Abhanga 2445
When Gajendra the elephant king was abandoned even by his own kin, he remembered Panduranga, and the Lord left Garuda behind to run to him on foot. Tukaram compares it to a cow leaping toward her calf, that fierce, instant rush of a mother's love. This, he says, is the Lord's own vow, sworn and binding: to protect his devotees whenever they are in real trouble. So when you feel utterly abandoned and cry out in genuine desperation, trust that the same promise holds for you.
The verse
गजइंद्र पशु आप्तें मोकलिला । तो तुज स्मरला पांडुरंगा ॥१॥ त्यासाठीं गरुड सांडुनि धांवसी । माया झळंबेसी दिनानाथा ॥ध्रु.॥ धेनु वत्सावरी झेंप घाली जैसी । तैसें गजेंद्रासी सोडविलें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे ब्रीद बांधलें यासाठीं । भक्तांसी संकटीं रक्षावया ॥३॥
Literal translation
Gaja-indra abandoned by kin — he remembered you, Pāṇḍurangā. For him, abandoning Garuḍa, you ran — māyā-binding, lord-of-the-poor. As cow leaps to calf — so freed Gajendra. Tuka says: vow tied for this — to protect bhaktas in crisis.
What it means
THE GAJENDRA-MOKṢA + PROTECT-BHAKTAS-IN-CRISIS ABHANG.
The Purāṇic-story (Bhāgavata-Purāṇa 8.2-3): - Gaja-indra (the elephant-king) was-seized-by-a-crocodile while-bathing - After-long-struggle, abandoned by-his-kin (paśu āptē mōkalilā) - He remembered-Pāṇḍuranga (or Viṣṇu) - The Lord, in-urgency, abandoned-Garuḍa (his vehicle) and-ran-on-foot - Freed-Gajendra like-a-cow-leaping-to-its-calf
THE CLOSING — THE BRĪDA (VOW): Tukā mhaṇē brīda bāndhalē yāsāṭīm — bhaktāmsī sankaṭīm rakṣāvayā — vow tied for this — to protect bhaktas in crisis. Brīda = vow, oath, signature-commitment. The Lord has-tied-his-brīda-(vow) FOR-THIS: to-protect-bhaktas in-crisis. This is the Lord's-signature-promise — what makes him Dīna-nātha (lord-of-the-poor).
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The Gajendra-mokṣa-stōtra is one of the most-recited Bhāgavata-passages in Hindu-bhakti-tradition. Tukārām here distills it into-a-four-verse-abhang and-uses-it as proof of the Lord's vow to-rescue-bhaktas. The line brīda bāndhalē yāsāṭīm — bhaktāmsī sankaṭīm rakṣāvayā has become a cliché-of-bhakti-confidence.
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For someone today
When Gajendra the elephant king was abandoned even by his own kin, he remembered Panduranga, and the Lord left Garuda behind to run to him on foot. Tukaram compares it to a cow leaping toward her calf, that fierce, instant rush of a mother's love. This, he says, is the Lord's own vow, sworn and binding: to protect his devotees whenever they are in real trouble. So when you feel utterly abandoned and cry out in genuine desperation, trust that the same promise holds for you.
मराठी: गजेंद्राला त्याच्या आप्तांनीही सोडून दिले, तेव्हा त्याने पांडुरंगाचे स्मरण केले, आणि भगवंताने गरुडालाही सोडून पायी धाव घेतली. गाय जशी आपल्या वासराकडे झेप घेते, तशीच ती तातडीची, मायेने भरलेली धाव तुकाराम इथे वर्णन करतात. हेच भगवंताने बांधलेले व्रत आहे, असे तुकाराम सांगतात — संकटात सापडलेल्या भक्तांचे रक्षण करण्याचे. त्यामुळे जेव्हा तुम्हाला अगदी एकटे, सोडून दिल्यासारखे वाटते आणि खऱ्या व्याकुळतेने हाक मारता, तेव्हा हेच वचन तुमच्यासाठीही खरे आहे यावर विश्वास ठेवा.
Where this applies
- When you feel abandoned by the people you counted on most
- When you're in a real crisis and don't know if help will arrive in time
- When you doubt whether God actually keeps his promises to protect the faithful
- When you need reassurance that calling out in true desperation gets answered