Vamana Purana — Gajendra's Deliverance, Shloka 21

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

Devanagari script

वासयन्मदगन्धेन गिरिमैरावतोपमः गजो ह्यञ्जनसंकाशो मदाच्चलितलोचनः

Transliteration

vāsayanmadagandhena girimairāvatopamaḥ gajo hyañjanasaṃkāśo madāccalitalocanaḥ

Translation

مستی کی خوشبو سے پہاڑ کو معطر کرتا ہوا، ایراوت کے مانند وہ ہاتھی سرمے کی طرح سیاہ تھا؛ مستی کے سبب اس کی آنکھیں ڈول رہی تھیں۔

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.