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King of the elephants
Subcategories
This category has the following 3 subcategories, out of 3 total.
G
I
Pages in category "Gajendra"
The following 102 pages are in this category, out of 102 total.
1
A
- After getting up from bed in the morning, those who desire their own welfare - the brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and in particular the brahmana Vaisnavas - should chant this narration as it is, without deviation, to counteract the troubles of bad dreams
- After the expiry of the elephant's life (as Gajendra), he (Indradyumna) was promoted to Vaikunthaloka to become a personal associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, in a body exactly like that of the Lord. This is called sarupya-mukti
- After understanding the awkward condition of Gajendra, who had offered his prayers, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, who lives everywhere, appeared with the demigods, who were offering prayers to Him
- Agastya Muni cursed Maharaja Indradyumna to become an elephant (Gajendra), the curse was indirectly a benediction, for by undergoing one life as an elephant, Indradyumna Maharaja ended the reactions for all the sins of his previous life
- Agastya Muni thought it wise to curse the King (Indradyumna) to become an elephant (Gajendra) because the powerful King did not receive Agastya Muni as one is obliged to receive a brahmana
- All the animals were practically controlled by this elephant (Gajendra), yet although they could move without fear, because of respect they did not stand before him
- Although Agastya Muni cursed Maharaja Indradyumna to become an elephant (Gajendra), the curse was indirectly a benediction, for by undergoing one life as an elephant, Indradyumna Maharaja ended the reactions for all the sins of his previous life
- Although the demigods are in charge of maintaining different aspects of the universe, Gajendra thought that they were unable to rescue him. Harim vina naiva mrtim taranti: no one can rescue anyone from the dangers of birth, death, old age and disease
- Although the demigods did not come to the aid of Gajendra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead immediately appeared before him because of his fervent prayer. This does not mean that the demigods were angry with Gajendra
- Although the King of the elephants, Gajendra, was put in danger, this was a chance for him to remember his previous devotional activities so that he could immediately be rescued by the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- As Gajendra has described (in SB 8.3.29), the Supreme Lord has various parts and parcels, including the demigods, human beings and animals, all covered by separate forms
B
- Because the King of the elephants, Gajendra, thought himself an ordinary animal, he thought himself unfit to see the Lord. In his humility, he thought that he could not practice yoga
- Both the crocodile, who had been a Gandharva in his previous life, and Gajendra, who had been a king named Indradyumna, were cursed, but both of them benefited
- By such transcendental devotional service (under the direction of the spiritual master), the Lord is served. I (Gajendra) offer my respectful obeisances unto Him
- By the arrangement of providence, O King, a strong crocodile was angry at the elephant and attacked the elephant's leg in the water. The elephant was certainly strong, and he tried his best to get free from this danger sent by providence
- By your partial feature as Paramatma, You are situated in the hearts of all embodied beings. You are celebrated as direct transcendental knowledge, and You are unlimited. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
F
G
- Gajendra assumed a spiritual body when his body was touched by the Lord. Similarly, Dhruva Maharaja assumed his spiritual body in this way
- Gajendra entered the lake, bathed thoroughly and was relieved of his fatigue. Then, with the aid of his trunk, he drank the cold, clear, nectarean water, which was mixed with the dust of lotus flowers and water lilies, until he was fully satisfied
- Gajendra said, "I know that persons who are pure devotees and have, by serving the lotus feet of great souls, become freed from all material desires, are always merged in the ocean of transcendental bliss"
- Gajendra said, "Pure devotees are always satisfied simply by glorifying Your auspicious characteristics. For them there is nothing else to aspire to or pray for"
- Gajendra says, "My dear Lord, I have no experience in the transcendental bliss derived from Your devotional service, so therefore I have asked from You some favor"
- Gajendra was also delivered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead when he was freed from the curse of Agastya Muni
- Gajendra was feeling acute pain, but when he saw that Narayana, wielding His disc, was coming in the sky on the back of Garuda, he immediately took a lotus flower in his trunk, and with great difficulty, he uttered the following words
- Gajendra was formerly King Indradyumna, and somehow or other in his next life he became King of the elephants
- Gajendra was immediately freed of all material ignorance and bondage because he had been touched directly by the hands of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
H
- He is both the supreme cause and the supreme result, the observer and the witness, in all circumstances. Thus He is transcendental to everything. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection
- He is different from the cause and the result. I surrender unto Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is self-sufficient in everything
- He received the salvation of sarupya-mukti, in which he achieved the same bodily features as the Lord, being dressed in yellow garments and possessing four hands
- He was perspiring, liquor dripped from his mouth & his vision was overwhelmed by intoxication. He was being served by bumblebees who drank honey & from a distance he could smell the dust of the lotus flowers, which was carried from the lake by the breeze
I
- I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are the Supersoul, the superintendent of everything, and the witness of all that occurs. You are the Supreme Person, the origin of material nature and of the total material energy
- I do not wish to live anymore after I am released from the attack of the crocodile. What is the use of an elephant's body covered externally and internally by ignorance? I simply desire eternal liberation from the covering of ignorance
- I offer my respectful obeisances unto the SPG, by whose illusory energy the jiva, who is part and parcel of God, forgets his real identity because of the bodily concept of life. I take shelter of the SPG, whose glories are difficult to understand
- I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the self-effulgent Supersoul, who is the witness in everyone's heart, who enlightens the individual soul and who cannot be reached by exercises of the mind, words or consciousness
- I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme, the master of all mystic yoga, who is seen in the core of the heart by perfect mystics when they are completely purified and freed from the reactions of fruitive activity by practicing bhakti-yoga
- I therefore surrender unto Him, the great and powerful supreme authority who is the actual shelter of everyone
- In the fighting between the elephant (Gajendra) and the crocodile, the difference was that although the elephant was extremely powerful, he was in a foreign place, in the water
- In the presence of the Gandharvas, the Siddhas & the other demigods who were praising the Lord for His wonderful transcendental activities, the Lord, sitting on the back of His carrier, Garuda, returned to His all-wonderful abode & took Gajendra with Him
- Indeed, he raised water from the lake with his trunk and sprayed it over them. He did not mind the hard labor involved in this endeavor
- Indradyumna, in his birth as an elephant (Gajendra), attained salvation and became a personal associate of the Lord in Vaikuntha, and the crocodile regained his status as a Gandharva
- It is by the will of providence that I have been attacked by this crocodile, and therefore I shall seek shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is always the shelter of everyone, even of great personalities
M
- Materialistic conception of life is extremely difficult to surmount, but one who surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as did Gajendra, the King of the elephants, comes to enlightenment on the Brahman platform
- My dear devotee, unto those who rise from bed at the end of night and offer Me the prayers offered by you, I give an eternal residence in the spiritual world at the end of their lives
- My dear King Pariksit, I have now described the wonderful power of Krsna, as displayed when the Lord delivered the King of the elephants. O best of the Kuru dynasty, those who hear this narration become fit to be promoted to the higher planetary systems
N
- None of them approached him. However, because Lord Hari is the Supersoul, Purusottama, the Personality of Godhead, He appeared before Gajendra
- Now Gajendra was in danger, and although he was in a body other than that of a human being, he remembered the stotra he had chanted in his previous life
- Now, fully desiring release from material life, I offer my respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Person who is the creator of the universe, who is Himself the form of the universe and who is nonetheless transcendental to this cosmic manifestation
O
- O best of the Kuru dynasty, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul of everyone, being thus pleased, addressed Gajendra in the presence of everyone there. He spoke the following blessings
- O King, the elephant and the crocodile fought in this way, pulling one another in and out of the water, for one thousand years. Upon seeing the fight, the demigods were very surprised
- Once, while observing a vow of silence, he was fully engaged in the worship of the Lord and absorbed in the ecstasy of love of Godhead
- One should take shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna, as we shall see Gajendra do, and at the same time one can be a grhastha if he is satisfied with sexual indulgence
- One who is a pure devotee (anyabhilasita-sunyam - Brs 1.1.11), who acts according to the sastra and the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, certainly becomes purified. Like Gajendra, he assumes a spiritual body and returns home, back to Godhead
S
- Simply because of hearing this narration, they gain a reputation as devotees, they are unaffected by the contamination of Kali-yuga, and they never see bad dreams
- Since an animal such as me has surrendered unto You, who are supremely liberated, certainly You will release me from this dangerous position. Indeed, being extremely merciful, You incessantly try to deliver me
- Since they (the demigods) considered Gajendra's prayer to be directed toward God, they felt offended, and this in itself was offensive. Consequently, when the Lord went there, they also went & offered prayers to God so that their offense might be excused
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's converting the people of South India into Vaisnavas is compared to Lord Visnu's delivering Gajendra the elephant from the attack of a crocodile
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami continued: The King of the elephants, Gajendra, fixed his mind in his heart with perfect intelligence and chanted a mantra which he had learned in his previous birth as Indradyumna and which he remembered by the grace of Krsna
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami continued: When the King of the elephants was describing the supreme authority, without mentioning any particular person, he did not invoke the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Indra and Candra
- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: When the Lord delivered Gajendra, King of the elephants, all the demigods, sages and Gandharvas, headed by Brahma and Siva, praised this activity of the SPG and showered flowers upon both the Lord and Gajendra
- Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura specifically hints that since Gajendra was in such a difficult position and was praying for the mercy of the SP of Godhead, the demigods, who could have immediately gone to his rescue, hesitated to go there
- Sukadeva Gosvami continued: O King, I have described to you the pastime of Gajendra-moksana, which is most pious to hear. By hearing of such activities of the Lord, one can be freed from all sinful reactions. Now please listen as I describe Raivata Manu
- Surrounded by the herd's other elephants, including females, and followed by the young ones, Gajapati, the leader of the elephants, made Trikuta Mountain tremble all around because of the weight of his body
T
- That one has been found to be very weak in one place does not mean that he should stop fighting the crocodile of maya. One should take shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna, as we shall see Gajendra do, and at the same time one can be a grhastha
- The decision of the King of the elephants, Gajendra, was correct. In such a dangerous position, he sought shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The Gajendra-moksana temple is sometimes mistaken for a temple of Lord Siva. It is about two miles south of the city of Kaivera (Nagercoil). Actually the Deity is not of Lord Siva but of Visnu
- The King of the elephants (Gajendra) decided to surrender unto Him. This is intelligent. One must know that great Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him
- The King of the elephants (Gajendra), in his condition of danger, decided to seek shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. After considerable thought, he intelligently arrived at this correct decision. Such a decision is not reached by a sinful man
- The King of the elephants, Gajendra, said, adhyatmika-yoga-gamyam, indicating that unless one is situated on this transcendental platform (bhakti-yoga), one cannot approach the Supreme Lord
- The King of the elephants, Gajendra, said: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Person, Vasudeva (om namo bhagavate vasudevaya)
- The King of the elephants, Gajendra, simply accepted that there must be someone who has created this cosmic manifestation and has supplied its ingredients. This should be admitted by everyone, even the most determined atheists
- The other elephants, who are my friends and relatives, could not rescue me from this danger. What then to speak of my wives? They cannot do anything
- The SPG said: Freed from all sinful reactions are those who rise from bed at the end of night, early in the morning, and fully concentrate their minds with great attention upon My form; your form; this lake; this mountain; the caves; the gardens
- Then in the end when he (Maharaja Dhruva) was completely purified he declined to accept any material benediction from the Lord. Similarly, Gajendra was also distressed and prayed to Krsna for protection, after which he became a pure devotee
- Then, in the presence of all the demigods, who were looking on, the Lord severed the crocodile's mouth from its body with His disc. In this way He saved Gajendra, the King of the elephants
- Thereafter, because of being pulled into the water and fighting for many long years, the elephant became diminished in his mental, physical and sensual strength
- Thereafter, seeing Gajendra in such an aggrieved position, the unborn Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, immediately got down from the back of Garuda by His causeless mercy & pulled the King of the elephants, along with the crocodile, out of the water
- Thereafter, seeing Gajendra in that grave condition, his wives felt very, very sorry and began to cry. The other elephants wanted to help Gajendra, but because of the crocodile's great strength, they could not rescue him by grasping him from behind
- This (the only salvation or relief from the cycle of birth and death in the evolutionary process is full surrender) is indicated by the word namah, I (Gajendra) offer my respectful obeisances unto You - the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- This Gajendra had formerly been a Vaisnava and the king of the country known as Pandya, which is in the province of Dravida (South India). In his previous life, he was known as Indradyumna Maharaja
- This material body acts due to the presence of spirit because of Him, & He is therefore the root cause of everyone. He is worshipable for such exalted persons as Brahma & Siva, and He has entered the heart of every living being. Let me meditate upon Him
- Thus surrounded by his associates, who were afflicted by thirst, he soon arrived at the bank of the lake
U
- Uddhava said, "All the great sages; the King of the elephants, Gajendra; the goddess of fortune, Sita; and even Your father and mother were all delivered by Your causeless mercy"
- Unalloyed devotees have nothing to ask from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Gajendra, the King of the elephants, was circumstantially asking for an immediate benediction because he had no other way to be rescued
- Upon delivering the King of the elephants from the clutches of the crocodile, and from material existence, which resembles a crocodile, the Lord awarded him the status of sarupya-mukti
W
- We are always in danger because at any moment death can take place. It is not that only Gajendra, the King of elephants, was afraid of death. Everyone should fear death because everyone is caught by the crocodile of eternal time & may die at any moment
- We can see this to be true (considering dangerous conditions to be an opportunity to pray to the Lord and offer thanks) from the example of Gajendra, who anxiously prayed to the Lord and thus received an immediate chance to return home, back to Godhead
- We should not forget the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra under any circumstances. It will help us in the greatest danger, as we find in the life of Gajendra
- When the King of the elephants saw that he was under the clutches of the crocodile by the will of providence and, being embodied and circumstantially helpless, could not save himself from danger, he was extremely afraid of being killed
- While the elephant (Gajendra) became reduced in strength, the crocodile became more and more powerful
Y
- You are also the owner of the material body. Therefore, You are the supreme complete. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You
- You are extremely difficult to attain for those like me who are too attached to mental concoction, home, relatives, friends, money, servants and assistants
- You are the only shelter for all transcendentalists because it is You who can give liberation. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You
- You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, uncontaminated by the modes of nature. You are the reservoir of all enlightenment, the supreme controller. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You
- You possess unlimited energy, but You are unapproachable by those who are unable to control their senses. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and again