Narayaneeyam

[soundararajan50]

Narayaneeyam Dasakam-26 Gajendra Moksha
Gajendra Moksha
Gajendra Moksha, or Gajendramoksham, is an important incident found in the Bhagavad Purana and it shows the importance of Bhakti, prayer and true devotion.Indradyumna, Thy great devotee and the king of Paandya land was once engrossed in worshipping Thee on the Malaya mountain. He was so absorbed that he did not even notice sage Agastya who approached expecting his hospitality. Agastya who was overcome with anger cursed the king that as he was of such haughty nature he would be born as an elephant and departed. Indradyumna got the form of a lordly elephant with the good fortune of retaining a clear memory of Thee.
A gandharva his name was Huhu. He had been cursed by a sage that he would become a crocodile. And the sage had told him that he would be freed from the curse by Lord Vishnu. That had now happened.There was a beautiful mountain named Trikuta. The waves of the ocean lapped at the foot of Trikuta. There were thick forests on the mountain. And in the forests there lived a king of elephants named Gajendra. He ruled over all the other elephants in the herd.and he had thousands of queen elephants with whom he used to bathe and play in a huge lake. Gajendra was proud about his status and on a summer day he was arrogantly bathing in the lake with his friends.
One day Gajendra was playing with his family & friends, the other elephants in a lake in the forest. Suddenly, a crocodile that lived in the pond caught Gajendra by his leg. Gajendra, in spite of being an elephant could not break free. He then, called out for help. All his friends, the other elephants gathered around him and tried to help, but in vain. The crocodile was stronger than all the elephants put together. They gave up. Gajendra tried for a long time to escape from the crocodile. He trumpeted until he was hoarse. The crocodile simply would not let go.
The elephant and the crocodile struggled for a thousand years. When a thousand years over, the elephant began to tire, although the crocodile’s strength was still undiminished. Gajendra lost a lot of blood and he became very weak. He finally realized that only God could help him and called out to Lord Narayana.
The elephant started to pray to Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu heard Gajendra’s cries for help and appeared on his vehicle, Garuda. He sent the Sudarshana Chakra whirling down. The Chakra killed the crocodile and set Gajendra free. Gajendra offered Lord Narayana a Lotus and thanked him for saving his life.
When we are caught in the jaws of death, there is no one who can save us. Friends flee, relatives disappear. Our own body fails us miserably. Like the elephant in the story, the only solution from suffering is to turn to the Lord. In the moment of that utter surrender, God rushes to our aid, destroys death, and releases our soul from the clutches of death – and that is liberation or Moksha that comes by the grace of the Supreme.
Dasakam: 26-- Shlokam: 01


इन्द्रद्युम्न: पाण्ड्यखण्डाधिराज-
स्त्वद्भक्तात्मा चन्दनाद्रौ कदाचित् ।
त्वत् सेवायां मग्नधीरालुलोके
नैवागस्त्यं प्राप्तमातिथ्यकामम् ॥१॥

indradyumnaH paaNDyakhaNDaadhiraajaH
tvadbhaktaatmaa chandanaadraukadaachit |
tvatsevaayaaM magnadhiiraalul
Oke naivaagastyaM praaptamaatithyakaamam || 1

Indradyumna, Thy great devotee and the king of Paandya land was once engrossed in worshipping Thee on the Malaya mountain. SageAgastya, came there, expecting to be welcomed as an honoured guest by the king; butthe king, his mind fully immersed in Thee, did not notice the sage at all.