श्रीशुक उवाच ।
तदा देवर्षिगन्धर्वा ब्रह्मेशानपुरोगमाः ।
मुमुचुः कुसुमासारं शंसन्तः कर्म तद्धरेः ॥ १॥
नेदुर्दुन्दुभयो दिव्या गन्धर्वा ननृतुर्जगुः ।
ऋषयश्चारणाः सिद्धास्तुष्टुवुः पुरुषोत्तमम् ॥ २॥
योऽसौ ग्राहः स वै सद्यः परमाश्चर्यरूपधृक् ।
मुक्तो देवलशापेन हूहूर्गन्धर्वसत्तमः ॥ ३॥
प्रणम्य शिरसाधीशमुत्तमश्लोकमव्ययम् ।
अगायत यशोधाम कीर्तन्यगुणसत्कथम् ॥ ४॥
सोऽनुकम्पित ईशेन परिक्रम्य प्रणम्य तम् ।
लोकस्य पश्यतो लोकं स्वमगान्मुक्तकिल्बिषः ॥ ५॥
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Śrī Śuka resumed: Applauding the aforesaid feat of Lord Śrī Hari, the gods, Ṛṣis (seers) and Gandharvas (present there), headed by Brahmā (the creator) and Lord Śiva, discharged (from the air) a shower of flowers (on the person of the Lord by way of felicitation). (1)
Heavenly drums sounded; the Gandharvas (celestial musicians) danced and sang (songs of praise); while Ṛṣis, Cāraṇas (celestial bards) and Siddhas (a class of demigods endowed with mystic powers from their very birth) glorified the supreme Person. (2)
That which was (till now) an alligator due to the curse of the sage Devala* has been (in his previous incarnation) the foremost of the Gandharvas, Hūhū (by name). Redeemed (from that curse by the Lord), it forthwith assumed a really most wonderful form. (3)
Bowing with his head (bent low), he hymned the supreme immortal Lord of excellent renown, the Abode of (all) glory, whose (innumerable) virtues and sacred stories (alone) are worth celebrating. (4)
(Thus) favoured by the Lord, he had (all) his sins washed away; and, walking round Him (as a token of reverence) from left to right and greeting Him, he returned to his home (the realm of the Gandharvas) while the (whole) assembly (of gods and seers present there) stood gazing (with wonder). (5) (1-5)
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स एकदाऽऽराधनकाल आत्मवान्
गृहीतमौनव्रत ईश्वरं हरिम् ।
जटाधरस्तापस आप्लुतोऽच्युतं
समर्चयामास कुलाचलाश्रमः ॥ ८॥
यदृच्छया तत्र महायशा मुनिः
समागमच्छिष्यगणैः परिश्रितः ।
तं वीक्ष्य तूष्णीमकृतार्हणादिकं
रहस्युपासीनमृषिश्चुकोप ह ॥ ९॥
तस्मा इमं शापमदादसाधु-
रयं दुरात्माकृतबुद्धिरद्य ।
विप्रावमन्ता विशतां तमोऽन्धं
यथा गजः स्तब्धमतिः स एव ॥ १०॥
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Freed for ever from the bondage of ignorance through the touch of the Lord, the leader of (the herd of) elephants (in his turn) attained a form similar to the Lord's, being clad in yellow and endowed with four arms. (6)
Indeed the elephant was in its previous birth a Pāṇḍya king,* known by the name of Indradyumna, the foremost of the people of the Dravida country (now known by the name of Tamilnadu), and devoted to the worship of Lord Viṣṇu. (7)
The monarch, who had turned an ascetic, wearing matted locks on his head, and having his hermitage on the Kulācala mountain, nay, who had taken a vow of silence and subjugated his mind (too) once proceeded to worship the almighty and immortal Lord Śrī Hari with due ceremony at the hour appointed for devotions, having finished his bath (beforehand). (8)
By chance there arrived on the spot the sage Agastya of surpassing glory, accompanied by hosts of (his) pupils. Finding him mute (lacking even in polite words) and waiting upon the Lord in seclusion, and perceiving that the king had neglected to offer (him) water to wash his hands with and other articles of worship (to which he was entitled as a venerable newcomer), the sage grew indignant as the story goes. (9)
On Indradyumna he pronounced the following imprecation: "This impious, evil-minded and uncultured fellow has insulted a Brāhmaṇa (in me) at this moment. Let him (therefore) be steeped in blinding ignorance; and since he is dull-minded like an elephant, let him be born as an elephant." (10) (8-10)
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श्रीशुक उवाच ।
एवं शप्त्वा गतोऽगस्त्यो भगवान् नृप सानुगः ।
इन्द्रद्युम्नोऽपि राजर्षिर्दिष्टं तदुपधारयन् ॥ ११॥
आपन्नः कौञ्जरीं योनिमात्मस्मृतिविनाशिनीम् ।
हर्यर्चनानुभावेन यद्गजत्वेऽप्यनुस्मृतिः ॥ १२॥
एवं विमोक्ष्य गजयूथपमब्जनाभ-
स्तेनापिपार्षदगतिं गमितेन युक्तः ।
गन्धर्वसिद्धविबुधैरुपगीयमान-
कर्माद्भुतं स्वभवनं गरुडासनोऽगात् ॥ १३॥
एतन्महाराज तवेरितो मया
कृष्णानुभावो गजराजमोक्षणम् ।
स्वर्ग्यं यशस्यं कलिकल्मषापहं
दुःस्वप्ननाशं कुरुवर्य शृण्वताम् ॥ १४॥
यथानुकीर्तयन्त्येतच्छ्रेयस्कामा द्विजातयः ।
शुचयः प्रातरुत्थाय दुःस्वप्नाद्युपशान्तये ॥ १५॥
इदमाह हरिः प्रीतो गजेन्द्रं कुरुसत्तम ।
शृण्वतां सर्वभूतानां सर्वभूतमयो विभुः ॥ १६॥
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Śrī Śuka continued: Having cursed Indradyumna as aforesaid, the glorious Agastya went his way along with his followers, O Parikṣit ! Taking the curse to be a freak of (his own) destiny, the royal sage Indradyumna too entered the womb of an elephant, that obliterates the consciousness of the Self. It was by virtue of (his) adoration of Śrī Hari that God-remembrance was awakened in him at the right moment even in the body of an elephant. (11-12)
Having thus liberated once for all the leader of the herd of elephants and accompanied even by that elephant—(immediately) transformed into the state of a divine attendant—and taking His seat on (the back of) Garuḍa (the king of birds), Lord Śrī Hari (who has a lotus sprung from His navel) withdrew to His transcendent realm (Vaikuṇṭha), His feat (viz., the deliverance of the elephant) being celebrated by Gandharvas, Siddhas and gods. (13)
The glory of Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Lord Śrī Hari), O great king, has (thus) been narrated to you by me in the form of the aforementioned deliverance of the king of elephants, (the story of) which leads to heaven, is conducive to renown, wipes out the impurities of the Kali age and eliminates (the possibility of) bad dreams in the case of those who listen to this story. O chief of the Kurus! (14)
Rising (early) in the morning, and getting purified, members of the twice-born classes, seeking (their own) welfare, duly recite this story for neutralizing (the evil effects of) a bad dream and so on. (15)
full of joy, the all-pervading Śrī Hari, who embodies all created beings, told the (quondam) king of elephants as follows, O jewel of the Kurus, all living beings (present there) listening. (16)
- The Pāṇḍyas were a race of Kṣatriyas that ruled over the land called Dravida Deśa in South India.
(11-16)
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श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
ये मां त्वां च सरश्चेदं गिरिकन्दरकाननम् ।
वेत्रकीचकवेणूनां गुल्मानि सुरपादपान् ॥ १७॥
शृङ्गाणीमानि धिष्ण्यानि ब्रह्मणो मे शिवस्य च ।
क्षीरोदं मे प्रियं धाम श्वेतद्वीपं च भास्वरम् ॥ १८॥
श्रीवत्सं कौस्तुभं मालां गदां कौमोदकीं मम ।
सुदर्शनं पाञ्चजन्यं सुपर्णं पतगेश्वरम् ॥ १९॥
शेषं च मत्कलां सूक्ष्मां श्रियं देवीं मदाश्रयाम् ।
ब्रह्माणं नारदमृषिं भवं प्रह्लादमेव च ॥ २०॥
मत्स्यकूर्मवराहाद्यैरवतारैः कृतानि मे ।
कर्माण्यनन्तपुण्यानि सूर्यं सोमं हुताशनम् ॥ २१॥
प्रणवं सत्यमव्यक्तं गोविप्रान् धर्ममव्ययम् ।
दाक्षायणीर्धर्मपत्नीः सोमकश्यपयोरपि ॥ २२॥
गङ्गां सरस्वतीं नन्दां कालिन्दीं सितवारणम् ।
ध्रुवं ब्रह्मऋषीन् सप्त पुण्यश्लोकांश्च मानवान् ॥ २३॥
उत्थायापररात्रान्ते प्रयताः सुसमाहिताः ।
स्मरन्ति मम रूपाणि मुच्यन्ते ह्येनसोऽखिलात् ॥ २४॥
ये मां स्तुवन्त्यनेनाङ्ग प्रतिबुध्य निशात्यये ।
तेषां प्राणात्यये चाहं ददामि विमलां मतिम् ॥ २५॥
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The Lord said: Rising at the close of the third watch of the night (that immediately following midnight), nay purified and fully composed (in mind), they who remember Me and yourself as well as this lake, the yonder mountain (Trikūṭa) with (its) caves and the forest (clothing it), the clusters of canes and bamboos, (both) of the hollow and solid types, the celestial trees (comprised in this forest), these (three) peaks (of the Trikūṭa mountain), the realms of Brahmā (the creator), Lord Śiva and Myself, the ocean of milk and the resplendent (transcendent) Śvetadwipa, each being My favourite abode, Śrivatsa (the curl of hair on My breast), the Kaustubha gem (on my bosom) as well as My garland of sylvan flowers or My necklace of pearls (known by the name of Vaijayanti), My mace, Kaumodaki, (My discus) Sudarśana, (My conch) Pāñcajanya, (My mount) Garuḍa (possessed of beautiful wings), the king of birds, Seṣa (the serpent-god), who is My subtle emanation, Goddess Śrī (Lakṣmī, the goddess presiding over beauty and prosperity), who has Her abode in Me (on My very bosom), Brahmā (the creator), the sage Nārada, Lord Śiva (the Source of prosperity) as well as (My eminent devotee) Prahrāda, the (numerous) deeds performed through My (various) descents such as the (divine) Fish, Tortoise and Boar, (the very stories of) which yield an inexhaustible store of merit (to the listeners), the sun-god, the moon-god, the god of fire (the consumer of oblations), Praṇava (the mystical syllable OM), truth, the Unmanifest (primordial Matter), the cow and the Brāhmaṇas, the immortal religion (the cult of devotion to the Lord), the daughters of Dakṣa who are the wives of Dharma (the god of piety) as well as of the moon-god and Kaśyapa, the (rivers) Gaṅgā, Saraswati, Nandā (Alakanandā) and Kālidī (Yamunā), the white elephant (Airāvata, the mount of Indra, the lord of paradise), (My immortal devotee) Dhruva, the seven Brāhmaṇa sages and men of sacred renown (such as Nala, Yudhiṣṭhira and Janaka), (that are all) My (glorious) manifestations, are actually freed from all sin. (17—24)
And to them who, waking at the close of night (the commencement of the period known as the Brahma Muhūrta, which extends over two hours and twenty-four minutes before sunrise), extol Me by means of this hymn (mentally recited by you), O dear one, I vouchsafe unclouded memory (of Myself) at the moment of death.(25) (17-25)
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