The life of the Pandya King Indradhyumna, his transformation into the Lord of the Elephants, and his escape from the curse .
इन्द्रद्युम्न: पाण्ड्यखण्डाधिराज-
स्त्वद्भक्तात्मा चन्दनाद्रौ कदाचित् ।
त्वत् सेवायां मग्नधीरालुलोके
नैवागस्त्यं प्राप्तमातिथ्यकामम् ॥१॥
indradyumnaH paaNDyakhaNDaadhiraajaH
tvadbhaktaatmaa chandanaadraukadaachit |
tvatsevaayaaM magnadhiiraalul
Oke naivaagastyaM praaptamaatithyakaamam || 1||
Sage Agasthya once unexpectedly arrived at the Malaya Mountains where King Indradyumnah, a devoted follower of Lord Narayana, was meditating on the Lord. Sage was expecting the highest level of respect. King was so engrossed in the Lord’s devotional bliss that he failed to notice the Sage.
कुम्भोद्भूति: संभृतक्रोधभार:
स्तब्धात्मा त्वं हस्तिभूयं भजेति ।
शप्त्वाऽथैनं प्रत्यगात् सोऽपि लेभे
हस्तीन्द्रत्वं त्वत्स्मृतिव्यक्तिधन्यम् ॥२॥
kumbhOdbhuutiH sambhR^itakrOdhabhaaraH
stabdhaatmaa tvaM hasti bhuuyaM bhajeti |
shaptvaa(a)thainaM pratyagaatsO(a)pi lebhe
hastiindratvaM tvatsmR^iti vyakti dhanyam || 2||
Sage Agasthya became enraged after mistaking the King for not respecting him, and he cursed Indradyumnah to turn into an elephant. Consequently, he turned into a lordly elephant. Nonetheless, his devotion to Srimath Narayana and his memories of him persisted. This verse makes it abundantly evident that a person who is completely absorbed in the thoughts of the Lord will not be bothered about how they look or how they dress. They become disengaged from these materialistic desires.
दग्धाम्भोधेर्मध्यभाजि त्रिकूटे
क्रीडञ्छैले यूथपोऽयं वशाभि: ।
सर्वान् जन्तूनत्यवर्तिष्ट शक्त्या
त्वद्भक्तानां कुत्र नोत्कर्षलाभ: ॥३॥
dugdhaambhOdheH madhyabhaaji trikuuTe
kriiDan shaile yuuthapO(a)yaMvashaabhiH |
sarvaan jantuunatyavartiShTa shaktyaa
tvadbhaktaanaaM kutranOtkarShalaabhaH || 3||
Indradhyumna, the elephant king, lived atop Trikoota mountain in the centre of the milk ocean, where he amused himself with female elephants and used his power to outshine all other creatures. Bhattathiri retorts with admiration that all of the Lord’s followers appear to achieve superiority through the Lord’s blessings.
स्वेन स्थेम्ना दिव्यदेशत्वशक्त्या
सोऽयं खेदानप्रजानन् कदाचित् ।
शैलप्रान्ते घर्मतान्त: सरस्यां
यूथैस्सार्धं त्वत्प्रणुन्नोऽभिरेमे ॥४॥
svena sthemnaa divyadeshatva shaktyaa sO(a)yaM
khedaanaprajaanan kadaachit |
shailalppraante gharmataantaH sarasyaaM
yuuthaissaardhaMtvatpraNunnO(a)bhireme || 4||
The elephant king’s strength and the presence of divine power within him allowed him to avoid any challenges in life. At the Lord’s command, he played with his herds in the lake because he could not stand the heat of the sun while wandering the mountainous area.
हूहूस्तावद्देवलस्यापि शापात्
ग्राहीभूतस्तज्जले बर्तमान: ।
जग्राहैनं हस्तिनं पाददेशे
शान्त्यर्थं हि श्रान्तिदोऽसि स्वकानाम् ॥५॥
huuhuustaavaddevalasyaapi shaapaat
graahiibhuutastajjale vartamaanaH |
jagraahainaM hastinaM paadadeshe
shaantyarthaM hi shraantidO(a)sisvakaanaa||5||
Indradhyumna was not the only person who was cursed. At the same time, a Gandharva by the name of HuHu was cursed as well. He was cursed to become a crocodile by Sage Devala. The King and Gandharva’s lives were intertwined by the all-knowing Lord so that they would both be released from the curse. In Bhattathiri’s words, Lord Narayana causes his followers to suffer to later bless them. Here, the elephant king’s foot was grabbed by the Gandharva HuHu, who resided in the pond as a crocodile.
त्वत्सेवाया वैभवात् दुर्निरोधं
युध्यन्तं तं वत्सराणां सहस्रम् ।
प्राप्ते काले त्वत्पदैकाग्र्यसिध्यै
नक्राक्रान्तं हस्तिवर्यं व्यधास्त्वम् ॥६॥
tvatsevaayaa vaibhavaaddurnirOdhaM
yuddhyantaM taM vatsaraaNaaM sahasram |
praapte kaale tvatpadaikaagryasiddhyai
nakraakraantaM hasti varyaMvyadhaastvam || 6||
The elephant king fought for a thousand years and became invincible because of his devotion to Your worship. The Lord gave him this experience because he was spiritually mature enough to concentrate only on the Almighty.
आर्तिव्यक्तप्राक्तनज्ञानभक्ति:
शुण्डोत्क्षिप्तै: पुण्डरीकै: समर्चन् ।
पूर्वाभ्यस्तं निर्विशेषात्मनिष्ठं
स्तोत्रं श्रेष्ठं सोऽन्वगादीत् परात्मन् ॥७॥
aartivyakta praaktana j~naanabhaktiH shuN
DOtkshiptaiHpuNDariikaissamarchan |
puurvaabhyastannirvisheShaatmaniShThaM
stOtra shreShThaMsO(a)nvagaadiitparaatman || 7||
Indradhyumna’s natural devotion and pure knowledge surfaced through his suffering, allowing him to worship Lord Mukund with white lotus flowers picked by his trunk and to sing a long hymn praising the Lord’s supreme form that he had learned in a previous life.
श्रुत्वा स्तोत्रं निर्गुणस्थं समस्तं
ब्रह्मेशाद्यैर्नाहमित्यप्रयाते ।
सर्वात्मा त्वं भूरिकारुण्यवेगात्
तार्क्ष्यारूढ: प्रेक्षितोऽभू: पुरस्तात् ॥८॥
shrR^itvaa stOtraM nirguNasthaM samastaM
brahmeshaadyairnaahamityaprayaate |
sarvaatmaa tvaM bhuuri kaaruNya vegaat
taarkshyaaruuDhaH prekshitObhuuHpurastaat || 8||
Other gods refrained from approaching the elephant king after hearing the hymn because it did not seem to be intended for them. O Narayana! Your boundless compassion led you to ride the Garuda and appear before him.
हस्तीन्द्रं तं हस्तपद्मेन धृत्वा
चक्रेण त्वं नक्रवर्यं व्यदारी: ।
गन्धर्वेऽस्मिन् मुक्तशापे स हस्ती
त्वत्सारूप्यं प्राप्य देदीप्यते स्म ॥९॥
hastiindraM taM hastapadmena dhR^itvaa
chakreNa tvaM nakravaryaMvyadaariiH |
gandharve(a)smin muktashaape sa hastii
tvatsaaruupyaM praapya dediipyatesma || 9||
By seizing the elephant king with his lotus hands and then slicing the powerful crocodile with his sacred discus, Lord Narayana managed to save him. The crocodile was able to revert to his Gandharva form after divine intervention lifted Devala’s curse. The elephant king was blessed by the Lord and endowed with a divine body. This sloka illustrates how those who are unconcerned with the materialistic world and their appearance receive the fullest manifestation of the Lord’s blessings. Even though Indradhyumna did not manifest for it, he was given a form that looked like the Lord.
एतद्वृत्तं त्वां च मां च प्रगे यो
गायेत्सोऽयं भूयसे श्रेयसे स्यात् ।
इत्युक्त्वैनं तेन सार्धं गतस्त्वं
धिष्ण्यं विष्णो पाहि वातालयेश ॥१०॥
etad vR^ittaM tvaaM cha maaM cha prageyO gaayets
O(a)yaM bhuuyase shreyasesyaat |
ityuktvainaM tena saardhaM gatastva
M dhiShNyaM viShNO paahivaataalayesha ||10||
“A person who repeats these stories in praise of you and me will achieve liberation.” You told him these words before you and Indradhyumna departed for Vaikuntha. O Lord of Guruvaayur! Grant me Your protection.