Gajendra, the king of the elephants, was caught by a crocodile. And he fought and fought with this crocodile until he saw that the crocodile was getting stronger and he was getting weaker. This crocodile was pulling him under the water, so that the king of elephants was powerless to defend himself any longer.

All the citizens of the elephant community were standing on the banks helplessly watching this altercation between the crocodile and Gajendra, the Supreme Lord of the elephants. And the elephant felt that he could no longer prolong the agony of this altercation, so he started thinking, “What would I want to remember at the time of my death?” And he sang this hymn to Vishnu, the Gajendra Moksha, a beautiful hymn, “I bow to you, and I bow to you, and I bow to you. You are present everywhere, you are the protector of all, you are the circumstance of all, and I surrender to your circumstances. I am no longer capable of withstanding the attack of this crocodile.”

And Vishnu came, and saved him.