The interesting story of Dundubhi Snake and Ruru is found in
the Kashidashi Mahabharata. Pramadvara, wife of Ruru, died as a result of snake
bit. But Ruru gave half of his remaining lifespan to his wife and saved her.
After this incident, he was angry at snakes and, even though a Brahmin, he roamed
around the world killing all the snakes.
One day he came across Dundubhi Snake. It was unusually huge
and he had never seen anything like it. Ruru rushed towards Dundhubhi with a
stick to kill it.
Dundubhi wanted to know what wrong he had done to him that
he wished to see him dead.
Ruru told that all snakes are his enemies and he had made a
promise to eradicate them from the world.
Dundubhi then told Ruru that his path of violence was wrong
and he should take the path of nonviolence. Revenge never ends as it sets a
cycle of killing. Thousands die as a result of the cycle of revenge.
Ruru wanted to know more about the snake and asked it who he
really was.
Dundubhi told Ruru that in his previous life he was the son
of a sage. But he used to disturb people by playing pranks on them. He once made
a snake out of leaves and threw it at Sage Chitrasen. Scared and angry, the
sage cursed him to turn into a snake. When the sage realized his mistake, he
told Dundubhi that we would be relieved of curse when he meets Ruru.
Dundubhi now got back his human form and told that a Brahmin
like him should not go around killing other living beings. He then told about
Sage Astika who had stopped the snake sacrifice of King Janmajeya, the great
grandson of the Pandavas.
Ruru wanted to know about Sage Astika. Dundubhi told him to
go to his father Pramati, who had knowledge about the sacrifice.
Pramati who knew about the snake sacrifice, Astika, and the
story of Mahabharata narrated it to Ruru.