Shloka 21

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

Devanagari script

वासयन्मदगन्धेन गिरिमैरावतोपमः गजो ह्यञ्जनसंकाशो मदाच्चलितलोचनः

Transliteration

vāsayanmadagandhena girimairāvatopamaḥ gajo hyañjanasaṃkāśo madāccalitalocanaḥ

Translation

ಮದಗಂಧದಿಂದ ಪರ್ವತವನ್ನು ಸುಗಂಧಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಐರಾವತೋಪಮನಾದ ಆ ಗಜನು ಅಂಜನದಂತೆ ಕಪ್ಪಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಮದದಿಂದ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಅಸ್ಥಿರವಾಗಿದ್ದವು।

Speakers

• Narrator voice within the Purāṇic dialogue (exact interlocutors not specified in the excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Indra (by comparison to Airāvata)

Key Themes

• Tirtha narrative framing
• Naturalistic epic description (gaja in musth)
• Foreshadowing of peril at a water-site

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is the elephant compared to Airāvata in a tirtha narrative?

Airāvata functions as the archetype of royal/auspicious elephants. The comparison elevates the animal’s stature and signals that the coming event is not ordinary but worthy of Purāṇic attention within a sacred-geography frame.

What does “añjana-saṃkāśa” convey here?

Añjana is a dark cosmetic (collyrium). The phrase indicates a deep black coloration, a conventional poetic marker for power and intensity, reinforcing the elephant’s formidable presence.

How does this verse serve the larger tirtha-mahātmya style?

Māhātmyas often begin with vivid scene-setting—landscape and beings—before a moral or miraculous turn. The musth-scent and mountain imagery establish a charged atmosphere leading into the water-episode.