Gajendra Moksham is the take of a celebrated elephant whose cries for help brought down the Lord Vishnu from his celestial abode. Although the story is set in the Tamil Nadu temple of Kapisthalam, the episode is the theme of many famed Kerala mural paintings and hence is popular in the households of the state. The most famous among these is the mural at the Krishnapuram Palace, on the way from Alleppey to Kollam, at a place known as at Kayamkulam. This is a spectacular, huge mural belonging to the 18th century and is the oldest in the region.

The Pandya King Indradyumnan is believed to have worshiped Lord Narayana or Vishnu with a fervor that far supersedes ordinary men. Unfortunately, for some reason the king earned the displeasure of Sage Druvasa. The Maharishi cursed the king to be born into the class of animals. Upon hearing this monarch was reduced to tears and beseeched the sage to revoke his curse because as an animal his daily prayers to the lord Vishnu would remain unfulfilled. The king held his prayers and offerings to his deity dearer than his own life. Moved by such piety, the sage blessed King Indradyumnan with life as an elephant and promised that his devotion would remain in such an animal incarnation too. He also promised that the king would receive deliverance through the blessings of the Lord himself.

A demi-god, Huhu, similarly invited the wrath of Maharishi Devalar and was cursed to be reborn as a crocodile. It is believed that the sages of ancient India were extremely benevolent. Having cursed another human being, their wrath would immediately be replaced by regret of having given way to the sin of anger. Rishi Devalar too repaired this curse soon by assuring Huhu that he would be liberated from his cursed life as a crocodile by Lord Vishnu’s grace.

Indradyumnan was reborn as the elephant Gajendra and yet did not lose his devotion. Every morning he would pluck a lotus from a water tank and offer it to the lord. Gajendra was a benevolent elephant king and his herd accompanied him every morning in this ritual. One such dawn as Gajendra entered the sacred tank to bathe and pick a pink blossom that would be his day’s offering to his deity, a crocodile gripped his foot and slowly Gajendra was dragged into the waters. The herd joined in their efforts to extricate their king from the peril at hand but the crocodile proved to be too powerful for them all. It is believed that the crocodile with such virile strength was none other than Huhu reborn.

After a long and enfeebling struggle, Gajendra’s strength ebbed and faced with impending death he sought his favorite god’s aid. “Adi Moolam”, Gajendra is said to have cried. This call refers to the Lord as the ancient, beginning less source of the universe. To respond to his ardent devotees cries, Lord Vishnu mounted his vehicle, the mighty Garuda and approached the site. The wicked crocodile was slain by the Lord’s discus (chakra) and the lord blessed Gajendra back into his human form. Thus both the prophecies of Gajendra’s liberation (Gajendra Moksha) and Huhu’s redemption came true.

The famous Hindu epic Srimad Bhagavatham also narrates this episode and holds Gajendra to have composed verses in the Lord’s praise in his moments of crisis. It is believed that all those who narrate this episode of the Bhagavatham and pray to the God are liberated of sufferings and sins just as Gajendra was relieved of his woes. The moral of the legend lies in the powers of faith and devotion towards the Lord. At a very young age such awe and trust in the Divine is ingrained into the child’s mind.