As per the legend from the 8th Skandha of Bhagavad Purana, one of the most sacred books in Hinduism. In this moving episode Lord Vishnu came down to earth to protect Gajendra, the Elephant from the clutches of Makara, the Crocodile and awards him moksha or salvation. Gajendra is then said to have attained the similar four-armed form (Sarupya Mukti) of God and goes to Vaikuntha with Lord Vishnu.This story was narrated by Sri Suka to Emperor Parikshit. Gajendra stuti, शुक्लांबरधरं विष्णुं शशि वर्णं चतुर्भुजं । प्रसन्न वदनं ध्यायेत सर्व विघ्नोपशान्तये॥ There was once an elephant named Gajendra who used to live in a garden called Rtumata which was created by Varuna. Gajendra ruled over all the other elephants in the herd. On a hot day, he proceeded with his herd to a lake to cool off in its fresh waters. Suddenly a crocodile living in the lake attacked Gajendra and caught him by the leg. Gajendra tried for a long time to escape from the crocodile's clutches It is believed that Gajendra's foot was held by the crocodile for over a thousand of years. The elephant began to tire, although the crocodile’s strength was still undiminished. Gajendra lost a lot of blood and he became very weak. He finally realized that only God could help him and called out to Lord Narayana(Vishnu). He started to pray to Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu heard Gajendra’s cries for help. He sent the Sudarshana Chakra whirling down. The Chakra killed the crocodile and set Gajendra free. Gajendra offered Lord Narayana a Lotus and thanked him for saving his life. Strange as it may seem, but due to his disrespect to the great Sage Agastya, he was cursed and had to undergo this Gajendra life and the curse, and the sage had told him that he would be freed from the curse by Lord Vishnu. That had now happened. Indradyumna too was freed from his curse and became Vishnu’s companion. The crocodile was in his previous life was a Gandharva named Huhu. Credit : Wiki and other trusted sources
