मुक्तो देवलशापेन हूहूर्गन्धर्वसत्तमः ॥३॥
प्रणम्य शिरसाधीशमुत्तमश्लोकमव्ययम् ।
अगायत यशोधाम कीर्तन्यगुणसत्कथम् ॥४॥
yo 'sau grÄhaḥ sa vai sadyaḥ
paramÄÅ›carya-rÅ«pa-dhá¹›k
mukto devala-Å›Äpena
hūhūr gandharva-sattamaḥ
praṇamya Å›irasÄdhÄ«Å›am
uttama-ślokam avyayam
agÄyata yaÅ›o-dhÄma
kīrtanya-guṇa-sat-katham
yaḥ - he who; asau - that; grÄhaḥ - became a crocodile; saḥ - he; vai - indeed; sadyaḥ - immediately; parama - very nice; ÄÅ›carya - wonderful; rÅ«pa-dhá¹›k - possessing the form (of his original Gandharva position); muktaḥ - was delivered; devala-Å›Äpena - by the cursing of Devala Ṛṣi; hÅ«hūḥ - whose name was formerly HÅ«hÅ«; gandharva-sattamaḥ - the best of Gandharvaloka; praṇamya - offering his obeisances; Å›irasÄ - by the head; adhÄ«Å›am - unto the supreme master; uttama-Å›lokam - who is worshiped by the choicest verses; avyayam - who is the supreme eternal; agÄyata - he began to chant; yaÅ›aḥ-dhÄma - the glories of the Lord; kÄ«rtanya-guṇa-sat-katham - whose transcendental pastimes and qualities are glorious.
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.
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.
