Skandapurana 5.279.28

5.279.28

29 siddheśvaramāhātmyavarṇane sūtasya piturājñayā vatsamaharṣiśuśrūṣākaraṇam, tatra vatsa- maharṣiṇā svasya prāgjanmacaritrakathanam, devarātasya muneragre snātuṃ vivastrāṃ kāñcitstriyaṃ vilokya jale retaḥskhalanam, tadretaso mṛgyā prāśanam, daśamāsānte mṛgītaḥ kanyājananam, devarātena vatsarṣaye kanyādānam, bahukāle gate sarpadaṃśanena strīmaraṇaṃ dṛṣṭvā bahuśokavyākulitacetaso vatsasya vane prayāṇam, tasya bahudhā ṛṣibhiḥ sāntvane kṛte'pi krudhā sarpanāśanāraṃbhakaraṇam, tasminsarpahananaṃ kurvati sati tatraikasya sarpasya mānuṣarūpaṃ dhṛtvā saṃvādavarṇanam, tena mānuṣarūpa- -dhāriṇā sarpeṇa vatsāya pūrvaśāpakāraṇe kathyamāne prāgjanmani mayā hāṭakeśvara- kṣetrayātrāgatānāṃ janasamūhānāṃ madhye sarpaprakṣepe kṛte satyṛṣiṇā dattena śāpena sarpajanmaprāptiḥ iti kathanam tena mānuṣarūpiṇā sarpeṇa vatsāyopadeśakaraṇam, tatpra saṃgena hiṃsā'hiṃsādharmanirūpaṇam, tato vatsarṣiṇā sarpavadhapaścāttāpena maheśvara- pūjāṃ vidhātuṃ svamanasi nirdhāraṇam, vatsasya siddheśvarapūjanena siddhiprāpti-varṇanam........... 32 1

29. In the description of the māhātmya of Siddheśvara: Sūta's attendance upon the great seer Vatsa by his father's command; there, the great seer Vatsa's narration of the story of his previous birth; the discharge of semen into the water upon the sage Devarāta seeing a naked woman bathe before him; the swallowing of that semen by a female deer; the birth of a girl from the doe at the end of ten months; Devarāta giving the girl to the seer Vatsa; when a long time had passed, Vatsa seeing his wife's death by a snakebite, his mind agitated by great grief, and his departure to the forest; even though consoled in many ways by the seers, his undertaking to destroy the snakes in anger; while he was slaying the snakes, the account of the dialogue of one snake there having assumed human form; when the cause of the previous curse was told to Vatsa by that snake who had assumed human form—the statement: "In a former birth, when a snake was thrown by me into the midst of the multitudes of people who had come on pilgrimage to the sacred field of Hāṭakeśvara, the attainment of birth as a snake [occurred] because of a curse given by a seer"; the giving of instruction to Vatsa by that snake in human form; on that occasion, the exposition of the duty of non-violence and violence; then the resolve in his own mind by the seer Vatsa to perform the worship of Maheśvara out of remorse for the slaughter of snakes; the description of Vatsa's attainment of perfections through the worship of Siddheśvara. 32 1