This delicately animated drawing depicts the King of the Elephants, Gajendra, being rescued by the Hindu God of Preservation, Vishnu, riding on his avian mount, Garuda. The popular tale is told in the Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of the Lord), which is traditionally ascribed to the legendary poet-sage Vyasa in the 8th-10th century CE.
Rising out of the primordial Ocean of Milk, the majestic Trikuta mountain has a valley with the beautiful Ritumat garden and lake made by Varuna, the God of Waters. One day the King of the Elephants, Gajendra, and his wives and offspring went to the lake to refresh themselves. Not caring that his herd was damaging the lake shore’s vegetation and disturbing the lake’s inhabitants, Gajendra bathed in the lake, drank its clear waters, and sported by spraying water with his trunk over his family. This commotion irritated a powerful crocodile, who attacked Gajendra’s leg under the water and tried to drown him. The struggle between Gajendra and the crocodile lasted for 1000 years until Gajendra, feeling fatigued, prayed to Vishnu to save him and held a lotus aloft with his trunk as an offering. Vishnu then appeared riding on Garuda, pulled Gajendra and the crocodile from the water, and killed the crocodile with his discus. Gajendra’s prayer to Vishnu became a famous hymn known as the Gajendra Stuti. (Bhagavata Purana 8:2-4).
Gajendra raises the lotus with his trunk while his legs are ensnared by the crocodile. Vishnu on Garuda manifests in the sky.
