Shloka 23
Gajendra's Deliverance — Gajendra’s Deliverance and the Protective Power of Remembrance (Japa)
गृहीतस्तेन रौद्रेण ग्राहेणाव्यक्तमूर्तिना पश्यन्तीनां करेणूनां क्रोशन्तीनां च दारुणम्
gṛhītastena raudreṇa grāheṇāvyaktamūrtinā paśyantīnāṃ kareṇūnāṃ krośantīnāṃ ca dāruṇam
అతడిని ఆ రౌద్రమైన, అవ్యక్తరూప గృహుడు పట్టుకున్నాడు; ఆ దృశ్యం భయంకరమైంది—ఆడఏన�Vamana Purana,56,38,VamP 56.38,hiraṇyākṣaḥ smṛto hyekaḥ suvarṇākṣastathā paraḥ tṛtīyaśca virūpākṣastrayo 'mī puṇyadā nṛṇām,हिरण्याक्षः स्मृतो ह्येकः सुवर्णाक्षस्तथा परः तृतीयश्च विरूपाक्षस्त्रयो ऽमी पुण्यदा नृणाम्,Saromahatmya,Tirtha Mahima,Adhyaya 56 (Saro-mahātmya / Tīrtha-prasaṃśā),38,hiraṇyākṣaḥ smṛto hyekaḥ suvarṇākṣastathā paraḥ tṛtīyaśca virūpākṣastrayo 'mī puṇyadā nṛṇām,hiraṇyākṣaḥ smṛto hy ekaḥ suvarṇākṣas tathā paraḥ | tṛtīyaś ca virūpākṣas trayo ’mī puṇyadā nṛṇām ||,“One is remembered as Hiraṇyākṣa; another likewise as Suvarṇākṣa; and the third as Virūpākṣa. These three bestow merit upon human beings.”,hiraṇya: gold; akṣa: eye (also ‘axle/die’ in other contexts
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FAQs
The context is aquatic attack and seizure; thus grāha is the ‘seizer’ in water—typically a crocodile/alligator or water-monster—distinct from graha ‘planet’.
It reflects the realism of an underwater predator—its body obscured by water, plants, or depth—and also adds a numinous tone, making the threat feel uncanny and fated within a sacred-site narrative.
The kareṇūs’ cries intensify the scene’s ‘dāruṇatā’ (horror) and prepare for a didactic or salvific turn typical of māhātmya episodes—where distress at a tīrtha becomes the occasion for revealing the site’s power or a deity’s grace.