they called that foremost among sages 'Valmīka'.

Afterward, at the conclusion of the cessation of austerities, when Kṛṇu returned to ordinary consciousness,

as he remembered a woman, O king, semen fell from the sage.

A certain actress received it; in her was born that forest-dweller

renowned throughout the worlds as Vālmīki, of great renown,

who made known to the world the divine story of Rāma through his charming compositions,
which cuts through the bonds of karma.

Śrutadeva said:

Behold the greatness of Vaiśākha, O king, which yields prosperity even to this day!

Even a hunter, by giving a pair of sandals, attained the hard-to-attain status of a seer.

Whoever hears or recites this supreme narrative,

which destroys sins and causes the hair to bristle with joy, shall never again suck a mother's breast.

Thus ends the twenty-first chapter, entitled 'The Narration of the Birth of Vālmīki in the Story of the Hunter', in the Greatness of the Month of Vaiśākha, in the dialogue between Nārada and Ambarīṣa, in the Vaiṣṇava section of the holy Skanda Mahāpurāṇa containing eighty-one thousand verses.