The dundubha explains its cursed origin to Ruru
Having spared the strange, articulate snake, Ruru seeks to understand it. He asks how it came to be in its current form. The dundubha reveals it was once a rishi named Sahasrapata, transformed by a Brahmana's curse.
The immediate danger had passed. Ruru had decided not to strike. Now, looking at the snake that had just argued its way out of death, he was curious. He sought to pacify it.
"O snake!" he said. "If you desire, tell me how you came to be so metamorphosed."
The dundubha replied. "O Ruru! I was earlier a rishi named Sahasrapata. I became a snake through a Brahmana's curse."
A rishi, cursed into the body of a snake. The revelation explained the creature's eloquence, its understanding of right and wrong. Ruru pressed for more. "O best of the snakes! Why were you cursed by an angry Brahmana and how long will you have to continue in this present form?"
The question hung in the air, an invitation for the full story of the curse — its cause, its terms, its possible end. The dundubha, now identified as the sage Sahasrapata, prepared to answer.