mahā-prāṇaḥ - very great in bodily strength; mahā-vīryaḥ - showing uncommon prowess; mahā-sarpaḥ - the biggest snake; iva - like; dvipam - an elephant; kṛtvā - placing; adharām - the lower; hanum - jaw; bhūmau - on the ground; daityaḥ - the demon; divi - in the sky; uttarām hanum - the upper jaw; nabhaḥ - like the sky; gambhīra - deep; vaktreṇa - with his mouth; leliha - like a snake; ulbaṇa - fearful; jihvayā - with a tongue; daṁṣṭrābhiḥ - with teeth; kāla-kalpābhiḥ - exactly like the time factor, or death; grasan - devouring; iva - as if; jagat-trayam - the three worlds; ati-mātra - very high; mahā-kāyaḥ - whose great body; ākṣipan - shaking; tarasā - with great force; girīn - the mountains; giri-rāṭ - the Himalaya Mountains; pāda-cārī - moving on foot; iva - as if; padbhyām - by his feet; nirjarayan - crushing; mahīm - the surface of the world; jagrāsa - swallowed; saḥ - he; samāsādya - reaching; vajriṇam - Indra, who carries the thunderbolt; saha-vāhanam - with his carrier, the elephant.

Vṛtrāsura was very powerful in physical strength and influence. He placed his lower jaw on the ground and his upper jaw in the sky. His mouth became very deep, like the sky itself, and his tongue resembled a large serpent. With his fearful, deathlike teeth, he seemed to be trying to devour the entire universe. Thus assuming a gigantic body, the great demon Vṛtrāsura shook even the mountains and began crushing the surface of the earth with his legs, as if he were the Himālayas walking about. He came before Indra and swallowed him and Airāvata, his carrier, just as a big python might swallow an elephant.