Sri Gajendra Moksha Stotram – Full Text with English Meaning
Nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya naraṁ caiva narottamam
Devīṁ Sarasvatīṁ caiva tato jayam udīrayet.
One who, with single-pointed attention, constantly contemplates only the Supreme Lord— in the Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā, the Lord has promised that He preserves such a person’s spiritual attainment (yoga). It may be said that among all forms of yoga, this is the highest, for it represents the supreme stage of Bhakti-yoga, where the devotee never wishes to see himself as separate from the Lord under any circumstance. At the proper time, the Lord reminds that devotee of this connection and grants the otherwise unattainable fruit of liberation (mokṣa).
Gajendra's Prayer of Surrender
In the 9th chapter, verse 22 of the Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa says:
Ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate।
Teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham।।
Simple meaning: Those who think of Me exclusively, who remain absorbed in Me throughout the day and night, I provide what they lack (yoga), and I protect what they have (kṣema). In other words, the Lord Himself assumes full responsibility for them.
The episode of the Śrī Gajendra Mokṣa Stuti in the third chapter of the eighth canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam stands as undeniable proof of this truth.
Śrī Gajendra Mokṣa Stotram
Recitation
Śrī Śuka uvāca
Evaṁ vyavasito buddhyā samādhāya mano hṛdi ।
Jajāpa paramaṁ jāpyam prāg-janmany anuśikṣitam. ॥1॥
Gajendra uvāca
Om namo bhagavate tasmai yata etac cid-ātmakam ।
Puruṣāyādi-bījāya pareśāyābhidhīmahi. ॥2॥
Yasminn idaṁ yataś cedaṁ yenedaṁ ya idaṁ svayam ।
Yo ’smāt parasmāc ca paraṁ taṁ prapadye svayambhuvam. ॥3॥
Yaḥ svātmanīdaṁ nija-māyayārpitaṁ kvacid vibhātaṁ kva ca tat tirohitam ।
Aviddha-dṛk sākṣy ubhayaṁ tad īkṣate sa ātmamūlo ’vatu māṁ parāt paraḥ. ॥4॥
Kālena pañcatvam iteṣu kṛtsnaśo lokeṣu pāleṣu ca sarva-hetuṣu ।
Tamas tad āsīd gahanaṁ gabhīraṁ yas tasya pāre ’bhivirājate vibhuḥ. ॥5॥
Na yasya devā ṛṣayaḥ padaṁ vidur jantuḥ punaḥ ko ’rhati gantum īritum ।
Yathā naṭasyākṛtibhir viceṣṭato duratyayānukramaṇaḥ sa māvatu. ॥6॥
Didṛkṣavo yasya padaṁ su-maṅgalaṁ vimukta-saṅgā munayaḥ su-sādhavaḥ ।
Caranty aloka-vratam avraṇaṁ vane bhūtātma-bhūtāḥ suhṛdaḥ sa me gatiḥ. ॥7॥
Na vidyate yasya ca janma karma vā na nāma-rūpe guṇa-doṣa eva vā ।
Tathāpi lokāpyaya-saṁbhavāya yaḥ sva-māyayā tāny anukālam ṛcchati. ॥8॥
Tasmai namaḥ pareśāya brahmaṇe ’naśaktaye ।
Arūpāyorurūpāya nama āścarya-karmaṇe. ॥9॥
Nama ātma-pradīpāya sākṣiṇe paramātmane ।
Namo girāṁ vidūrāya manasaś cetasām api. ॥10॥
Sattvena pratilabhyāya naiṣkarmyeṇa vipaścitā ।
Namaḥ kaivalya-nāthāya nirvāṇa-sukha-saṁvide. ॥11॥
Namaḥ śāntāya ghorāya mūḍhāya guṇa-dharmiṇe ।
Nirviśeṣāya sāmyāya namo jñāna-ghanāya ca. ॥12॥
Kṣetrajñāya namas tubhyaṁ sarvādhyakṣāya sākṣiṇe ।
Puruṣāyātma-mūlāya mūla-prakṛtaye namaḥ. ॥13॥
Sarvendriya-guṇa-draṣṭre sarva-pratyaya-hetave ।
Asatā cchāyayokttāya sad-ābhāsāya te namaḥ. ॥14॥
Namo namas te ’khila-kāraṇāya niṣkāraṇāyādbhuta-kāraṇāya ।
Sarvāgama-āmnāya-mahārṇavāya namo ’pavargāya parāyaṇāya. ॥15॥
Guṇārṇi-cchanna-cid-uṣmapāya tat-kṣobha-visphūrjita-mānasāya ।
Naiṣkarmya-bhāvena vivarjitāgama svayaṁ-prakāśāya namaskaromi. ॥16॥
Mādṛk prapanna-paśu-pāśa-vimokṣaṇāya muktāya bhūri-karuṇāya namo ’layāya ।
Svāṁśena sarva-tanu-bhṛn-manasi pratīta- pratyag-dṛśe bhagavate bṛhate namas te. ॥17॥
Ātmātma-jāpta-gṛha-vitta-janeṣu saktair duṣprāpaṇāya guṇa-saṅga-vivarjitāya ।
Muktātmabhiḥ sva-hṛdaye paribhāvitāya jñānātmane bhagavate nama īśvarāya. ॥18॥
Yaṁ dharma-kāmārtha-vimukti-kāmā bhajanta iṣṭāṁ gatim āpnuvanti ।
Kiṁ tv āśiṣo raty api deham avyayaṁ karotu me ’dabhra-dayo vimokṣaṇam. ॥19॥
Ekāntino yasya na kañcanārthaṁ vāñchanti ye vai bhagavat-prapannāḥ ।
Atyadbhutaṁ tac caritaṁ su-maṅgalaṁ gāyanta ānanda-samudra-magnāḥ. ॥20॥
Tam akṣaraṁ brahma paraṁ pareśam avyakta-mādhyātmika-yoga-gamyam ।
Atīndriyaṁ sūkṣmam ivāti-dūraṁ anantam ādyaṁ paripūrṇam īḍe. ॥21॥
Yasya brahmādayo devā vedā lokaś carācarāḥ ।
Nāma-rūpa-vibhedena phalgvyā ca kalayā kṛtāḥ. ॥22॥
Yathārciṣo ’gneḥ savitur gabhastayo niryānti saṁyānty asakṛt sva-rociṣaḥ ।
Tathā yato ’yaṁ guṇa-saṁpravāho buddhir manaḥ khāni śarīra-sargāḥ. ॥23॥
Sa vai na devāsura-martya-tiryaṅ na strī na ṣaṇḍo na pumān na jantuḥ ।
Nāyaṁ guṇaḥ karma na san na cāsan niṣedha-śeṣo jayatād aśeṣaḥ. ॥24॥
Jijīviṣe nāham ihāmuya kiṁ antar-bahiś cāvṛtayebhayo’nyā ।
Icchāmi kālena na yasya viplava- stasyātma-lokāvaraṇasya mokṣaṇam. ॥25॥
So ’haṁ viśva-sṛjaṁ viśvam aviśvaṁ viśva-vedasam ।
Viśvātmanam ajaṁ brahma praṇato ’smi paraṁ padam. ॥26॥
Yoga-randhita-karmāṇo hṛdi yoga-vibhāvite ।
Yogino yaṁ prapaśyanti yogeśaṁ taṁ nato ’smy aham. ॥27॥
Namo namas tubhyam asahya-vega- śakti-trayāyākhila-dhī-guṇāya ।
Prapanna-pālāya duranta-śaktaye kad-indriyāṇām anavāpya-vartmane. ॥28॥
Nāyaṁ veda svam ātmānaṁ yac-chaktyāhaṁ-dhiyā hatam ।
Taṁ duratyaya-māhātmyaṁ bhagavantam ito ’smy aham. ॥29॥
Śrī Śuka uvāca
Evaṁ gajendram upavarṇita-nirviśeṣaṁ brahmādayo vividhaliṅga-bhidābhimānāḥ ।
Naite yadopasasṛpur nikhilātmakatvāt tatrākhilāmara-mayo harir āvirāsīt. ॥30॥
Taṁ tadvad ārttam upalabhya jagan-nivāsaḥ stotraṁ niśamya divijaiḥ saha saṁstuvadbhiḥ ।
Chandomayena garuḍena samuhyamāna- ścakrāyudho ’bhyagamad āśu yato gajendraḥ. ॥31॥
So ’ntaḥ-sarasy urubalena gṛhīta ārto dṛṣṭvā garutmati hariṁ kha upātta-cakram ।
Utkṣipya sāmbuja-karaṁ giram āha kṛcchrān nārāyaṇākhila-guro bhagavan namas te. ॥32॥
Taṁ vīkṣya pīḍitam ajaḥ sahasāvatīrya sa-grāham āśu sarasaḥ kṛpayojjahāra ।
Grāhād vipāṭita-mukhād ariṇā gajendraṁ saṁpaśyatāṁ harir amūmucad usriyāṇām. ॥33॥
Śrī Gajendra Mokṣa Stotram
English Meaning per Shloka
Shloka 1
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thus the king of elephants, Gajendra, having firmly resolved with determined intelligence, fixed his mind within his heart and began to chant that supreme mantra which he had practiced in his previous birth. In his distress he did not rely upon physical strength or worldly aid; rather, recollecting the spiritual impressions of past devotion, he invoked the Supreme Lord through that sacred prayer learned long ago.
Shloka 2
Gajendra said: I offer my respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whose consciousness this entire universe exists and is sustained. He is the original seed of all beings, the primeval cause, and the supreme controller beyond all subordinate powers. Unto that Supreme Lord, who is the ultimate source of everything, I bow down in surrender.
Shloka 3
I take shelter of that self-manifest Lord in whom this universe rests, from whom it has arisen, by whom it is maintained, and who Himself is the very essence of all that exists. Though He pervades everything, He remains beyond all that is manifest and unmanifest. He is superior to both cause and effect, and to Him alone I surrender.
Shloka 4
Gajendra recognizes that this world, created by the Lord’s own Maya (illusory energy), sometimes appears and sometimes disappears. Yet the Lord remains untouched and impartial. Though Maya conceals His transcendental form, He perceives everything as the ultimate witness. Gajendra thus calls upon that great transcendental source, the root of the soul and Supreme beyond all.
Shloka 5
When the influence of time dissolves all conditions in all worlds — when even the guardians and controllers of the universe are overcome and dissolution approaches — the Supreme Lord, who shines forth in full glory, remains unaffected at the transcendental abode. Gajendra acknowledges the Lord’s invincible splendor beyond temporal influence.
Shloka 6
Neither the demigods nor the great sages fully know the supreme position of the Lord; what then to speak of ordinary beings who attempt to approach Him through speculation? Just as an actor upon the stage assumes various costumes and performs different roles, while his true identity remains concealed from the audience, so the Supreme Lord displays this universe through His manifold energies, remaining hidden behind His divine manifestations. His movements are beyond the grasp of mundane intelligence, and His ways cannot be traced by limited reasoning. May that unfathomable Supreme Lord protect me.
Shloka 7
Desiring to behold the auspicious lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, saintly sages, freed from all material attachment and purified in heart, wander in forests observing strict vows of renunciation. Having become equal toward all living beings and free from worldly designations, they move about without enmity, seeing every creature as part of the Supreme. Such liberated souls, who seek only the vision of His divine feet, recognize Him as their ultimate shelter. May that Supreme destination be mine.
Shloka 8
One whose life transcends the cycle of birth, actions and the dualities of name and form — such a person experiences the flow of transcendental existence untouched by worldly decay. The Lord’s energy alone shapes creation; His presence pervades everything and regulates all without being affected.
Shloka 9
Gajendra humbly bows to the Supreme Lord, the ultimate Brahman who is free from all attachments. The Supreme Personality of GodHead is beyond any form yet manifests himself as form for His wondrous pastimes like Lord Rāma or Lord Kṛṣṇa by His original internal potency. Thus Gajendra offers reverential obeisances to that divine source of all mysterious actions.
Shloka 10
I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, who is self-effulgent and who illuminates the hearts of all living beings. He is the ultimate witness, the indwelling Supersoul present within everyone. Speech cannot adequately describe Him, nor can the mind or intelligence fully comprehend Him. Though He is the source of all words and thoughts, He remains beyond their reach. Unto that transcendental Paramātmā, I offer my humble salutations.
Shloka 11
The Supreme Lord can be realized through pure existence in the mode of goodness and by those wise souls who are freed from the reactions of fruitive action. By transcendental knowledge and detachment from material activities, the spiritually awakened perceive Him as the master of liberation. He is the Lord of kaivalya, the giver of ultimate emancipation, and the embodiment of the bliss experienced in spiritual extinction from material bondage. Unto that source of eternal peace and transcendental happiness, I offer my respectful obeisances.
Shloka 12
I offer my obeisances unto that Supreme Lord who is supremely peaceful, yet whose potency can appear terrible; who seems bewildered to the ignorant, yet is the controller of all qualities; who is beyond material distinctions and perfectly equal toward all; who is the condensed reservoir of transcendental knowledge. Though He appears to act through the modes of nature, He remains ever untouched by them, existing in His own eternal sameness beyond duality.
Shloka 13
Obeisances unto You, the knower of the field of activity within every living being, the supreme overseer and witness of all actions. You are the original person, the root of the self, and the ultimate foundation of material nature. Though prakṛti acts under Your supervision, You remain the source from whom even that primordial nature arises. Unto that Supreme Puruṣa, I bow down.
Shloka 14
Gajendra honors the seer of sense perception and the cause of all faith and engagement. He offers salutations to the Lord who appears as the basis of all existence and without Whose mercy there is no possibility of solving the problem of doubts. The material world is just like a shadow resembling the Lord though He is the shining truth behind illusions.
Shloka 15
Gajendra offers repeated obeisances to the Supreme Cause, the primal origin without a second cause, the wondrous cause of everything, the ocean of all scriptures and knowledge, and the final shelter for liberation.
Shloka 16
I offer my respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Lord whose pure consciousness appears covered by the transformations of the material qualities, just as fire seems concealed within wood. When those modes are agitated, the cosmic manifestation unfolds, and the living beings become absorbed in mental activities born of that disturbance. Yet by the state of transcendental detachment, free from fruitive ritualism and material bondage, one can approach Him, who is self-manifest and self-effulgent, beyond the reach of mundane injunctions. Unto that eternally luminous Lord, I bow down.
Shloka 17
I offer my humble obeisances unto that Supreme Lord who liberates conditioned souls bound by the ropes of material attachment, just as animals are tied by cords. Though He Himself is ever liberated and untouched by bondage, He extends boundless compassion to those who surrender unto Him. By His partial expansions He resides within the hearts of all embodied beings, perceiving their inner thoughts. He is the great Supreme Person, the indwelling witness of all. Unto that infinite and all-merciful Lord, I offer my reverent salutations.
Shloka 18
The Supreme Lord is difficult to attain for those who are attached to body, family, wealth, and social relations, being entangled in the modes of material nature. Yet He is realized within the purified heart of liberated souls who are freed from material association and who contemplate Him with steady knowledge. He is the embodiment of pure consciousness, the Lord of wisdom, and the ultimate controller. Unto that Supreme Bhagavān, I bow down in surrender.
Shloka 19
Those who desire righteousness, wealth, enjoyment, or even liberation worship the Lord to obtain their respective goals, and by His grace they achieve those ends. But as for myself, I do not seek such blessings. Let me not desire even the continuation of this temporary body. Rather, may that supremely merciful Lord grant me true deliverance from material bondage, which alone is worthy of aspiration.
Shloka 20
Those who are exclusively devoted to the Supreme Lord, having fully surrendered unto Him, do not seek any separate benefit for themselves. Being absorbed in devotion, they sing His wonderful and supremely auspicious pastimes, and in doing so they become immersed in an ocean of transcendental bliss. Such souls desire nothing apart from His service, for in glorifying Him they taste eternal happiness beyond all worldly attainment.
Shloka 21
I glorify that Supreme Lord who is imperishable and absolute, the supreme Brahman and the ultimate controller. Though unmanifest to material vision, He is realized through spiritual discipline and transcendental yoga. He is beyond the reach of the senses, subtle beyond comprehension, seemingly distant to the conditioned soul, yet in truth all-pervading and infinitely complete. He is without beginning, the original source of everything, and perfectly full in Himself. Unto that Supreme Reality, I offer my praise.
Shloka 22
From Him arise Brahmā and the other demigods, the Vedas, and all moving and non-moving beings within the universe. Through distinctions of name and form, and by various partial manifestations of His energies, the entire cosmic diversity becomes manifest. Though appearing divided by multiplicity, everything rests upon His singular and indivisible existence.
Shloka 23 Meaning
Just as sparks emanate from fire, and rays of light extend from the sun, repeatedly emerging and again merging into their source, so from Him flows the stream of material qualities. From that flow arise intelligence, mind, the senses, and the various forms of embodied existence. All manifestations proceed from Him and ultimately return to Him, as rays return to the luminous source from which they shine.
Shloka 24
He is neither demigod nor demon, neither mortal nor animal; He is not female, nor male, nor neuter, nor any limited category of living being. He is not confined by the modes of nature, nor bound by fruitive activity; He is not material existence nor its negation. Free from all such designations and dualities, He stands beyond affirmation and denial alike. May that limitless and incomparable Supreme Lord be victorious.
Shloka 25
I do not desire to prolong this life within this world, nor do I wish for any condition within or beyond it that remains bound by material covering. I seek only liberation from the veil that obscures the soul’s true vision — that covering which time itself cannot permanently preserve. May I attain freedom from that illusion which conceals the spiritual realm and binds the living being within the cycle of birth and death.
Shloka 26
I bow down unto that Supreme Lord who is the creator of the universe, who is the universe itself and yet distinct from it. He is the knower of the universe and the source of all Vedic knowledge. He is the soul of the cosmos, unborn and eternal, the supreme Brahman and the highest transcendental abode. Unto that ultimate reality, beyond all material limitation, I offer my prostrated obeisances.
Shloka 27
The great yogīs, whose activities have been purified and whose karmic reactions have been burned away through disciplined spiritual practice, behold within their hearts that Supreme Lord revealed through meditation. Their minds, absorbed in yoga and illumined by spiritual realization, perceive Him as the master of yoga, the supreme controller of all mystic processes. Unto that Lord, seen by the purified vision of yogic realization, I bow down in reverence.
Shloka 28
Repeatedly I offer my obeisances unto You, whose irresistible force governs the threefold energies of nature and who is the possessor of all intelligence and divine qualities. You are the protector of those who surrender unto You, and Your power is insurmountable. The path to You cannot be reached by the uncontrolled senses; only those who take shelter of You are guided safely beyond their limitations. Unto that unconquerable Supreme Lord, I offer my humble salutations.
Shloka 29
The living being, bewildered by false ego and influenced by the Lord’s own external energy, does not truly know his own self. Covered by ignorance, he mistakes the temporary for the eternal. Therefore I now surrender unto that Supreme Lord, whose greatness is impossible to overcome and whose divine majesty cannot be measured by conditioned understanding. Unto that all-powerful Bhagavān, I offer myself in complete submission.
Shloka 30
Śrī Śuka said: Although Gajendra had described the Supreme Lord as beyond all material distinctions, Brahmā and the other demigods, each absorbed in their respective conceptions and influenced by their own particular identities, could not fully approach Him in that feature. Because the Supreme Lord is the complete whole, the soul of all, and beyond every limited designation, He did not appear before them in response to their partial understanding. Yet at that very place, the all-pervading Lord Hari, who embodies the totality of existence, manifested Himself.
Shloka 31
When the Lord, who is the shelter of the universe, heard the heartfelt prayer of Gajendra—who was tormented and calling out in surrender—He immediately set forth, accompanied by the celestial beings who glorified Him with hymns. Mounted upon Garuḍa and bearing His divine discus, the Lord swiftly approached the place where the elephant was struggling in distress. His arrival was both majestic and compassionate, a response to the pure cry of surrender.
Shloka 32
Overpowered within the waters of the lake and seized by the crocodile’s formidable strength, Gajendra, seeing the Lord mounted upon Garuḍa and holding the Sudarśana discus, raised his trunk, bearing a lotus, and with great difficulty uttered his final prayer: “O Nārāyaṇa, supreme spiritual master of all, O Bhagavān, I offer my obeisances unto You.” Even in suffering, his surrender was complete and filled with devotion.
Shloka 33
Seeing Gajendra afflicted and helpless, the unborn Supreme Lord immediately descended from Garuḍa and, out of boundless compassion, entered the waters of the lake. With His discus He severed the crocodile’s mouth and delivered the elephant from its deadly grip. Thus before the eyes of all the demigods, Lord Hari liberated His devotee and granted him freedom from material bondage, demonstrating that sincere surrender invokes the Lord’s direct intervention and eternal mercy
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thus the king of elephants, Gajendra, having firmly resolved with determined intelligence, fixed his mind within his heart and began to chant that supreme mantra which he had practiced in his previous birth. In his distress he did not rely upon physical strength or worldly aid; rather, recollecting the spiritual impressions of past devotion, he invoked the Supreme Lord through that sacred prayer learned long ago.
Shloka 2
Gajendra said: I offer my respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whose consciousness this entire universe exists and is sustained. He is the original seed of all beings, the primeval cause, and the supreme controller beyond all subordinate powers. Unto that Supreme Lord, who is the ultimate source of everything, I bow down in surrender.
Shloka 3
I take shelter of that self-manifest Lord in whom this universe rests, from whom it has arisen, by whom it is maintained, and who Himself is the very essence of all that exists. Though He pervades everything, He remains beyond all that is manifest and unmanifest. He is superior to both cause and effect, and to Him alone I surrender.
Shloka 4
Gajendra recognizes that this world, created by the Lord’s own Maya (illusory energy), sometimes appears and sometimes disappears. Yet the Lord remains untouched and impartial. Though Maya conceals His transcendental form, He perceives everything as the ultimate witness. Gajendra thus calls upon that great transcendental source, the root of the soul and Supreme beyond all.
Shloka 5
When the influence of time dissolves all conditions in all worlds — when even the guardians and controllers of the universe are overcome and dissolution approaches — the Supreme Lord, who shines forth in full glory, remains unaffected at the transcendental abode. Gajendra acknowledges the Lord’s invincible splendor beyond temporal influence.
Shloka 6
Neither the demigods nor the great sages fully know the supreme position of the Lord; what then to speak of ordinary beings who attempt to approach Him through speculation? Just as an actor upon the stage assumes various costumes and performs different roles, while his true identity remains concealed from the audience, so the Supreme Lord displays this universe through His manifold energies, remaining hidden behind His divine manifestations. His movements are beyond the grasp of mundane intelligence, and His ways cannot be traced by limited reasoning. May that unfathomable Supreme Lord protect me.
Shloka 7
Desiring to behold the auspicious lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, saintly sages, freed from all material attachment and purified in heart, wander in forests observing strict vows of renunciation. Having become equal toward all living beings and free from worldly designations, they move about without enmity, seeing every creature as part of the Supreme. Such liberated souls, who seek only the vision of His divine feet, recognize Him as their ultimate shelter. May that Supreme destination be mine.
Shloka 8
One whose life transcends the cycle of birth, actions and the dualities of name and form — such a person experiences the flow of transcendental existence untouched by worldly decay. The Lord’s energy alone shapes creation; His presence pervades everything and regulates all without being affected.
Shloka 9
Gajendra humbly bows to the Supreme Lord, the ultimate Brahman who is free from all attachments. The Supreme Personality of GodHead is beyond any form yet manifests himself as form for His wondrous pastimes like Lord Rāma or Lord Kṛṣṇa by His original internal potency. Thus Gajendra offers reverential obeisances to that divine source of all mysterious actions.
Shloka 10
I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, who is self-effulgent and who illuminates the hearts of all living beings. He is the ultimate witness, the indwelling Supersoul present within everyone. Speech cannot adequately describe Him, nor can the mind or intelligence fully comprehend Him. Though He is the source of all words and thoughts, He remains beyond their reach. Unto that transcendental Paramātmā, I offer my humble salutations.
Shloka 11
The Supreme Lord can be realized through pure existence in the mode of goodness and by those wise souls who are freed from the reactions of fruitive action. By transcendental knowledge and detachment from material activities, the spiritually awakened perceive Him as the master of liberation. He is the Lord of kaivalya, the giver of ultimate emancipation, and the embodiment of the bliss experienced in spiritual extinction from material bondage. Unto that source of eternal peace and transcendental happiness, I offer my respectful obeisances.
Shloka 12
I offer my obeisances unto that Supreme Lord who is supremely peaceful, yet whose potency can appear terrible; who seems bewildered to the ignorant, yet is the controller of all qualities; who is beyond material distinctions and perfectly equal toward all; who is the condensed reservoir of transcendental knowledge. Though He appears to act through the modes of nature, He remains ever untouched by them, existing in His own eternal sameness beyond duality.
Shloka 13
Obeisances unto You, the knower of the field of activity within every living being, the supreme overseer and witness of all actions. You are the original person, the root of the self, and the ultimate foundation of material nature. Though prakṛti acts under Your supervision, You remain the source from whom even that primordial nature arises. Unto that Supreme Puruṣa, I bow down.
Shloka 14
Gajendra honors the seer of sense perception and the cause of all faith and engagement. He offers salutations to the Lord who appears as the basis of all existence and without Whose mercy there is no possibility of solving the problem of doubts. The material world is just like a shadow resembling the Lord though He is the shining truth behind illusions.
Shloka 15
Gajendra offers repeated obeisances to the Supreme Cause, the primal origin without a second cause, the wondrous cause of everything, the ocean of all scriptures and knowledge, and the final shelter for liberation.
Shloka 16
I offer my respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Lord whose pure consciousness appears covered by the transformations of the material qualities, just as fire seems concealed within wood. When those modes are agitated, the cosmic manifestation unfolds, and the living beings become absorbed in mental activities born of that disturbance. Yet by the state of transcendental detachment, free from fruitive ritualism and material bondage, one can approach Him, who is self-manifest and self-effulgent, beyond the reach of mundane injunctions. Unto that eternally luminous Lord, I bow down.
Shloka 17
I offer my humble obeisances unto that Supreme Lord who liberates conditioned souls bound by the ropes of material attachment, just as animals are tied by cords. Though He Himself is ever liberated and untouched by bondage, He extends boundless compassion to those who surrender unto Him. By His partial expansions He resides within the hearts of all embodied beings, perceiving their inner thoughts. He is the great Supreme Person, the indwelling witness of all. Unto that infinite and all-merciful Lord, I offer my reverent salutations.
Shloka 18
The Supreme Lord is difficult to attain for those who are attached to body, family, wealth, and social relations, being entangled in the modes of material nature. Yet He is realized within the purified heart of liberated souls who are freed from material association and who contemplate Him with steady knowledge. He is the embodiment of pure consciousness, the Lord of wisdom, and the ultimate controller. Unto that Supreme Bhagavān, I bow down in surrender.
Shloka 19
Those who desire righteousness, wealth, enjoyment, or even liberation worship the Lord to obtain their respective goals, and by His grace they achieve those ends. But as for myself, I do not seek such blessings. Let me not desire even the continuation of this temporary body. Rather, may that supremely merciful Lord grant me true deliverance from material bondage, which alone is worthy of aspiration.
Shloka 20
Those who are exclusively devoted to the Supreme Lord, having fully surrendered unto Him, do not seek any separate benefit for themselves. Being absorbed in devotion, they sing His wonderful and supremely auspicious pastimes, and in doing so they become immersed in an ocean of transcendental bliss. Such souls desire nothing apart from His service, for in glorifying Him they taste eternal happiness beyond all worldly attainment.
Shloka 21
I glorify that Supreme Lord who is imperishable and absolute, the supreme Brahman and the ultimate controller. Though unmanifest to material vision, He is realized through spiritual discipline and transcendental yoga. He is beyond the reach of the senses, subtle beyond comprehension, seemingly distant to the conditioned soul, yet in truth all-pervading and infinitely complete. He is without beginning, the original source of everything, and perfectly full in Himself. Unto that Supreme Reality, I offer my praise.
Shloka 22
From Him arise Brahmā and the other demigods, the Vedas, and all moving and non-moving beings within the universe. Through distinctions of name and form, and by various partial manifestations of His energies, the entire cosmic diversity becomes manifest. Though appearing divided by multiplicity, everything rests upon His singular and indivisible existence.
Shloka 23 Meaning
Just as sparks emanate from fire, and rays of light extend from the sun, repeatedly emerging and again merging into their source, so from Him flows the stream of material qualities. From that flow arise intelligence, mind, the senses, and the various forms of embodied existence. All manifestations proceed from Him and ultimately return to Him, as rays return to the luminous source from which they shine.
Shloka 24
He is neither demigod nor demon, neither mortal nor animal; He is not female, nor male, nor neuter, nor any limited category of living being. He is not confined by the modes of nature, nor bound by fruitive activity; He is not material existence nor its negation. Free from all such designations and dualities, He stands beyond affirmation and denial alike. May that limitless and incomparable Supreme Lord be victorious.
Shloka 25
I do not desire to prolong this life within this world, nor do I wish for any condition within or beyond it that remains bound by material covering. I seek only liberation from the veil that obscures the soul’s true vision — that covering which time itself cannot permanently preserve. May I attain freedom from that illusion which conceals the spiritual realm and binds the living being within the cycle of birth and death.
Shloka 26
I bow down unto that Supreme Lord who is the creator of the universe, who is the universe itself and yet distinct from it. He is the knower of the universe and the source of all Vedic knowledge. He is the soul of the cosmos, unborn and eternal, the supreme Brahman and the highest transcendental abode. Unto that ultimate reality, beyond all material limitation, I offer my prostrated obeisances.
Shloka 27
The great yogīs, whose activities have been purified and whose karmic reactions have been burned away through disciplined spiritual practice, behold within their hearts that Supreme Lord revealed through meditation. Their minds, absorbed in yoga and illumined by spiritual realization, perceive Him as the master of yoga, the supreme controller of all mystic processes. Unto that Lord, seen by the purified vision of yogic realization, I bow down in reverence.
Shloka 28
Repeatedly I offer my obeisances unto You, whose irresistible force governs the threefold energies of nature and who is the possessor of all intelligence and divine qualities. You are the protector of those who surrender unto You, and Your power is insurmountable. The path to You cannot be reached by the uncontrolled senses; only those who take shelter of You are guided safely beyond their limitations. Unto that unconquerable Supreme Lord, I offer my humble salutations.
Shloka 29
The living being, bewildered by false ego and influenced by the Lord’s own external energy, does not truly know his own self. Covered by ignorance, he mistakes the temporary for the eternal. Therefore I now surrender unto that Supreme Lord, whose greatness is impossible to overcome and whose divine majesty cannot be measured by conditioned understanding. Unto that all-powerful Bhagavān, I offer myself in complete submission.
Shloka 30
Śrī Śuka said: Although Gajendra had described the Supreme Lord as beyond all material distinctions, Brahmā and the other demigods, each absorbed in their respective conceptions and influenced by their own particular identities, could not fully approach Him in that feature. Because the Supreme Lord is the complete whole, the soul of all, and beyond every limited designation, He did not appear before them in response to their partial understanding. Yet at that very place, the all-pervading Lord Hari, who embodies the totality of existence, manifested Himself.
Shloka 31
When the Lord, who is the shelter of the universe, heard the heartfelt prayer of Gajendra—who was tormented and calling out in surrender—He immediately set forth, accompanied by the celestial beings who glorified Him with hymns. Mounted upon Garuḍa and bearing His divine discus, the Lord swiftly approached the place where the elephant was struggling in distress. His arrival was both majestic and compassionate, a response to the pure cry of surrender.
Shloka 32
Overpowered within the waters of the lake and seized by the crocodile’s formidable strength, Gajendra, seeing the Lord mounted upon Garuḍa and holding the Sudarśana discus, raised his trunk, bearing a lotus, and with great difficulty uttered his final prayer: “O Nārāyaṇa, supreme spiritual master of all, O Bhagavān, I offer my obeisances unto You.” Even in suffering, his surrender was complete and filled with devotion.
Shloka 33
Seeing Gajendra afflicted and helpless, the unborn Supreme Lord immediately descended from Garuḍa and, out of boundless compassion, entered the waters of the lake. With His discus He severed the crocodile’s mouth and delivered the elephant from its deadly grip. Thus before the eyes of all the demigods, Lord Hari liberated His devotee and granted him freedom from material bondage, demonstrating that sincere surrender invokes the Lord’s direct intervention and eternal mercy