The Crocodile and the Elephant

इन्द्रद्युम्नः पाण्ड्यखण्डाधिराजस्त्वद्भक्तात्मा चन्दनाद्रौ कदाचित् ।
त्वत्सेवायां मग्नधीरालुलोके नैवागस्त्यं प्राप्तमातिथ्यकामम्

indradyumnaḥ pāṇḍyakhaṇḍādhirājastvadbhaktātmā candanādrau kadācit tvatsevāyāṁ magnadhīrāluloke naivāgastyaṁ prāptamātithyakāmam

“Indradyumna, the king of the Pāṇḍya land, with mind given to your service, was once on the Sandalwood mountain, plunged in the rasa of your worship, and did not see Agastya, who had come desiring hospitality.”

कुम्भोद्भूतिस्संभृतक्रोधभारः स्तब्धात्मा त्वं हस्तिभूयं भजेति ।
शप्त्वाथैनं प्रत्यगात्सोऽपि लेभे हस्तीन्द्रत्वं त्वत्स्मृतिव्यक्तिधन्यम्

kumbhodbhūtissaṁbhṛtakrodhabhāraḥ stabdhātmā tvaṁ hastibhūyaṁ bhajeti śaptvāthainaṁ pratyagātso'pi lebhe hastīndratvaṁ tvatsmṛtivyaktidhanyam

“The pot-born sage, his rage swelling, cursed him: 'Be an elephant, you stiff-minded one,' and went his way. He, fortunate in the manifestation of your remembrance, attained elephant-hood.”

दुग्धाम्भोधेर्मध्यभाजि त्रिकूटे क्रीडञ्छैले यूथपोऽयं वशाभिः ।
सर्वान् जन्तूनत्यवर्तिष्ट शक्त्या त्वद्भक्तानां कुत्र नोत्कर्षलाभः

dugdhāmbhodhermadhyabhāji trikūṭe krīḍañchaile yūthapo'yaṁ vaśābhiḥ sarvān jantūnatyavartiṣṭa śaktyā tvadbhaktānāṁ kutra notkarṣalābhaḥ

“On Trikūṭa, the mountain in the middle of the milk-ocean, this lord of the herd, sporting with cows, surpassed all beings by power. Where is the lacking of glory among your devotees?”

स्वेन स्थेम्ना दिव्यदेहत्वशक्त्या सोऽयं खेदानप्रजानन् कदाचित् ।
शैलप्रान्ते घर्मतान्तः सरस्यां यूथैः सार्धं त्वत्प्रणुन्नोऽभिरेमे

svena sthemnā divyadehatvaśaktyā so'yaṁ khedānaprajānan kadācit śailaprānte gharmatāntaḥ sarasyāṁ yūthaiḥ sārdhaṁ tvatpraṇunno'bhireme

“By his own steadiness, by the power of his divine body, he, not knowing of any sorrow, once at the foot of the mountain, exhausted by heat, in a lake with his herds, urged by you, sported.”

हूहूस्तावद्देवलस्यापि शापाद् ग्राहीभूतस्तज्जले वर्तमानः ।
जग्राहैनं हस्तिनं पाददेशे शान्त्यर्थं हि श्रान्तिदोऽसि स्वकानाम्

hūhūstāvaddevalasyāpi śāpād grāhībhūtastajjale vartamānaḥ jagrāhainaṁ hastinaṁ pādadeśe śāntyarthaṁ hi śrāntido'si svakānām

“Hūhū, by the curse of the sage Devala turned into a crocodile, alive there in the water, took hold of this elephant by the foot. For peace's sake, you give exhaustion to your own.”

त्वत्सेवाया वैभवाद्दुर्निरोधं युध्यन्तं तं वत्सराणां सहस्रम् ।
प्राप्ते काले त्वत्पदैकाग्र्यसिद्ध्यै नक्राक्रान्तं हस्तिवीरं व्यधास्त्वम्

tvatsevāyā vaibhavāddurnirodhaṁ yudhyantaṁ taṁ vatsarāṇāṁ sahasram prāpte kāle tvatpadaikāgryasiddhyai nakrākrāntaṁ hastivīraṁ vyadhāstvam

“Then, by the greatness of service to you, he fought a thousand years; the crocodile could not be checked. When the time came for the perfection of single-pointedness on your feet, you placed the elephant-hero in the crocodile's grip.”

आर्तिव्यक्तप्राक्तनज्ञानभक्तिः शुण्डोत्क्षिप्तैः पुण्डरीकैस्समर्चन् ।
पूर्वाभ्यस्तं निर्विशेषात्मनिष्ठं स्तोत्रश्रेष्ठं सोऽन्वगादीत् परात्मन्

ārtivyaktaprāktanajñānabhaktiḥ śuṇḍotkṣiptaiḥ puṇḍarīkaissamarcan pūrvābhyastaṁ nirviśeṣātmaniṣṭhaṁ stotraśreṣṭhaṁ so'nvagādīt parātman

“Suffering manifest, with prior knowledge and devotion, worshipping with white lotuses lifted in his trunk, the praise he had earlier mastered, of the indistinct supreme self, he chanted, supreme self.”

श्रुत्वा स्तोत्रं निर्गुणस्थं समस्तं ब्रह्मेशाद्यैर्नाहमित्यप्रयाते ।
सर्वात्मा त्वं भूरिकारुण्यवेगात् तार्क्ष्यारूढः प्रेक्षितोऽभूः पुरस्तात्

śrutvā stotraṁ nirguṇasthaṁ samastaṁ brahmeśādyairnāhamityaprayāte sarvātmā tvaṁ bhūrikāruṇyavegāt tārkṣyārūḍhaḥ prekṣito'bhūḥ purastāt

“Hearing the praise, the formless rest unmoved, Brahmā and the rest, saying 'not I'. Then you, all-self, by the great pull of compassion, mounted on Tārkṣya, were seen in front.”

हस्तीन्द्रं तं हस्तपद्मेन धृत्वा चक्रेण त्वं नक्रवर्यं व्यदारीः ।
गन्धर्वेऽस्मिन्मुक्तशापे स हस्ती त्वत्सारूप्यं प्राप्य देदीप्यते स्म

hastīndraṁ taṁ hastapadmena dhṛtvā cakreṇa tvaṁ nakravaryaṁ vyadārīḥ gandharve'sminmuktaśāpe sa hastī tvatsārūpyaṁ prāpya dedīpyate sma

“Catching the elephant-king with your lotus-hand, you split the chief crocodile with the discus. With the curse lifted, the gandharva and elephant attained your form and shone.”

एतद्वृत्तं त्वां च मां च प्रगे यो गायेत्सोऽयं भूयसे श्रेयसे स्यात् ।
इत्युक्त्वैनं तेन सार्धं गतस्त्वं धिष्ण्यं विष्णो पाहि वातालयेश

etadvṛttaṁ tvāṁ ca māṁ ca prage yo gāyetso'yaṁ bhūyase śreyase syāt ityuktvainaṁ tena sārdhaṁ gatastvaṁ dhiṣṇyaṁ viṣṇo pāhi vātālayeśa

“'Whoever sings this account of you and me at dawn, may that one's welfare be great.' So saying, you went together with him to your seat. Viṣṇu, save me, lord of the Wind-house.”