Gajendra's Prayers of Surrender

Verse 1 (bhagavata.8.3.1)

श्रीबादरायणिरुवाच एवं व्यवसितो बुद्ध्या समाधाय मनो हृदि । जजाप परमं जाप्यं प्राग्जन्मन्यनुशिक्षितम् ॥ 3.1 ॥

śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca evaṁ vyavasito buddhyā samādhāya mano hṛdi jajāpa paramaṁ jāpyaṁ prāg-janmany anuśikṣitam

Shri Badarayani said: Thus resolved in intellect, fixing his mind within his heart, Gajendra recited that supreme prayer which he had learned in a former birth.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.8.3.2)

श्रीगजेन्द्र उवाच ॐ नमो भगवते तस्मै यत एतच्चिदात्मकम् । पुरुषायादिबीजाय परेशायाभिधीमहि ॥ 3.2 ॥

śrī-gajendra uvāca oṁ namo bhagavate tasmai yata etac cid-ātmakam puruṣāyādi-bījāya pareśāyābhidhīmahi

Gajendra said: Om. Obeisance to that Bhagavan from whom this universe of consciousness and matter has come; let us meditate upon Him, the Supreme Person, the first seed of all creation, the Supreme Lord.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.8.3.3)

यस्मिन्निदं यतश्चेदं येनेदं य इदं स्वयम् । योऽस्मात् परस्माच्च परस्तं प्रपद्ये स्वयम्भुवम् ॥ 3.3 ॥

yasminn idaṁ yataś cedaṁ yenedaṁ ya idaṁ svayam yo ’smāt parasmāc ca paras taṁ prapadye svayambhuvam

In whom this universe rests, from whom it arises, by whom it is sustained, who is Himself this universe, and who is beyond even that which is supreme — to Him, the self-existent, I go for refuge.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.8.3.4)

यः स्वात्मनीदं निजमाययार्पितं क्वचिद् विभातं क्व च तत् तिरोहितम् । अविद्धदृक् साक्ष्युभयं तदीक्षते स आत्ममूलोऽवतु मां परात्परः ॥ 3.4 ॥

yaḥ svātmanīdaṁ nija-māyayārpitaṁ kvacid vibhātaṁ kva ca tat tirohitam aviddha-dṛk sākṣy ubhayaṁ tad īkṣate sa ātma-mūlo ’vatu māṁ parāt-paraḥ

He who, within His own Self, by His own maya, at times makes this universe manifest and at times conceals it, watching both states as the unclouded witness — may He, the root of all selves and higher than the highest, protect me.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.8.3.5)

कालेन पञ्चत्वमितेषु कृत्स्नशो लोकेषु पालेषु च सर्वहेतुषु । तमस्तदासीद् गहनं गभीरं यस्तस्य पारेऽभिविराजते विभुः ॥ 3.5 ॥

kālena pañcatvam iteṣu kṛtsnaśo lokeṣu pāleṣu ca sarva-hetuṣu tamas tadāsīd gahanaṁ gabhīraṁ yas tasya pāre ’bhivirājate vibhuḥ

When, in the course of time, all the worlds together with their guardians and all the causes are dissolved into the elements, a dense and fathomless darkness alone remains; beyond that darkness the almighty Lord ever shines resplendent.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.8.3.6)

न यस्य देवा ऋषयः पदं विदु- र्जन्तुः पुनः कोऽर्हति गन्तुमीरितुम् । यथा नटस्याकृतिभिर्विचेष्टतो दुरत्ययानुक्रमणः स मावतु ॥ 3.6 ॥

na yasya devā ṛṣayaḥ padaṁ vidur jantuḥ punaḥ ko ’rhati gantum īritum yathā naṭasyākṛtibhir viceṣṭato duratyayānukramaṇaḥ sa māvatu

Whose true state even the gods and sages do not know — how then could an ordinary creature reach or describe it? As an actor's true self is hidden behind his costumes and gestures, so His course is beyond all tracing — may He protect me.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.8.3.7)

दिदृक्षवो यस्य पदं सुमङ्गलं विमुक्तसङ्गा मुनयः सुसाधवः । चरन्त्यलोकव्रतमव्रणं वने भूतात्मभूताः सुहृदः स मे गतिः ॥ 3.7 ॥

didṛkṣavo yasya padaṁ sumaṅgalaṁ vimukta-saṅgā munayaḥ susādhavaḥ caranty aloka-vratam avraṇaṁ vane bhūtātma-bhūtāḥ suhṛdaḥ sa me gatiḥ

He whose most auspicious feet the saintly sages long to see — free of all attachment, friends to every being, regarding all beings as their own self, living out in the forest vows unknown to the ordinary world — He is my only refuge.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.8.3.8)

न विद्यते यस्य च जन्म कर्म वा न नामरूपे गुणदोष एव वा । तथापि लोकाप्ययसम्भवाय यः स्वमायया तान्यनुकालमृच्छति ॥ 3.8 ॥

na vidyate yasya ca janma karma vā na nāma-rūpe guṇa-doṣa eva vā tathāpi lokāpyaya-sambhavāya yaḥ sva-māyayā tāny anukālam ṛcchati

He who has no birth, no action, no name and form, and no quality of merit or fault — yet who, through His own maya, assumes these from time to time so that the worlds may be created and dissolved.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.8.3.9)

तस्मै नमः परेशाय ब्रह्मणेऽनन्तशक्तये । अरूपायोरुरूपाय नम आश्चर्यकर्मणे ॥ 3.9 ॥

tasmai namaḥ pareśāya brahmaṇe ’nanta-śaktaye arūpāyoru-rūpāya nama āścarya-karmaṇe

Obeisance to Him, the Supreme Lord, the Brahman of infinite power; obeisance to Him who, though formless in Himself, assumes vast and many forms, whose every deed is wondrous.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.8.3.10)

नम आत्मप्रदीपाय साक्षिणे परमात्मने । नमो गिरां विदूराय मनसश्चेतसामपि ॥ 3.10 ॥

nama ātma-pradīpāya sākṣiṇe paramātmane namo girāṁ vidūrāya manasaś cetasām api

Obeisance to Him who is His own light, the witness, the Supreme Self; obeisance to Him who is beyond the reach of word, mind, and even consciousness itself.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.8.3.11)

सत्त्वेन प्रतिलभ्याय नैष्कर्म्येण विपश्चिता । नमः कैवल्यनाथाय निर्वाणसुखसंविदे ॥ 3.11 ॥

sattvena pratilabhyāya naiṣkarmyeṇa vipaścitā namaḥ kaivalya-nāthāya nirvāṇa-sukha-saṁvide

Obeisance to Him who is attained by the wise through purity of being and through freedom from the bondage of action; obeisance to the Lord of oneness, who knows the bliss of liberation.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.8.3.12)

नमः शान्ताय घोराय मूढाय गुणधर्मिणे । निर्विशेषाय साम्याय नमो ज्ञानघनाय च ॥ 3.12 ॥

namaḥ śāntāya ghorāya mūḍhāya guṇa-dharmiṇe nirviśeṣāya sāmyāya namo jñāna-ghanāya ca

Obeisance to His peaceful form, His fierce form, and His seemingly bewildered form — to Him who bears the qualities of nature and yet remains beyond them; obeisance to Him who is without distinction, ever the same, and dense with pure knowledge.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.8.3.13)

क्षेत्रज्ञाय नमस्तुभ्यं सर्वाध्यक्षाय साक्षिणे । पुरुषायात्ममूलाय मूलप्रकृतये नमः ॥ 3.13 ॥

kṣetra-jñāya namas tubhyaṁ sarvādhyakṣāya sākṣiṇe puruṣāyātma-mūlāya mūla-prakṛtaye namaḥ

Obeisance to You, the knower of the field, the overseer of all, the witness; obeisance to You, the Supreme Person, the root of every self, the primal nature itself.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.8.3.14)

सर्वेन्द्रियगुणद्रष्ट्रे सर्वप्रत्ययहेतवे । असताच्छाययोक्ताय सदाभासाय ते नमः ॥ 3.14 ॥

sarvendriya-guṇa-draṣṭre sarva-pratyaya-hetave asatā cchāyayoktāya sad-ābhāsāya te namaḥ

Obeisance to You who witness the objects of every sense, who are the cause of all understanding, who are spoken of only through the shadow of this unreal world, yet who are the very semblance of the real.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.8.3.15)

नमो नमस्तेऽखिलकारणाय निष्कारणायाद्भुतकारणाय । सर्वागमाम्नायमहार्णवाय नमोऽपवर्गाय परायणाय ॥ 3.15 ॥

namo namas te ’khila-kāraṇāya niṣkāraṇāyādbhuta-kāraṇāya sarvāgamāmnāya-mahārṇavāya namo ’pavargāya parāyaṇāya

Obeisance, obeisance to You again, the cause of all causes, yet Yourself uncaused, the wondrous cause of everything; obeisance to You, the great ocean of all scripture and sacred tradition, the giver of liberation, the supreme refuge.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.8.3.16)

गुणारणिच्छन्नचिदुष्मपाय तत्क्षोभविस्फूर्जितमानसाय । नैष्कर्म्यभावेन विवर्जितागम- स्वयंप्रकाशाय नमस्करोमि ॥ 3.16 ॥

guṇāraṇi-cchanna-cid-uṣmapāya tat-kṣobha-visphūrjita-mānasāya naiṣkarmya-bhāvena vivarjitāgama- svayaṁ-prakāśāya namas karomi

To Him whose consciousness lies hidden within the modes of nature as fire lies hidden within the fire-sticks, and whose 'mind' seems to stir with their agitation though untouched by it; who shines self-revealed, beyond even scriptural injunction, to those established in actionlessness — to Him I offer my obeisance.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.8.3.17)

मादृक्प्रपन्नपशुपाशविमोक्षणाय मुक्ताय भूरिकरुणाय नमोऽलयाय । स्वांशेन सर्वतनुभृन्मनसि प्रतीत- प्रत्यग्दृशे भगवते बृहते नमस्ते ॥ 3.17 ॥

mādṛk prapanna-paśu-pāśa-vimokṣaṇāya muktāya bhūri-karuṇāya namo ’layāya svāṁśena sarva-tanu-bhṛn-manasi pratīta- pratyag-dṛśe bhagavate bṛhate namas te

Obeisance to Him who frees from bondage a lowly creature like me that has taken refuge in Him, who is ever liberated, boundlessly compassionate, undying; obeisance to that vast Bhagavan who, through His partial expansion, is known within the mind of every embodied being as the innermost witness.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.8.3.18)

आत्मात्मजाप्तगृहवित्तजनेषु सक्तै- र्दुष्प्रापणाय गुणसङ्गविवर्जिताय । मुक्तात्मभिः स्वहृदये परिभाविताय ज्ञानात्मने भगवते नम ईश्वराय ॥ 3.18 ॥

ātmātma-jāpta-gṛha-vitta-janeṣu saktair duṣprāpaṇāya guṇa-saṅga-vivarjitāya muktātmabhiḥ sva-hṛdaye paribhāvitāya jñānātmane bhagavate nama īśvarāya

He who is difficult to attain for those attached to self, children, kin, home, wealth and companions, and who is wholly untouched by contact with the gunas; whom liberated souls hold in constant contemplation within their own hearts — obeisance to that Bhagavan, the embodiment of knowledge, the Lord.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.8.3.19)

यं धर्मकामार्थविमुक्तिकामा भजन्त इष्टां गतिमाप्नुवन्ति । किं चाशिषो रात्यपि देहमव्ययं करोतु मेऽदभ्रदयो विमोक्षणम् ॥ 3.19 ॥

yaṁ dharma-kāmārtha-vimukti-kāmā bhajanta iṣṭāṁ gatim āpnuvanti kiṁ cāśiṣo rāty api deham avyayaṁ karotu me ’dabhra-dayo vimokṣaṇam

Worshipping whom, those who desire dharma, wealth, pleasure or liberation attain the goal they seek; who grants blessings, even an imperishable body — may that Lord of boundless compassion grant me release from this peril.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.8.3.20)

एकान्तिनो यस्य न कञ्चनार्थं वाञ्छन्ति ये वै भगवत्प्रपन्नाः । अत्यद्भुतं तच्चरितं सुमङ्गलं गायन्त आनन्दसमुद्रमग्नाः ॥ 3.20 ॥

ekāntino yasya na kañcanārthaṁ vāñchanti ye vai bhagavat-prapannāḥ aty-adbhutaṁ tac-caritaṁ sumaṅgalaṁ gāyanta ānanda-samudra-magnāḥ

He from whom His single-minded devotees, wholly surrendered to Bhagavan, desire nothing at all, but remain immersed instead in an ocean of bliss, forever singing of His most wondrous and auspicious deeds.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.8.3.21)

तमक्षरं ब्रह्म परं परेश- मव्यक्तमाध्यात्मिकयोगगम्यम् । अतीन्द्रियं सूक्ष्ममिवातिदूर- मनन्तमाद्यं परिपूर्णमीडे ॥ 3.21 ॥

tam akṣaraṁ brahma paraṁ pareśam avyaktam ādhyātmika-yoga-gamyam atīndriyaṁ sūkṣmam ivātidūram anantam ādyaṁ paripūrṇam īḍe

I praise that imperishable Brahman, the Supreme Lord, unmanifest, attainable only through inward spiritual discipline; beyond the senses, subtle, as though wholly unreachable, infinite, primeval, and utterly complete.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.8.3.22)

यस्य ब्रह्मादयो देवा वेदा लोकाश्चराचराः । नामरूपविभेदेन फल्ग्व्या च कलया कृताः ॥ 3.22 ॥

yasya brahmādayo devā vedā lokāś carācarāḥ nāma-rūpa-vibhedena phalgvyā ca kalayā kṛtāḥ

By whose mere fragment of a fragment of power Brahma and the other gods, the Vedas, and all the moving and unmoving worlds are brought forth, each distinguished by its own name and form.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.8.3.23)

यथार्चिषोऽग्नेः सवितुर्गभस्तयो निर्यान्ति संयान्त्यसकृत् स्वरोचिषः । तथा यतोऽयं गुणसम्प्रवाहो बुद्धिर्मनः खानि शरीरसर्गाः ॥ 3.23 ॥

yathārciṣo ’gneḥ savitur gabhastayo niryānti saṁyānty asakṛt sva-rociṣaḥ tathā yato ’yaṁ guṇa-sampravāho buddhir manaḥ khāni śarīra-sargāḥ

Just as sparks leap from a fire, or rays pour from the sun, again and again going forth from their own luminous source and returning to it, so from Him this ceaseless flow of the gunas — intelligence, mind, the senses, and the fashioning of bodies — arises and subsides again and again.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.8.3.24)

स वै न देवासुरमर्त्यतिर्यङ् न स्त्री न षण्ढो न पुमान् न जन्तुः । नायं गुणः कर्म न सन्न चासन् निषेधशेषो जयतादशेषः ॥ 3.24 ॥

sa vai na devāsura-martya-tiryaṅ na strī na ṣaṇḍho na pumān na jantuḥ nāyaṁ guṇaḥ karma na san na cāsan niṣedha-śeṣo jayatād aśeṣaḥ

He is neither god nor demon, neither mortal nor beast; neither woman, nor eunuch, nor man, nor any ordinary creature; He is not a guna, not an action, neither being nor non-being — known only through the negation of all such things — may that boundless Lord be forever triumphant.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.8.3.25)

जिजीविषे नाहमिहामुया कि- मन्तर्बहिश्चावृतयेभयोन्या । इच्छामि कालेन न यस्य विप्लव- स्तस्यात्मलोकावरणस्य मोक्षम् ॥ 3.25 ॥

jijīviṣe nāham ihāmuyā kim antar bahiś cāvṛtayebha-yonyā icchāmi kālena na yasya viplavas tasyātma-lokāvaraṇasya mokṣam

I no longer wish to go on living in this body of an elephant, veiled within and without by ignorance; I desire only release from that covering over the vision of the Self — a covering that even time cannot wear away.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.8.3.26)

सोऽहं विश्वसृजं विश्वमविश्वं विश्ववेदसम् । विश्वात्मानमजं ब्रह्म प्रणतोऽस्मि परं पदम् ॥ 3.26 ॥

so ’haṁ viśva-sṛjaṁ viśvam aviśvaṁ viśva-vedasam viśvātmānam ajaṁ brahma praṇato ’smi paraṁ padam

I now bow down to Him who is the creator of the universe, who is the universe itself and yet remains beyond it, the knower of all, the Self of the universe, the unborn Brahman, the supreme abode.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.8.3.27)

योगरन्धितकर्माणो हृदि योगविभाविते । योगिनो यं प्रपश्यन्ति योगेशं तं नतोऽस्म्यहम् ॥ 3.27 ॥

yoga-randhita-karmāṇo hṛdi yoga-vibhāvite yogino yaṁ prapaśyanti yogeśaṁ taṁ nato ’smy aham

I bow to Him, the Lord of yoga, whom yogis — their past actions consumed away through yoga — behold within the heart made luminous by that same yoga.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.8.3.28)

नमो नमस्तुभ्यमसह्यवेग- शक्तित्रयायाखिलधीगुणाय । प्रपन्नपालाय दुरन्तशक्तये कदिन्द्रियाणामनवाप्यवर्त्मने ॥ 3.28 ॥

namo namas tubhyam asahya-vega- śakti-trayāyākhila-dhī-guṇāya prapanna-pālāya duranta-śaktaye kad-indriyāṇām anavāpya-vartmane

Obeisance, obeisance to You again and again — of irresistible force in each of the three gunas, the very substance of all intelligence, protector of the surrendered, of boundless power, and unattainable by those who cannot master their senses.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.8.3.29)

नायं वेद स्वमात्मानं यच्छक्त्याहंधिया हतम् । तं दुरत्ययमाहात्म्यं भगवन्तमितोऽस्म्यहम् ॥ 3.29 ॥

nāyaṁ veda svam ātmānaṁ yac-chaktyāhaṁ-dhiyā hatam taṁ duratyaya-māhātmyaṁ bhagavantam ito ’smy aham

This soul, its vision clouded over by the false ego born of His own power, does not know its own true self; unto Him, Bhagavan of unassailable greatness, I now go for refuge.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.8.3.30)

श्रीशुक उवाच एवं गजेन्द्रमुपवर्णितनिर्विशेषं ब्रह्मादयो विविधलिङ्गभिदाभिमानाः । नैते यदोपससृपुर्निखिलात्मकत्वात् तत्राखिलामरमयो हरिराविरासीत् ॥ 3.30 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca evaṁ gajendram upavarṇita-nirviśeṣaṁ brahmādayo vividha-liṅga-bhidābhimānāḥ naite yadopasasṛpur nikhilātmakatvāt tatrākhilāmara-mayo harir āvirāsīt

Sri Shukadeva said: Since Gajendra had thus described the Supreme without naming any single form, Brahma and the other gods, each identified with his own distinct form, did not come near him; but because Hari is the Self of all and embodies every god within Himself, He appeared there in person.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.8.3.31)

तं तद्वदार्तमुपलभ्य जगन्निवासः स्तोत्रं निशम्य दिविजैः सह संस्तुवद्भिः । छन्दोमयेन गरुडेन समुह्यमान- श्चक्रायुधोऽभ्यगमदाशु यतो गजेन्द्रः ॥ 3.31 ॥

taṁ tadvad ārtam upalabhya jagan-nivāsaḥ stotraṁ niśamya divijaiḥ saha saṁstuvadbhiḥ chandomayena garuḍena samuhyamānaś cakrāyudho ’bhyagamad āśu yato gajendraḥ

Perceiving him thus in such distress, and hearing his prayer as the gods themselves joined in praising Him, the Dweller within the universe, mounted upon Garuda who is the very embodiment of the Vedic metres, discus in hand, swiftly came to where Gajendra was.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.8.3.32)

सोऽन्तःसरस्युरुबलेन गृहीत आर्तो दृष्ट्वा गरुत्मति हरिं ख उपात्तचक्रम् । उत्क्षिप्य साम्बुजकरं गिरमाह कृच्छ्रा- न्नारायणाखिलगुरो भगवन् नमस्ते ॥ 3.32 ॥

so ’ntaḥ-sarasy urubalena gṛhīta ārto dṛṣṭvā garutmati hariṁ kha upātta-cakram utkṣipya sāmbuja-karaṁ giramāha kṛcchrān nārāyaṇākhila-guro bhagavan namas te

Gripped within the lake by that overwhelming force and in great anguish, Gajendra, seeing Hari in the sky upon Garuda, discus in hand, raised his trunk with a lotus flower in it and, with great difficulty, uttered these words: 'O Narayana, teacher of all, O Bhagavan, obeisance to You.'

Verse 33 (bhagavata.8.3.33)

तं वीक्ष्य पीडितमजः सहसावतीर्य सग्राहमाशु सरसः कृपयोज्जहार । ग्राहाद् विपाटितमुखादरिणा गजेन्द्रं संपश्यतां हरिरमूमुचदुच्छ्रियाणाम् ॥ 3.33 ॥

taṁ vīkṣya pīḍitam ajaḥ sahasāvatīrya sa-grāham āśu sarasaḥ kṛpayojjahāra grāhād vipāṭita-mukhād ariṇā gajendraṁ saṁpaśyatāṁ harir amūmucad ucchriyāṇām

Seeing him so afflicted, the unborn Lord at once descended, and out of compassion swiftly drew Gajendra together with the crocodile out of the lake; then, tearing open the crocodile's mouth with His discus, Hari set Gajendra free before the eyes of all the exalted beings looking on.