Gajendra means mighty elephant. Mokshanam is the story of the rescue, done by the GOD Almighty. In fact it is the true liberation, much beyond the mere ‘saving’.
As the title is, a mighty elephant who was leading the herd. The Bhagavatam story mentions that upon having happy time, the elephant group enters the pond which was in the middle of the forest. As an act of fate, the leg of the king elephant was caught by the crocodile. It was a fight for survival for the elephant, and need for food was dominating the crocodiles’ mind. Struggle continued for the next thousand years, and the elephant loses all the strength. It surrenders to the highest and calls out for divine help. When it did the ‘Purna Sharanagati’, egoless surrender, the Almighty appears from the Vaikuntha, and the crocodile was beheaded. GOD puts the hand on the head of the elephant which gets its old form. Extension of the story is, both crocodile and elephant were respectively a gandharva (celestial being) called Huhu, and a king named Indradyumna. The story comes to a positive ending, with both the involved reaching better positions.
Above is the narration that communicates the plight of the desperate who could not defend self, attacked by much stronger force, and the opponent being in the advantageous position (crocodile in water, its own ‘home ground’), and losing strength over thousand years of continuous fight in alien terrain. Best efforts from the side of the Gajendra took it to nowhere. Losing hope of even ‘putting fight’, he was left with no option but ‘Sharanagati’, taking recourse to praying the Almighty for best help possible. Surrendering in the true sense.
We the householders face many challenges on a daily basis. Given the vulnerabilities, uncertainties in this ambiguous world full of complexity, how do we take up the challenge of sane existence and peaceful living? Can we do so by any means and methods? Who saves us? Who is that LIGHT who can come to our rescue when the suffering is intense, situation is hopeless, and we are really ‘lost’. It is THAT says the Bhagavatam which is the LIGHT beyond all darkness, energy of all mightiness, and hope to all depressed. When we surrender, the grace descends.
Prof S Ainavolu is a Mumbai-based teacher of Tradition and Management. Views are personal.
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