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Strange are the ways of the Divine. The elephant and the crocodile fought each other till Narayana slew the crocodile and saved the elephant. Both these creatures were cursed in their past lives. Though on opposite sides, both attained salvation, such is the grace of the Lord. Here’s an interesting tale from the Bhagavatam, recounted by Nilanjana, in the weekly column, exclusively for Different Truths.
The stories from Srimad Bhagavatam are narrated by Sukha (son of Ved Vyasa, the author) to Parikshit (the descendant of the Pandavas, who was cursed with death) in his attempt to achieve moksha (liberation).
A beautiful lake in the garden named Rituman in the hill Trikuta is the setting for this story. The idyllic location was known for its natural beauty that mesmerized everyone into believing that that nature had blessed it with all its bounties. In that garden lived a huge elephant with his herd. The elephant had a wonderful time playing around with his wives and calves in the lake. On a fateful day in summer, the elephant and his companions walked down to the lake tired and thirsty. They quenched their thirst and played along. The indulgence in sense pleasure so engrossed him that he got carried away without any sense of time. A crocodile, which dwelt in the lake, grabbed this opportunity and seized the leg of the elephant. The elephant tried his level best to free himself but to no avail. It is believed that the tussle went on for many years. Finally, the elephant found his strength failing. That is when he remembered the Divine.
The elephant gathered himself and set his thoughts on Narayana. He realised that Narayana is the ancient
Touched by the plight of the elephant, Narayana assuming the form of Hari, appeared near the lake on his vahan(carrier) Garuda. With his Sudarshan Chakra (discuss), he killed the crocodile and pulled the elephant out of the lake. The elephant offered the lotus that he was holding in his trunk to his Divine rescuer.
At this point, Parikshit asked how an elephant can be blessed with such wisdom.
This led to the story of King Indradyumna, another devotee of Narayana, who was so steeped in bhakti (devotion) that he was oblivious of the world around. This infuriated Rishi Agasthya, who had visited the king but had not received any appropriate courtesy. King Indradyumna was cursed to be an elephant. On his part, the king thought it was divine will at play and roamed around the forest happily. However, he remembered his past birth and could, therefore, think of the Divine in times of trouble.
Hence in one stroke, Narayana relieved two devotees of his from a cursed life. Indeed, strange are the ways of the Divine!
Glossary
1) Sattvaguna or sattva – This is the highest of the three gunas (attributes). It indicates goodness and purity;
2) Rajoguna or rajas – This is the second, indicating activity (when on a positive swing) and restlessness (when negative);
3) Tamoguna or tamas – This is the lowest one indicating rest (when positive)and lethargy (when negative). All the three take turns to dominate the human mind.
Footnote: Srimad Bhagavatam is often called the Bhagavad Purana. Authored by Ved Vyasa, the stories are about the various avatars (incarnations) of Lord Vishnu, also known as Narayana.
©Nilanjana Dey
Photos from the internet.
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