Skandapurana 5.31

Sūta said:
Likewise, there is another unexcelled sacred ford there called Nāgatīrtha, / where, for one who has bathed, no fear of serpents arises anywhere.

Whatever man performs ritual ablution there on the fifth day / of the dark half of Śrāvaṇa, no fear from a serpent will ever befall even his family.

Formerly, austerity was performed there by the nāgas, beginning with Śeṣa, / who were afflicted by their mother’s curse, for the sake of liberation from the fire.

The two nāgas Kambala and Aśvatara, renowned on the surface of the earth, / having performed severe austerity there, attained supreme perfection.

Ananta, Vāsuki, and the mighty Takṣaka, / and Karkoṭa the king of nāgas, and another named Maṇikaṇṭha,

Airāvata, Śaṅkha, and Puṇḍarīka of great venom: / these nine leaders are remembered as the nāgas headed by Śeṣa.

By their sons and grandsons, and also by their innumerable / manifestations, this entire surface of the earth is pervaded.

Then, crooked and wicked, they continually devoured people, / both because of their great numbers and through mere touch, even without any offence [on the people's part].

Then all these creatures went to Brahmā for refuge: / "We are afflicted, O best of gods! Protect us quickly from the serpents,

before the entire surface of the earth becomes completely empty! / For it is wholly overrun with serpents, filled with poison and extremely terrifying."

Then Brahmā said to those nine leaders headed by Śeṣa: / "Protect these creatures who are being devoured by your own offspring!"

They agreed, saying "So be it," and all the serpents departed.

Then, because of their great numbers, no protection was brought about at all; / for even though restrained, they continued to bring destruction upon the creatures.

Then Brahmā himself, his soul filled with anger, summoned those chiefs of the clans / and spoke to them in an assembly of all the gods:

"Since the serpents devour creatures without any offence, / even though restrained, I shall therefore punish them now.

There will be a king on earth named Janamejaya; / Fire will consume the serpents in his sacrifice.

Particularly due to their mother's curse, drawn by the mantras of the best of brahmins, / they will fall of their own accord into the blazing fire."

Hearing that, trembling, those nine leaders of the serpents / bowed down to the Grandfather and immediately spoke with joined palms:

"O Lord, you created our crooked species. / Why then do you show anger towards those who are merely following the nature of their kind?"

Brahmā said: / "Even if you were indeed created by me as fiercely venomous by destiny, / why do you devour these creatures without any offence?"

The nāgas said: / "Establish a boundary, O Lord of gods, between us and human beings; / or else assign us a place devoid of humans.

Devise a means of protection for the serpents who will be burnt / on all sides by Fire in that sacrifice of Parīkṣit's son.

O Great-Grandfather, you ought to act in such a way / that there is no destruction of our lineage throughout all the worlds."

Brahmā said: / "There will be a certain brahmin known as Jaratkāru; / he will search on earth for a wife for the sake of offspring.

And in your lineage there will be a maiden named Jaratkanyā, very fair; / that woman of excellent complexion must be given to him with respect for the sake of a son.

The son who will be born of those two will protect the rest— / the serpents of pure conduct who abide by the boundaries.

Below Sutala, Nitala, and likewise Vitala, / on the fourth level of the subterranean world, your dwelling shall be,

granted by me, exceedingly delightful, and endowed with all enjoyments. / Therefore depart to that very place, leaving the surface of the earth.

Having gone there quickly by my command, enjoy good pleasures / along with your sons and grandsons, pleasures difficult to attain even for the gods."

The nāgas said: / "Even while experiencing enjoyments there, O lotus-born one, we cannot / dwell [exclusively there]; therefore show us a place on the earth / where we may abide according to a boundary together with human beings."

Brahmā said: / "This lunar day on the surface of the earth has been granted by me to you: / the fifth. The rest of the time, however, must be spent there in Rasātala.

When you have come there, you must not kill human beings who are free from fault, / whose limbs are protected by mantras, and who respect medicinal herbs.

O best of serpents, a perpetual residence has been granted by me / in the sacred field of Camatkārapura on earth for the chiefs of the serpent clans."

Sūta said: / Thus addressed by Brahmā, those serpents quickly went / to Pātāla, while the chiefs of the clans settled in that sacred field.

A person who worships them there on the fifth day of Śrāvaṇa / attains their desired object by their very grace.

In that person's lineage, too, there will be no fear of serpents, nor sin, / nor disease, nor calamity, nor any fear of spirits anywhere.

A childless person who performs a śrāddha there with a desire for a son, / having obtained an excellent son, becomes free from debt to the ancestors.

Likewise, a barren woman who takes a ritual ablution at sunrise on the fifth day / in the month of Śrāvaṇa, especially in the dark fortnight, / quickly obtains a son capable of uplifting her family,

free from all diseases, handsome, and endowed with modesty. / Or a man who has lost his kingdom who performs a ritual ablution there,

and then worships the nāgas on the fifth day of Śrāvaṇa, / having slain all the hosts of his enemies, will regain his kingdom once more.

For those men whose death occurs from being eaten [or bitten] by a serpent, / liberation from the state of a ghost does not occur in any way,

as long as a śrāddha is not performed at that sacred ford, O best of brahmins. / Therefore, with all effort, for one who has died from the bite of a serpent, / a śrāddha must diligently be performed at that sacred ford born of serpents.

In this regard, I shall narrate to you an auspicious story of the past / concerning the royal seer Indrasena, which destroys all sins.

Formerly, Indrasena was a king who destroyed the pride of his enemies; / a thousand horse sacrifices were offered by that great-souled one.

Then, by the turn of fate, as he was asleep on an auspicious couch, / King Indrasena was bitten by a serpent and abandoned [by it], / and at that very moment he was suddenly parted from his life.

Then his beloved son, on his behalf, faithfully performed in full / all the rites for the departed prescribed by the legal treatises.

Having cast his bones into the Gaṅgā and performed the sixteen śrāddhas, / he then went to Gayā and performed the śrāddha endowed with faith.

Then, appearing in a dream, his father, that king, / grieving, with his eyes troubled by tears, spoke to his son:

"Because of death from a serpent, my state as a ghost remains fixed, O son. / For that reason, nothing given by you reaches me.

"Therefore, go quickly to the sacred field of Camatkārapura. / In the sacred ford of the serpents there, perform the śrāddha for my sake, O son,

whereby my release from this terrible state of a ghost will come about." / Rising in the morning and recalling that speech of the king,

distressed on account of the one in the form of a ghost, he quickly went to that sacred ford, / and then performed the śrāddha on the fifth day of Śrāvaṇa.

Having bathed, endowed with faith, having installed a priest, / he then received a vision once again just as before,

of [his father] in the form of a ghost, who, distressed, spoke these words: / "Nothing that you performed for my sake was obtained by me,

nor was any fruit of the śrāddha; and hear the reason for this, dear son: / the brahmins born in Camatkārapura are alone worthy of a śrāddha here.

Even those who are maimed and the like, who are elsewhere condemned at a śrāddha, [are worthy] in this sacred field. / Whatever gift or even observance is performed here,

as well as any other rite worthy of brahmins born of sacrifice— / all that, even if deficient, becomes complete by their word; / or even if complete, in their absence it clearly becomes useless.

Therefore, having brought brahmins from this city hereafter, / perform the śrāddha in my name, whereby liberation may be produced."

Then, having risen in the morning, remembering his father's words, / overcome with great distress, he entered the excellent city.

Then the king sought out brahmins worthy of a śrāddha, / but even with effort he did not obtain [any], because the brahmins were wealthy.

No one was distressed there, nor was even a poor man distressed, / nor was anyone devoted to inaction or devoted to heresy.

In place after place were great shouts, and festivals in house after house, / pastimes of Vedic knowledge, and likewise discourses on the Smṛtis;

the sounds of sacrificers arising from sacrificial rites were heard. / There was no famine, no disease, no untimely death for men, / no death for anyone there in the city inhabited by brahmins.

The rain cloud rained according to season, and the crops were excellent; / cows yielded abundant milk, as did the milk of goats and sheep.

Whichever brahmin the ruler of the earth begged for the sake of the śrāddha, / each one rebuked him with harsh words, filled with anger:

"Fie, fie, O base kṣatriya of sinful conduct! / Does any brahmin eat at a ghost-śrāddha, especially?

Therefore go quickly, before some twice-born curses you, / or in anger slays you who obstruct the path to heaven!"

Sūta said: / Then that king, distressed and afflicted with fear, / went out from that Camatkārapura, having fallen into the deepest embarrassment.

He pondered, O best of kings, recalling that condition of his father: / "What shall I do? Where shall I go? How can my father attain [a good] state?"

Then, having sent all his ministers toward home, / alone, in the guise of a beggar, he remained right there in that virtuous city.

Having learned in that city of a brahmin of praised vows, / an object of courtesy among all the lords of brahmins,

named Devaśarman, affectionate to those who seek refuge, / one who maintained the sacred fires, learned in the four Vedas, following the path of the Smṛti,

he then rose in the morning, assumed the appearance of an outcaste, / and with difficulty cleaned the privy.

Now he who usually performed the work of cleaning the feces there, / having approached, said this to him, his eyes red with anger:

"Whence have you arrived here, causing harm to my livelihood? / Therefore go quickly, otherwise I will take you to the abode of Yama!"

Even while he was speaking thus, that ruler of the earth forcibly / cleaned that place belonging to Devaśarman quickly.

Then, at the end of a year, O best of the twice-born, / at the appropriate time, having bowed down from afar, that caṇḍāla said:

"Master, in your household as well, the duty of cleaning feces / belongs to us and not to another; why then has another been let in?"

Then, hearing that statement, that best of the twice-born said: / "No one else has been designated by me for this secret work; / you should carry out your own duty just as before."

Then, when another day arrived, that outcaste, filled with anger, / came taking up a weapon to kill that ruler of the earth.

Seeing his hand raised with a weapon, determined upon a blow, / [the king] then effortlessly struck him on the head with his fist.

Then his eyes popped out instantly, O twice-born; / blood flowed forth, and then he fell down dead.

Hearing that that caṇḍāla, his own servant, had been killed by him, / Devaśarman approached in intense anger to kill him.

Then, accompanied by his sons, grandsons, and other kinsmen, / he repeatedly struck him with clods of earth while rebuking him.

Though he was being beaten and battered with blows, / he then chanted the Veda, showing his sacred thread.

Then all those brahmins, led by Devaśarman, were astonished / upon seeing him intent on chanting the Veda.

And he was questioned: "What is this deed of yours, fit for an outcaste person? / This Vedic speech has a sweet sound of distinct syllables; / are you perhaps some excellent brahmin fallen due to a curse,

by which you perform a deed despised even by outcastes?" / Then, laughing, he said: "I am a kṣatriya, a ruler of the earth, / renowned as Viṣṇusena, born of the lineage of the Haihayas.

I arrived at this place for the sake of propitiating you; / today a year has passed while I have been engaged in this work."

Sūta said: / Hearing that speech of his, that brahmin, filled with compassion, / folded his hands in reverence and addressed that ruler of the earth:

"With what purpose in mind was this censured deed done by you? / Declare it, so that I may swiftly fulfill your desire.

There is nothing unattained by me, nor anything impossible, O lord of the earth; / therefore I shall accomplish your task, even though it may be hard to achieve."

The king said: / "My father was bitten by a serpent and has attained the state of a ghost. / If a śrāddha is performed here at Nāgahrada, he will attain liberation.

Therefore, perform the duty of a brahmin for his rescue. / For this purpose was this censured deed done by me toward you."

Devaśarman said: / "Do so, O best of kings! In your father's śrāddha I myself / will be the brahmin; therefore, perform the śrāddha."

Sūta said: / Then his friends, sons, grandsons, and relatives / said, "It is not proper for you to eat of a censured śrāddha.

Therefore, if you partake [of food] in his śrāddha yourself, / we all, as well as the other best of the twice-born, will abandon you."

Devaśarman said: / "Abandon me as you will, all of you, and whichever other twice-born [wish to]! / I have already promised this lord of the earth to eat in his śrāddha."

Having spoken thus, that best of brahmins, accompanied by him, / then went to Nāgahrada and indeed ate in the śrāddha.

As soon as he had eaten, a bodiless voice spoke, / resounding through the entire world and gladdening the lord of the earth:

"O son, I have been freed from the state of a ghost by your power! / May you have well-being; I shall now go to the abode of the heavens."

Having accomplished that, the delighted king bowed to that best of the twice-born / and said: "Grant my word which I speak, O best of the twice-born!

There is a city named Māhiṣmatī on the bank of the Narmadā; / that is our capital, inherited from my ancestors, O powerful one.

I give it to you, O brahmin, along with all its territories. / Staying there, with me as your servant, rule the kingdom without rivals!"

Devaśarman said: / "It is not fit to say this; a brahmin is not entitled to a kingdom. / Therefore go to your own kingdom and protect it, O king!"

Sūta said: / Thus dismissed by him, that great lord went / to his own land, filled with joy, having accomplished his task, O best of the twice-born.

He too was abandoned by all the brahmins residing in the city, / Devaśarman, on account of the fault arising from the śrāddha.

Then, having built his own dwelling at that Nāgahrada, / he took up residence there, devoted to Vedic recitation and pure.

The sons born to him, rejected while living there, O best of the twice-born— / their lineages even today are called the 'dwellers outside'.

All this has been recounted to you regarding the origin of the Nāgatīrtha, / a māhātmya destroying all sins, O best of brahmins.

Whoever recites or hears this with devotion when the fifth day arrives, / even in his lineage there shall be no fear arising from snakes.

Likewise he is freed without doubt from the sin arising from food / eaten through ignorance, O brahmins; this is truth spoken by me.

Therefore with all effort the unsurpassed māhātmya of the Nāgatīrtha / is to be recited or heard by the concentrated.

And when the time of śrāddha arrives, which twice-born recites this, / he attains the entire fruit arising from a śrāddha at Gayā.

Likewise, whichever faults are proclaimed in a śrāddha arising from materials, / or arising from lapses in observances, as well as those arising from brahmins,

they all perish when the māhātmya of Nāgahrada / is recited by the concentrated as the time of śrāddha arrives.

Likewise, those slain by cows, brahmins, and wild beasts, / when this is recited during a śrāddha, go to the highest state."

Thus ends the thirty-first chapter, named 'Description of the Māhātmya of Nāgahrada', in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, in the Māhātmya of Hāṭakeśvarakṣetra, in the sixth [part] of the eighty-one-thousand-verse collection, the glorious Skandapurāṇa.