Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 3
Gajendra’s Prayers and the Appearance of Lord Hari
Gajendra-stuti and Hari-darśana
यस्मिन्निदं यतश्चेदं येनेदं य इदं स्वयम् । योऽस्मात् परस्माच्च परस्तं प्रपद्ये स्वयम्भुवम् ॥ ३ ॥
yasminn idaṁ yataś cedaṁ yenedaṁ ya idaṁ svayam yo ’smāt parasmāc ca paras taṁ prapadye svayambhuvam
यस्मिन्निदं जगत् प्रतिष्ठितं यतश्चेदं समुत्पन्नं येनेदं धृतं य इदं स्वयम्। योऽस्मात् परस्माच्च परोऽपि तं स्वयम्भुवं परमं पुरुषं शरणं प्रपद्ये॥
In Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord says, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā: “I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but everything rests upon My energy, just as an earthen pot rests on the earth.” The place where an earthen pot rests is also earth. Then again, the earthen pot is manufactured by a potter, whose body is a product of earth. The potter’s wheel with which the pot is made is an expansion of earth, and the ingredients from which the pot are made are also earth. As confirmed in the śruti-mantra, yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante; yena jātāni jīvanti yat prayanty abhisaṁviśanti. The original cause of everything is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and after being annihilated, everything enters into Him ( prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām ). Thus the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead — Lord Rāmacandra or Lord Kṛṣṇa — is the original cause of everything.
FAQs
It declares the Supreme Lord as the one in whom the universe rests, from whom it arises, and by whom it is sustained—He is both immanent in everything and transcendent beyond it.
Gajendra addresses the Lord as 'Self-born' to affirm that God is not produced by any material cause—He is the ultimate cause behind all causes, worthy of complete surrender.
It encourages śaraṇāgati—placing one’s trust in the Supreme during crisis—by remembering that the same Lord who pervades life is also beyond all limitations and can truly protect.