Abhanga 3077
Gajendra tō hastī sahasra varuṣe — Gajendra the elephant, for a thousand years; jaḷāmāji nakre pīḍilāse — tormented in water by a crocodile.
The verse
गजेंद्र तो हस्ती सहस्र वरुषें । जळामाजी नक्रें पीडिलासे ॥१॥
सुहुदव सांडिलें कोणी नाहीं साहे । अंतीं वाट पाहे विठो तुझी ॥ध्रु.॥
कृपेच्या सागरा माझ्या नारायणा । तया दोघांजणा तारियेलें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे नेले वाऊनि विमानी । मी ही आईंकोनी विश्वासलों ॥३॥
Literal translation
Gajendra tō hastī sahasra varuṣe — Gajendra the elephant, for a thousand years; jaḷāmāji nakre pīḍilāse — tormented in water by a crocodile. Suhudava sāṇḍile kōṇī nāhī sāhe — the kin abandoned, no one came to help; antīm vāṭa pāhe Viṭhō tujhī — at the end, (he) waited for your path, Viṭho. Krpeñcyā sāgarā mājhyā Nārāyaṇā — the compassion-ocean, my Nārāyaṇa; tayā dōghāmjaṇā tāriyele — carried-across both of them. Tukā mhaṇe nele vāūnī vimānī — Tukā says: (he was) taken up on the vimāna; mī hī āīmkōnī viśvāsalōm — I too, having heard, have trusted.
What it means
A 3-verse Gajendra-mokṣa narrative bhakti-redemption text by Tukārām.
The narrative: Gajendra (the king-elephant) was tormented by-the-crocodile in-water for-1000-years; his-kin-abandoned-him; no-one-came-to-help; at-the-end, he-waited-for-Viṭho's-path. The compassion-ocean-Nārāyaṇa carried-both-(elephant-and-crocodile). Closing: (Gajendra-was) taken-on-vimāna; I-too-heard-and-trusted.
The detail tayā-dōghāmjaṇā (both-of-them) is striking — the crocodile-too is-saved, not-just-the-elephant. The bhakti-redemption extends-to-the-attacker. This is a-rare-detail in-the-canonical-Gajendra-mokṣa-story.
Compare-Tukārām's 3044 (avatāra-stotra including-Gajendra-vimāna-Vaikuṇṭha), 3076 (kuṇṭanī-saved-by-trust). 3076-3077 form-a-pair: kuṇṭanī-and-Gajendra both-extreme-cases-saved-by-Viṭho.
For someone today
Tukārām's Gajendra-mokṣa narrative. Gajendra the elephant, for a thousand years, was tormented in water by a crocodile. His kin abandoned (him); no one came to help. At the end, (he) waited for the path of Viṭho. The compassion-ocean, my Nārāyaṇa, carried-across both of them. (Gajendra was) taken up on the vimāna. I too, having heard (this), have trusted. The verse permits the canonical Gajendra-mokṣa narrative as bhakti-redemption-warrant; even-the-attacker-is-saved alongside-the-bhakta.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's Gajendra-mokṣa narrative
- Both-elephant-and-crocodile-saved striking-detail
- Pairs with 3076 (kuṇṭanī-saved)
- Companion to 3044 (avatāra-stotra with Gajendra)