Shloka 11

Gajendra's Deliverance — Gajendra’s Deliverance and the Protective Power of Remembrance (Japa)

Devanagari script

मृगैः शाखामृगैः सिंदैर्मातङ्गैश्च सदामदैः जीवञ्जीवकसंघुष्टैश्चकोरशिखिनादितैः

Transliteration

mṛgaiḥ śākhāmṛgaiḥ siṃdairmātaṅgaiśca sadāmadaiḥ jīvañjīvakasaṃghuṣṭaiścakoraśikhināditaiḥ

Translation

It resounded with deer, with monkeys (the ‘branch-deer’), with lions, and with elephants ever in rut; it was filled with the calls of jīvañjīvaka birds and with the cries of cakoras and peacocks.

Speakers

• Narrative description within the Saromāhātmya section (speaker not specified in the provided excerpt).

Key Themes

• Sacred wilderness imagery
• Pilgrimage landscape realism (animals, sounds)
• Auspiciousness through abundance of life

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why include potentially dangerous animals like lions in a tīrtha description?

Purāṇic tīrthas are often portrayed as powerful, untamed sacred spaces—forests and mountains where divine presence is felt. The inclusion of lions and musth elephants signals majesty and natural sovereignty rather than mere pastoral calm.

What is the significance of bird-names like jīvañjīvaka and cakora?

They are conventional Sanskrit markers of a thriving, melodious forest. In tīrtha-mahātmya passages, such soundscapes (nāda) function as sensory proof of the place’s vitality and auspicious atmosphere for tapas and pilgrimage.

Does “śākhā-mṛga” always mean monkey?

In most classical usage it denotes an arboreal animal—commonly the monkey—literally ‘one that moves among branches.’ The term emphasizes the forested character of the region more than zoological precision.