Shloka 26

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

Devanagari script

व्यथितः स निरुत्साहो गृहीतो घोरकर्मणा परमापदमापन्नो मनसाचिन्तयद्धरिम्

Transliteration

vyathitaḥ sa nirutsāho gṛhīto ghorakarmaṇā paramāpadamāpanno manasācintayaddharim

Translation

അവൻ വ്യഥിതനായി ഉത്സാഹം നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടു; ആ ഘോരകർമ്മിയാൽ പിടിക്കപ്പെട്ടു; പരമാപത്തിൽ വീണപ്പോൾ മനസ്സിൽ ഹരിയെ ധ്യാനിച്ചു.

Speakers

• Narrative voice (speaker not specified in prompt).

Primary Deities

• Viṣṇu (Hari)

Key Themes

• Śaraṇāgati (seeking refuge)
• Hari-smaraṇa (mental remembrance)
• Deliverance motif
• Devotion surpassing physical power

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What theological point is made by ‘manasā cintayad dharim’ (he remembered Hari mentally)?

It foregrounds inner turning (mānasa-smaraṇa) as efficacious even when speech, ritual, or bodily action is obstructed—an important Purāṇic devotional principle: remembrance itself becomes a salvific act.

Who is ‘ghorakarmaṇā’—the crocodile or a personified force?

Grammatically it can qualify the seizer (the crocodile) as ‘terrible in action.’ In Purāṇic style it can also hint at the impersonal force of fate/karma manifesting through the creature, intensifying the sense of inescapability.

How does this fit typical Purāṇic rescue narratives?

It matches a common pattern: (1) sudden peril in water, (2) futile struggle, (3) surrender/remembering the deity, leading to (4) divine intervention. In a tīrtha context, the locale’s sanctity often frames or amplifies the salvific outcome.