SB 8.4.3 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

योऽसौ ग्राह: स वै सद्य: परमाश्चर्यरूपधृक् । मुक्तो देवलशापेन हूहूर्गन्धर्वसत्तम: ॥ ३ ॥ प्रणम्य शिरसाधीशमुत्तमश्लोकमव्ययम् । अगायत यशोधाम कीर्तन्यगुणसत्कथम् ॥ ४ ॥

Verse text

yo ’sau grāhaḥ sa vai sadyaḥ paramāścarya-rūpa-dhṛk mukto devala-śāpena hūhūr gandharva-sattamaḥ praṇamya śirasādhīśam uttama-ślokam avyayam agāyata yaśo-dhāma kīrtanya-guṇa-sat-katham

Synonyms

yaḥ — he who ; asau — that ; grāhaḥ — became a crocodile ; saḥ — he ; vai — indeed ; sadyaḥ — immediately ; parama — very nice ; āścarya — wonderful ; rūpa — dhṛk — possessing the form (of his original Gandharva position) ; muktaḥ — was delivered ; devala — śāpena — by the cursing of Devala Ṛṣi ; hūhūḥ — whose name was formerly Hūhū ; gandharva — sattamaḥ — the best of Gandharvaloka ; praṇamya — offering his obeisances ; śirasā — by the head ; adhīśam — unto the supreme master ; uttama — ślokam — who is worshiped by the choicest verses ; avyayam — who is the supreme eternal ; agāyata — he began to chant ; yaśaḥ — dhāma — the glories of the Lord ; kīrtanya — guṇa — sat — katham — whose transcendental pastimes and qualities are glorious .

Translation

The best of the Gandharvas, King Hūhū, having been cursed by Devala Muni, had become a crocodile. Now, having been delivered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he assumed a very beautiful form as a Gandharva. Understanding by whose mercy this had happened, he immediately offered his respectful obeisances with his head and began chanting prayers just suitable for the transcendental Lord, the supreme eternal, who is worshiped by the choicest verses.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The crocodile, being freed of Devala’s curse, assumed the most astonishing form of the best of the Gandharvas, King Hūhū. He offered his respects with his head and began to praise the indestructible Lord, the shelter of all good qualities, whose topics have qualities worthy of chanting. Hūhū was cursed by Devala. Hūhū, playing in the water with some women, grabbed the foot of Devala and pulled it. Devala became angry and cursed him. “Become a crocodile!” But begin pacified by Hūhū, he spoke. “The Lord will free you when you attack Gajendra.” The Lord (adhīśam) is the shelter (dhāma) of fame.

Purport

The story of how the Gandharva had become a crocodile will be described later. The curse by which the Gandharva took this position was actually a blessing, not a curse. One should not be displeased when a saintly person curses someone, for his curse, indirectly, is a blessing. The Gandharva had the mentality of an inhabitant of the celestial planetary system, and for him to become an associate of the Supreme Lord would have taken millions of long years. However, because he was cursed by Devala Ṛṣi, he became a crocodile and in only one life was fortunate enough to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face and be promoted to the spiritual world to become one of the Lord’s associates. Similarly, Gajendra was also delivered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead when he was freed from the curse of Agastya Muni.