A page from Ancient Literature

Mountain Trikuta of ancient times was a holy mountain of numerous striking peaks full of caves, which men of perfection – Siddhas - a class of demigods of mystic powers often frequented and enjoyed life. The celestial bards sang glories of the lords and lived in the mountain. The celestial musicians, the artisans, the Nagas, the Kinners and the celestial musicians with human figures and horse’s heads or vice versa visited the caves quite often and derived heavenly delight. The celestial women added loveliness and magic to the entire environment. A garden Rituman of the lord of water possessed celestial virtues and charming flashes of immense beauty and grandeur where heavenly beings enjoyed.

Beauty of the mountain cast a magic spell and life appeared satisfying. Gajendra, the leader of elephants, lived in the forest, moved about and enjoyed with female elephants. Huge Gajendra, the king of elephants scared away beasts. However, Gajendra was generous and compassionate to animals of the forest, and thus, all beasts enjoyed his patronage.

The joy and noisy movement of the beasts disturbed an alligator. He was angry and upset and in terrific frenzy took the king of the elephant into custody. The alligator dragged it away. The female elephants and baby elephants felt helpless and did not know what to do. Fearful shrieks in panic appeared agonizing. The elephants tried hard to extricate the chief of the elephants from the dreadful control of the alligator but failed to liberate Gagendra. A harrowing struggle began. Helpless Gajendra was certain that none could get him released from the grasp of the enemy, who was equally strong. Therefore, he prayed and sought shelter at the feet of the lord of gods, Vishnu.

King Indradyuma was Gajendra in the previous birth. As a king, he knew about the blessings of the prayer that the lord permeated the conscious psychological organism subtly and was present in various created beings as Prakriti – Primordial Matter and Purusa – the Spirit. Intensity of prayers pleased the lord and he appeared before Gajendra and pulled out the elephant Gajendra and alligator out of the lake. The lord killed the alligator. At this moment, all the gods and goddesses, the Trinity and the celestial beings of heavens praised the great lord even while the celestial musicians sang songs and dance.

A miracle greeted the celestial gathering when it came to know that the alligator and the elephant were not simple animals. Alligator was Huhu, a Gandharava, who humiliated sage Devala in the previous birth, invited the anger of the holy man who issued a curse and so Huhu attained the yoni of an alligator.

King Indradyuma, a sage in later years, was in deep meditation and failed to grant due respect to sage Agastya and invoked sage’s curse and so because of the annoyance, the king sage got the yoni of an elephant. Huhu and the sage king got back the original shape only when they surrendered to the will of god. Genuine prayers, devotion and surrender at the feet of lord grant deliverance notwithstanding, even if a man undergoes sufferings as a fall out of some sinful or irreverent acts shown toward holy souls - the great sages Agastya and Devala.

 In ancient times, an ocean of milk surrounded the great mountain Trikuta, one of the most famous and beautiful mountains. It was ten thousand Yojanas or eighty thousand miles high with equal width and appeared imposing and magnificent. A unique light originated from the mountain and illuminated the ocean of milk. Huge principal cliffs of silver, steel and gold brightened up the sea, the four directions and the sky with the divine radiance and its brilliance lent charisma and exquisiteness to all the quarters.

In addition to the principal peaks of dazzling brilliance, the mountain had many more bright, wonderful, attractive and charming peaks while a huge store of precious stones, jewels and minerals of fascinating colours and sizes emitted terrific luster. Again, it looked divinely fascinating with a vast wealth of varied categories of trees, plants, creepers, shrubs and bushes. Rivers and streams flowed with wonderful musical tunes. The silvery waves of the ocean appeared to wash the foothills of Trikuta from all directions as if washing the holy feet of the lord of mountains. The lowlands of the mountain looked dark green as if stones of emerald had covered its surface shadowing different sides of the great mountain. On the hand, the corrosive action of the waves enhanced its beauty. At times, it appeared as if the green blades of grass dazzled eyes when the rays of the sun fell.

Sporting Siddhas - divinely skilled beings, a class of demigods, endowed with mystic powers right from their birth frequented the caves of the great Mountain. Charanas - the poets, the celestial bards or bhaats sang glories of the lords, also inhabited the mountain. Gandharavas -the celestial musicians, the Vidyadharas -the celestial artisans, the great Nagas -the serpent-demons with human faces and serpent-bodies, Kinners -a class of attendants – the celestial musicians with human figures and horse’s heads or vice versa, came to the caves more often and derived divine joy. To add beauty and charm to the caves and inhabitants, the celestial women -the nymphs frequented it.

The mountain had a divine glory attached to it. Uniquely situated it gave refuge to many celestial beings from gods to demigods. When the celestial musicians sang songs and glorified the lord, the tuneful sounds created echoes of roaring lions in the caves, which alerted lions living nearby, who began to roar in frenzy and indignation. The middle and lowlands of the mountain with mesmerizing contours appeared enchanting and brilliant. Many wild beasts of various kinds infested it. Many birds of various kinds and colours fluttered around and chirped in joy abandon in the celestial gardens where the gods and the goddesses often descended to spend some good time.

Well adorned various rivers and lakes and the divine gardens, contained clear and pure water. Sparkling gems fantastically decorated and these appeared to lively carpet the pure and dazzling sand of riverbanks and lakes. In the clear water of rivers and lakes, the celestial damsels played water games and took bath, while air and water appeared full of fragrance, and as the breeze blew, it carried sweet perfume around and created passionate thrills.

In the splendid valley of the mountain, garden Rituman belonging to the lord of water -Varuna, a noble-soul and generous god, very well respected and glorified, enhanced the splendour of the valley and the mountain. The grounds of valleys of wonderful beauty were regions of pleasure for the celestial women, who played and loitered about in the garden free from worries or anxieties. Rituman was a garden with a difference. To add magic and charm to the garden, divine trees of flowers and fruit in plenty beautified it. In the divine garden fenced with mandara -acacias, Parijjatas -coral trees, Asoka, champakas and various ornamental trees along with many fruit trees in large numbers brought joy and pleasure to the celestial beings enjoying at leisure.

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Exciting beauty of the mountain and its divine enrichment cast a magic spell and life appeared fulfilling for living beings frequenting the place situated amid the water of the ocean of milk. In Rituman, the garden of celestial virtues and enchantment, the leader of elephants, who lived in the thick forest of the mountain, loitered joyfully with female elephants. All huge animals arrived thereafter, crushing thorny bushes, small trees, and a vast number of thickets comprising bamboos, canes and many big thorny plants. Wild beasts of the jungle like lions and dreadful creatures of prey, elephants, tigers and animals of kill were capable of sensing death even by the smell of approaching elephants, were the crowns of jungles and mountains. Huge Gajendra, the king of elephants also scared away beasts like rhinoceroses. Even colossal serpents, black and white eight-footed animals, now extinct, roamed about in the jungle.

On the other hand, when a crowd of elephants smelt the presence of a huge leader of elephants, they ran away into the dense forest to escape death. Thus, the ferocious wild animals knew about the coming of huge and powerful elephants through aroma alone the beasts emitted, and none stood on the way to confront the mad movement of the leader of elephants Gajendra. Gajendra was generous to weaker animals and acted as a guardian. Weak beasts namely, wolves, boars, bison, bears, porcupines, baboons, hyenas and monkeys, and small animals similar to antelopes, hares, foxes and jackals moved about in the jungle fearlessly.

Usually elephants and the female elephants of herd surrounded Gajendra and the huge animals always moved together. When thirst and heat troubled the elephants, they swiftly moved to the vicinity of the lake, and soon after entering the lake, enjoyed in the water, took bath, quenched thirst, and thus, the animals felt relieved of exhaustion and thirst. Other herds of little elephants and female elephants also entered the huge lake, played, drank water, took bath, and when they were amply satisfied emerged out fresh and happy, free from dust and fatigue. At times, the female elephants sprayed water drawn through trunks on young elephants so that they could quench thirst.

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Thus, for a long time, the elephants continued to enjoy in the clear nectar like fragrant water as pollen of small trees and plants and lotuses grew in abundance and emitted unique fragrance. Gajendra was not aware of the calamity. Like a true householder, the king of elephants played with tiny ones but was unaware of the mysterious destiny and deluding potency of the eternal lord. He did not foresee what perilous situation he was to confront. As if, providence inspired, a very strong alligator living in the water felt enraged at the unwanted intrusion, and thus, feeling disturbed, it seized the elephant while it was still in the lake.

Unexpected misfortune it was. The mighty elephant struggled hard to shake off the strong grip of enemy but failed because the alligator continued to strengthen hold on the foot of the elephant. When other elephants and young ones saw and thought of the trouble king faced, it disturbed all little elephants and female elephants because threat to life to the king grew each moment. They felt powerless, demoralized and perplexed as the alligator dragged the elephant away. The female elephants and baby elephants were frightened and fearful and shrieked in panic while other elephants tried hard to extricate the chief of the elephants from the awful clutches of alligator but failed to liberate Gagendra.

On the other hand, the elephant and the alligator continued to pull each other fiercely, and inflicted wounds. The alligator tried to pull the elephant inside the water and the elephant tried to drag it out. A terrible fight between the giant animals continued for one thousand years. The gods in heaven were quite surprised at the strange and bitter fight. They looked on as the colossal animals continued to fight with ferocity.

A huge elephant found it difficult to continue fighting for long. The alligator, inside water could get food but it was impossible for the elephant entangled in the wrath and ferocity of a water animal. Lack of sustenance and proper food for years proved fatal for the king of elephants. He felt disheartened and dispirited, and apparent exhaustion of strength and resistance was visible as incessant dragging and pulling into the depth of water fatigued. Immense weakening of sinews and lingering pain agonized whereas the water animal got requisite refill and food from the water and so its power and resilience increased. Still, signs of early end of ferocious fight were not evident.

To get out of a lethal situation appeared a remote possibility. Now, the king of the elephants was powerless and distressed as hopes of liberation receded.

Gajendra deliberated upon the unfortunate plight for a long time and then, whispered, “Relations have no power to disentangle. Female elephants cannot help, for they are vulnerable. A huge alligator is like death. I feel distressed in the trap. When powerful and strong elephants failed to get me out, how females could do. Therefore, I should seek refuge at the feet of the lord, who provides shelter to the entire universe. Time is powerful. It continues to run swiftly like a huge snake, and swallows up living beings. Whoever is in fear and distress, seeks shelter at the lord’s feet. Therefore, I must seek him as asylum.” Thus, a divine light brightened hopes of deliverance.

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After the wise and vulnerable elephant failed to vanquish a dreadful foe, he analyzed, reasoned out, evaluated strength and began to pray within.  He had learnt to pray in the previous birth when he was king Indradyuma. In earnest, the elephant saluted the all-powerful lord, often symbolized through a mystical syllable ‘OM’. In the prayer, he recalled the omnipresent lord in each created being. He knew that the great lord animates the entire conscious psychophysical organism and in a subtle way, enters various bodies of the created beings as Prakriti -Primordial Matter and Purusa -the Spirit.

The wise elephant vividly remembers the Supreme Lord, “…who is present everywhere and in each particle. Nobody can hide anything from him and nothing exists that the lord does not know. In fact, the lord makes everything move. The lord is the ultimate arbiter, and lastly, he causes dissolution. He creates and dissolves. He manifests ‘the self’ in the animate and the inanimate. He is the beginning and the end. He is the cause.” He continued to whisper through prayers.

At last, he said, “I salute you, O endless potency. You are the protector of those taking shelter in you, the eternal force and whose three-dimensional energy tempts and overwhelms.”

At this moment, one notices that the elephant paid tributes to the lord whom he extolled, and asserted grand and the all-pervasive presence of lord everywhere, for he was the origin of the three attributes - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The created beings try to avoid but find the three irresistible and so the three elements cause various sufferings.

He continued to praise, “O lord, you manifest ‘the self’ as the objects of all the senses of perception. Therefore, if created beings observe no restraint on sense organs, the feelings lead to the joys of the material and the physical world or otherwise, and such created beings cannot find path to your abode. Your power is infinite O lord. You provide refuge to all and so I seek you as refuge. O lord, I seek that lord whose glory cannot be easily comprehended or surpassed. And, it is again Maya -the deluding potency, which makes it difficult for the living beings to understand ‘the real’ and ‘the essential self’ because ego, the child of Maya -the great delusory power, shrouds.”

After the lord heard the prayers, the elephant recited mentally, he, who wields disc, arrived and witnessed a devastating situation in which a huge animal struggled. Many gods of heavens also arrived and praised the elephant that earnestly prayed in the mind and sought refuge at the feet of lord. The lord saw everything.

The king of the elephants witnessed a divine scene. He saw the great lord with a disc in hand, mounting a divine vehicle Garuda, approaching the huge lake. At that time, he picked up a beautiful lotus flower with the trunk and spoke in terrible agony, “I hail you, O lord Narayana the preceptor of the universe.”

The elephant felt agonized, and experienced excruciating pain. The lord saw, got down from Garuda, quickly pulled out the king of the elephants and the dreadful alligator out of the lake, and very soon, the lord cut asunder the jaws of the alligator with the divine disc.

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All the gods, the seers, the sages, the Gandharavas and the celestial beings, who were present and had seen how the lord had saved the life of a devotee elephant a renowned king in the earlier birth, showered flowers. They were delighted when Brahma, the Creator and lord Shiva guided the celestial beings to the place. Heavenly drum beatings greeted a great occasion of felicitation, rejoicings and celestial moments of joys and glees while the celestial musicians danced and sang songs. Other celestial beings from heavens joined the grand festivities. Now, a miracle happened, a great will of Providence. The alligator and the elephants were not simple animals.

The alligator was a Gandharava, who humiliated sage Devala in the previous birth, when he took bath with the celestial women. At that time, when Devala entered the lake to take bath, Gandharava pulled him up in anger and therefore, the sage gave a curse. Because of the curse, Gandharava Huhu was born in the yoni of an alligator. Now, delivered from the sufferings of a condemned yoni, Huhu took a brilliant shape as Gandharava. Thus, freed from a sinful yoni, he revered lord Vishnu.

On the other hand, the elephant was also free from the bondage of ignorance through a mere lord’s touch. He attained an amazing form because of divine grace. He was king Indradyuma of four arms of Pandyas dynasty, clad in yellow, belonging to Ksatriya race, who in the earlier birth had ruled a state Tamilnada. He was a true devotee of lord Vishnu as a king. He had turned ascetic and gone to the forest to undergo tapa and penance after he relinquished kingdom’s glories and splendour. He performed religious ceremonies, took a vow of silence, subjugated the mind and senses, and so lived in a hermitage.

Once, sage Agastya and his disciples arrived in the ashrama but found that the king, who meditated deeply at that time, did not grant appropriate welcome and respect. Agastya got angry and cursed the king. Thus, he was born as an elephant. When the king knew of the folly and irreverence to the sage, he thought it as a will of the lord and Providence.

He recalled sage’s curse, “Let you, O king, who had been irreverent, remain steeped in unsighted ignorance. Because you are dull minded like an elephant and humiliated Brahmins, you will take birth as an elephant.”

Therefore, the destiny punished an innocent king for an unintended act through a sage, and later on, entered the womb of an elephant. Living in the elephant’s yoni, consciousness of ‘the self’ appeared entirely obliterated. However, through the grace of the lord, he regained awareness at the last moment, and prayed to the almighty after he lost hope of victory. The lord blessed and so the king stood transformed into the figure of a heavenly attendant, and thereafter, attained a seat on the back of Garuda. Thus, devotion to the lord proved a blessing, and consequently, the great lord, liberated a Gandharava and a king from the sinful and ugly yonis.