Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 26
Trikūṭa Mountain, Ṛtumat Garden, and the Beginning of Gajendra’s Crisis
स पुष्करेणोद्धृतशीकराम्बुभि- र्निपाययन्संस्नपयन्यथा गृही । घृणी करेणु: करभांश्च दुर्मदो नाचष्ट कृच्छ्रं कृपणोऽजमायया ॥ २६ ॥
sa puṣkareṇoddhṛta-śīkarāmbubhir nipāyayan saṁsnapayan yathā gṛhī ghṛṇī kareṇuḥ karabhāṁś ca durmado nācaṣṭa kṛcchraṁ kṛpaṇo ’ja-māyayā
Like a human being who lacks spiritual knowledge and is too attached to the members of his family, the elephant, being illusioned by the external energy of Kṛṣṇa, had his wives and children bathe and drink the water. 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.
FAQs
This verse shows that even a compassionate and capable being can fail to recognize imminent danger when covered by the Lord’s māyā; worldly strength and duty do not automatically grant spiritual clarity.
Because he lovingly cared for and served his family—giving them water and bathing them—yet remained unaware of the crisis approaching him, illustrating how attachment can coexist with ignorance of life’s deeper peril.
Do your responsibilities with compassion, but cultivate steady remembrance of God and vigilance about life’s real dangers—forgetfulness, pride, and complacency—so that duty becomes devotion rather than distraction.