Shloka 14
Gajendra’s Prayers and the Appearance of Lord Hari
Gajendra-stuti and Hari-darśana
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणद्रष्ट्रे सर्वप्रत्ययहेतवे । असताच्छाययोक्ताय सदाभासाय ते नम: ॥ १४ ॥
sarvendriya-guṇa-draṣṭre sarva-pratyaya-hetave asatā cchāyayoktāya sad-ābhāsāya te namaḥ
ຂ້າແຕ່ພຣະເຈົ້າ ພຣະອົງເປັນຜູ້ເບິ່ງເຫັນວັດຖຸແຫ່ງອິນທຣີທັງປວງ ແລະ ເປັນເຫດແຫ່ງຄວາມເຊື່ອແລະຄວາມຮູ້ທັງໝົດ. ໂລກອັນບໍ່ແທ້ນີ້ດຸຈເງົາຂອງພຣະອົງ; ເພາະປະກາຍແຫ່ງສັດຕາຂອງພຣະອົງຈຶ່ງດູເຫມືອນຈິງ—ຂ້າຂໍນົບນ້ອມ
To paraphrase this verse: “The objectives of sensual activities are actually observed by You. Without Your direction, the living entity cannot take even a step forward. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) , sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. You are situated in everyone’s heart, and only from You come remembrance and forgetfulness. Chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā. The living entity under the clutches of māyā wants to enjoy this material world, but unless You give him directions and remind him, he cannot make progress in pursuing his shadowy objective in life. The conditioned soul wrongly progresses toward the wrong objective, life after life, and he is reminded of that objective by You. In one life the conditioned soul desires to progress toward a certain objective, but after his body changes, he forgets everything. Nonetheless, my Lord, because he wanted to enjoy something of this world, You remind him of this in his next birth. Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. Because the conditioned soul wants to forget You, by Your grace You give him opportunities, life after life, by which he can almost perpetually forget You. Therefore You are eternally the director of the conditioned souls. It is because You are the original cause of everything that everything appears real. The ultimate reality is Your Lordship, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.”
FAQs
This verse addresses the Lord as the inner witness (draṣṭā) of all sensory qualities and experiences—He knows the movements of perception and the objects perceived, yet remains transcendental.
While trapped and helpless, Gajendra turns inward and recognizes that even the power to know, remember, and pray arises by the Lord’s sanction; thus he glorifies Him as the root cause of all awareness.
Treat temporary identities and anxieties as asat (passing), and anchor daily choices in sat—devotion, integrity, and remembrance of the Lord—so the mind steadies and fear reduces.