Shloka 57

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

Devanagari script

एकाय लोकत्त्वाय परतः परमात्मने नमः सहस्रशिरसे अनन्ताय महात्मने

Transliteration

ekāya lokattvāya parataḥ paramātmane namaḥ sahasraśirase anantāya mahātmane

Translation

[{"question": "Who are the ‘vedapāragāḥ’ and why are they invoked?", "answer": "They are sages renowned for complete Vedic mastery. Invoking them functions as a traditional pramāṇa (authoritative witness): the hymn claims that the highest Vedic insight culminates in recognizing the praised deity as supreme."}, {"question": "What is meant by ‘brahmādīnāṃ parāyaṇam’?", "answer": "It states that even Brahmā (and other gods) ultimately depend upon and take refuge in this deity. The phrase emphasizes theological ultimacy: the praised Lord is the final ground and goal for all beings, including cosmic administrators."}, {"question": "Does this verse suggest sectarian exclusivity?", "answer": "The verse is strongly supremacist in tone (‘you alone’), typical of Purāṇic stuti. In many Purāṇas, such language serves devotional intensity and metaphysical hierarchy rather than denying the functional divinity of other gods."}]

Speakers

• Unspecified in input (a devotee/narrator voice offering a hymn of praise within Adhyaya 58).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Stuti (hymn of praise)
• Non-dual supremacy of the Divine (eka/paramātman)
• Cosmic form theology (sahasraśiras)
• Transcendence (parataḥ)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the deity called ‘sahasraśiras’ (thousand-headed) here?

‘Sahasraśiras’ is a conventional Vedic-Puranic epithet for the cosmic Person (Puruṣa/Viśvarūpa), indicating omnipresence and infinite faculties rather than a literal count. It aligns the praised deity with the all-pervading cosmic form theology.

What does ‘lokatattva’ convey in a devotional hymn?

It frames the deity not merely as a ruler of the world but as the world’s underlying principle—its sustaining reality. The hymn thus moves from personal devotion to metaphysical identification of God as the ground of being.

Does this verse imply a specific avatāra like Vāmana or Trivikrama?

Not explicitly. The language is primarily paramātman/cosmic-form oriented; it can function as a universal Viṣṇu-stuti that may precede or accompany specific avatāra narratives without naming them.