Abhanga 2445
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
English: ★ 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
For today: ★ Gajendra abandoned by kin remembered you ★; ★ Garuḍa abandoned, you ran on foot ★; cow-leaps-to-calf; ★★ vow tied: to protect bhaktas in crisis ★★*.
Where this applies
- Gajendra-remembered-you. Gaja-indra-smaralā-Pāṇḍurangā.
- Garuḍa-abandoned-you-ran-on-foot. Garuḍa-sāṇḍuni-dhāmvasī.
- ★★ Vow-tied-to-protect-bhaktas-in-crisis ★★. ★★ Brīda-bāndhalē-bhaktāmsī-sankaṭīm-rakṣāvayā ★★.