Gajendramoksha

(“release of the elephant-king”) The
name of a particular incident in Hindu
mythology involving a battle between
king Indradyumna, in the form of
a giant elephant, and a Gandharva
(celestial musician) named Huhu, in
the form of a giant crocodile. Both
Indradyumna and Huhu have assumed
these forms as the result of a curse.
Indradyumna has been cursed by the
sage Agastya, who becomes angry when
the meditating king fails to greet him
with proper respect. Huhu has been
cursed by the sage Devala, when the
amorous water play between Huhu and
some celestial damsels has disturbed
the sage’s meditation.
The struggle between the two animals begins when the elephant comes
to the water to drink and the crocodile
grabs him by the leg. The crocodile
attempts to pull the elephant into deeper water while the elephant struggles to
break free. The pair are so evenly [[231]]
matched that neither can best the other.
After the battle has raged for a thousand
years the god Vishnu appears, kills the
crocodile, and restores Indradyumna to
his previous form. The story thus takes
its name, the “release of the elephant
king,” because Indradyumna was freed
from the crocodile’s grasp and the
effects of the curse.