Gajendra Moksha Stotram

श्री शुक उवाच -

Śrī śuka uvāca -

Shri Shuka said:

एवं व्यवसितो बुद्ध्या समाधाय मनो हृदि

Evaṃ vyavasito buddhyā samādhāya mano hṛdi

Thus resolved in his understanding, settling his mind in his heart,

जजाप परमं जाप्यं प्राग्जन्मन्यनुशिक्षितम

Jajāpa paramaṃ jāpyaṃ prāgjanmanyanuśikṣitama

he recited the supreme prayer he had been taught in an earlier birth.

गजेन्द्र उवाच -

Gajendra uvāca -

Gajendra said:

ऊं नमो भगवते तस्मै यत एतच्चिदात्मकम

Ūṃ namo bhagavate tasmai yata etaccidātmakama

Om. Salutation to that Bhagavan from whom all this, whose very essence is consciousness, has come;

पुरुषायादिबीजाय परेशायाभिधीमहि

Puruṣāyādibījāya pareśāyābhidhīmahi

to the Purusha, the primal seed, the supreme Lord: on Him we meditate.

यस्मिन्निदं यतश्चेदं येनेदं य इदं स्वयं

Yasminnidaṃ yataścedaṃ yenedaṃ ya idaṃ svayaṃ

In whom this world is, from whom it is, by whom it is, who Himself is this world,

योस्मात्परस्माच्च परस्तं प्रपद्ये स्वयम्भुवम

Yosmātparasmācca parastaṃ prapadye svayambhuvama

and who stands beyond this and beyond that beyond: to Him, the self-existent, I go for refuge.

यः स्वात्मनीदं निजमाययार्पितं क्वचिद्विभातं क्व च तत्तिरोहितम

Yaḥ svātmanīdaṃ nijamāyayārpitaṃ kvacidvibhātaṃ kva ca tattirohitama

Who holds within His own Self this world set there by His own maya, at times shining forth, at times hidden away,

अविद्धदृक साक्ष्युभयं तदीक्षते स आत्म मूलोsवत् मां परात्परः

Aviddhadṛka sākṣyubhayaṃ tadīkṣate sa ātma mūlosvat māṃ parātparaḥ

and with sight unclouded witnesses both states: may He, rooted in Himself, higher than the highest, protect me.

कालेन पंचत्वमितेषु कृत्स्नशो लोकेषु पालेषु च सर्व हेतुषु

Kālena paṃcatvamiteṣu kṛtsnaśo lokeṣu pāleṣu ca sarva hetuṣu

When by time the worlds, their guardians and all their causes have wholly dissolved into the elements,

तमस्तदाऽऽऽसीद गहनं गभीरं यस्तस्य पारेsभिविराजते विभुः

Tamastadā'''sīda gahanaṃ gabhīraṃ yastasya pāresbhivirājate vibhuḥ

there remained darkness, dense and deep: and beyond that darkness the all-pervading One shines.

न यस्य देवा ऋषयः पदं विदु- र्जन्तुः पुनः कोsर्हति गन्तुमीरितुम

Na yasya devā ṛṣayaḥ padaṃ vidu- rjantuḥ punaḥ kosrhati gantumīrituma

Whose station neither the gods nor the rishis know: what creature, then, is fit to reach it or to speak of it?

यथा नटस्याकृतिभिर्विचेष्टतो दुरत्ययानुक्रमणः स मावतु

Yathā naṭasyākṛtibhirviceṣṭato duratyayānukramaṇaḥ sa māvatu

Like an actor moving through his many guises, His course cannot be traced: may He protect me.

दिदृक्षवो यस्य पदं सुमंगलम विमुक्त संगा मुनयः सुसाधवः

Didṛkṣavo yasya padaṃ sumaṃgalama vimukta saṃgā munayaḥ susādhavaḥ

Longing to see whose most auspicious station, sages freed of every attachment, wholly good,

चरन्त्यलोकव्रतमव्रणं वने भूतात्मभूता सुहृदः स मे गतिः

Carantyalokavratamavraṇaṃ vane bhūtātmabhūtā suhṛdaḥ sa me gatiḥ

keep in the forest a vow the world does not keep, unbroken, becoming the self of all beings and friend to all: He is my refuge.

न विद्यते यस्य न जन्म कर्म वा न नाम रूपे गुणदोष एव वा

Na vidyate yasya na janma karma vā na nāma rūpe guṇadoṣa eva vā

Who has no birth, no action, no name, no form, neither merit nor fault,

तथापि लोकाप्ययसम्भवाय यः स्वमायया तान्यनुकालमृच्छति

Tathāpi lokāpyayasambhavāya yaḥ svamāyayā tānyanukālamṛcchati

and who yet, for the dissolving and the arising of the worlds, takes these on by His own maya as each age requires.

तस्मै नमः परेशाय ब्रह्मणेsनन्तशक्तये

Tasmai namaḥ pareśāya brahmaṇesnantaśaktaye

To Him, salutation: to the supreme Lord, to Brahman, whose power has no end,

अरूपायोरुरूपाय नम आश्चर्य कर्मणे

Arūpāyorurūpāya nama āścarya karmaṇe

to the formless who wears immense forms, salutation to Him whose deeds are a wonder.

नम आत्म प्रदीपाय साक्षिणे परमात्मने

Nama ātma pradīpāya sākṣiṇe paramātmane

Salutation to the lamp of the Self, to the witness, to the Supreme Self,

नमो गिरां विदूराय मनसश्चेतसामपि

Namo girāṃ vidūrāya manasaścetasāmapi

salutation to Him who lies far beyond speech, and beyond mind and thought as well.

सत्त्वेन प्रतिलभ्याय नैष्कर्म्येण विपश्चिता

Sattvena pratilabhyāya naiṣkarmyeṇa vipaścitā

reached by purity, by the discerning through action without craving for its fruit,

नमः कैवल्यनाथाय निर्वाणसुखसंविदे

Namaḥ kaivalyanāthāya nirvāṇasukhasaṃvide

salutation to the lord of kaivalya, to the knowing that is the joy of nirvana.

नमः शान्ताय घोराय मूढाय गुण धर्मिणे

Namaḥ śāntāya ghorāya mūḍhāya guṇa dharmiṇe

Salutation to the peaceful, to the terrible, to the dull: to Him who bears the qualities as His own nature,

निर्विशेषाय साम्याय नमो ज्ञानघनाय च

Nirviśeṣāya sāmyāya namo jñānaghanāya ca

and salutation to the One without distinction, the same towards all, dense with knowledge.

क्षेत्रज्ञाय नमस्तुभ्यं सर्वाध्यक्षाय साक्षिणे

Kṣetrajñāya namastubhyaṃ sarvādhyakṣāya sākṣiṇe

Salutation to You, knower of the field, overseer of all, the witness,

पुरुषायात्ममूलाय मूलप्रकृतये नमः

Puruṣāyātmamūlāya mūlaprakṛtaye namaḥ

salutation to the Purusha, root of the Self, and to the root nature of all things.

सर्वेन्द्रियगुणद्रष्ट्रे सर्वप्रत्ययहेतवे

Sarvendriyaguṇadraṣṭre sarvapratyayahetave

To the seer of all that the senses and their qualities present, to the cause of every perception,

असताच्छाययोक्ताय सदाभासाय ते नमः

Asatācchāyayoktāya sadābhāsāya te namaḥ

to You who are spoken of through the shadow of the unreal yet are the ever-shining reality: salutation.

नमो नमस्तेsखिल कारणाय निष्कारणायाद्भुत कारणाय

Namo namasteskhila kāraṇāya niṣkāraṇāyādbhuta kāraṇāya

Salutation, salutation to You: cause of all, Yourself without a cause, cause beyond wonder,

सर्वागमान्मायमहार्णवाय नमोपवर्गाय परायणाय

Sarvāgamānmāyamahārṇavāya namopavargāya parāyaṇāya

to the great ocean that all scriptures sound out, salutation to the end of bondage, to the final resort.

गुणारणिच्छन्न चिदूष्मपाय तत्क्षोभविस्फूर्जित मानसाय

Guṇāraṇicchanna cidūṣmapāya tatkṣobhavisphūrjita mānasāya

To Him who is the heat of consciousness hidden in the firesticks that are the gunas, whose mind blazes out when they are churned,

नैष्कर्म्यभावेन विवर्जितागम- स्वयंप्रकाशाय नमस्करोमि

Naiṣkarmyabhāvena vivarjitāgama- svayaṃprakāśāya namaskaromi

self-luminous, standing outside the scriptures for one who acts without craving: to Him I make my salutation.

मादृक्प्रपन्नपशुपाशविमोक्षणाय मुक्ताय भूरिकरुणाय नमोsलयाय

Mādṛkprapannapaśupāśavimokṣaṇāya muktāya bhūrikaruṇāya namoslayāya

To Him who frees a bound creature like me from its snare, Himself free, abounding in compassion, never idle: salutation.

स्वांशेन सर्वतनुभृन्मनसि प्रतीत- प्रत्यग्दृशे भगवते बृहते नमस्ते

Svāṃśena sarvatanubhṛnmanasi pratīta- pratyagdṛśe bhagavate bṛhate namaste

To You, Bhagavan, vast beyond measure, who by a portion of Yourself are known in the mind of every embodied being as the inward-turned seer: salutation to You.

आत्मात्मजाप्तगृहवित्तजनेषु सक्तै- र्दुष्प्रापणाय गुणसंगविवर्जिताय

Ātmātmajāptagṛhavittajaneṣu saktai- rduṣprāpaṇāya guṇasaṃgavivarjitāya

Hard to reach for those bound to body, children, friends, home, wealth and kin; free of all attachment to the gunas,

मुक्तात्मभिः स्वहृदये परिभाविताय ज्ञानात्मने भगवते नम ईश्वराय

Muktātmabhiḥ svahṛdaye paribhāvitāya jñānātmane bhagavate nama īśvarāya

contemplated in their own hearts by liberated souls: to Bhagavan whose very self is knowledge, salutation to the Lord.

यं धर्मकामार्थविमुक्तिकामा भजन्त इष्टां गतिमाप्नुवन्ति

Yaṃ dharmakāmārthavimuktikāmā bhajanta iṣṭāṃ gatimāpnuvanti

Those who seek dharma, pleasure, wealth or liberation worship Him and reach the end they wish for.

किं त्वाशिषो रात्यपि देहमव्ययं करोतु मेsदभ्रदयो विमोक्षणम्

Kiṃ tvāśiṣo rātyapi dehamavyayaṃ karotu mesdabhradayo vimokṣaṇam

He grants even such boons, and a body that does not decay: may He of abundant compassion grant me release.

एकान्तिनो यस्य न कंचनार्थ वांछन्ति ये वै भगवत्प्रपन्नाः

Ekāntino yasya na kaṃcanārtha vāṃchanti ye vai bhagavatprapannāḥ

His single-hearted ones, who have given themselves wholly to Bhagavan, ask for nothing at all,

अत्यद्भुतं तच्चरितं सुमंगलं गायन्त आनन्द समुद्रमग्नाः

Atyadbhutaṃ taccaritaṃ sumaṃgalaṃ gāyanta ānanda samudramagnāḥ

but sing His deeds, most wondrous and most auspicious, sunk in an ocean of joy.

तमक्षरं ब्रह्म परं परेश- मव्यक्तमाध्यात्मिकयोगगम्यम

Tamakṣaraṃ brahma paraṃ pareśa- mavyaktamādhyātmikayogagamyama

That imperishable Brahman, supreme, highest of lords, unmanifest, reached only by inward yoga,

अतीन्द्रियं सूक्ष्ममिवातिदूर- मनन्तमाद्यं परिपूर्णमीडे

Atīndriyaṃ sūkṣmamivātidūra- manantamādyaṃ paripūrṇamīḍe

beyond the senses, subtle as it were, exceedingly far, endless, primal, wholly complete: Him I praise.

यस्य ब्रह्मादयो देवा वेदा लोकाश्चराचराः

Yasya brahmādayo devā vedā lokāścarācarāḥ

The gods beginning with Brahma, the Vedas, the worlds with all that moves and does not move,

नामरूपविभेदेन फल्ग्व्या च कलया कृताः

Nāmarūpavibhedena phalgvyā ca kalayā kṛtāḥ

were all made by a slight fraction of Him, through the divisions of name and form.

यथार्चिषोsग्नेः सवितुर्गभस्तयो निर्यान्ति संयान्त्यसकृत् स्वरोचिषः

Yathārciṣosgneḥ saviturgabhastayo niryānti saṃyāntyasakṛt svarociṣaḥ

As the flames of a fire and the rays of the sun go out and return again and again into their own light,

तथा यतोsयं गुणसंप्रवाहो बुद्धिर्मनः खानि शरीरसर्गाः

Tathā yatosyaṃ guṇasaṃpravāho buddhirmanaḥ khāni śarīrasargāḥ

so from Him flows out this stream of the gunas: intellect, mind, the openings of the senses, and the bodies they build.

स वै न देवासुरमर्त्यतिर्यंग न स्त्री न षण्डो न पुमान न जन्तुः

Sa vai na devāsuramartyatiryaṃga na strī na ṣaṇḍo na pumāna na jantuḥ

He is not god, not asura, not mortal, not beast; not woman, not of the third sex, not man, not any creature at all;

नायं गुणः कर्म न सन्न चासन निषेधशेषो जयतादशेषः

Nāyaṃ guṇaḥ karma na sanna cāsana niṣedhaśeṣo jayatādaśeṣaḥ

He is not a quality, not an action, not being nor non-being: may that whole which remains when all is denied prevail.

जिजीविषे नाहमिहामुया कि- मन्तर्बहिश्चावृतयेभयोन्या

Jijīviṣe nāhamihāmuyā ki- mantarbahiścāvṛtayebhayonyā

I have no wish to go on living here in this form, wrapped about within and without alike.

इच्छामि कालेन न यस्य विप्लव- स्तस्यात्मलोकावरणस्य मोक्षम

Icchāmi kālena na yasya viplava- stasyātmalokāvaraṇasya mokṣama

What I want is release from that covering over the Self's own world, the one thing time does not undo.

सोsहं विश्वसृजं विश्वमविश्वं विश्ववेदसम

Soshaṃ viśvasṛjaṃ viśvamaviśvaṃ viśvavedasama

So I bow to the maker of the universe, who is the universe and is not the universe, who holds all knowledge,

विश्वात्मानमजं ब्रह्म प्रणतोsस्मि परं पदम्

Viśvātmānamajaṃ brahma praṇatossmi paraṃ padam

the Self of the universe, the unborn, Brahman, the supreme state: to Him I have bowed down.

योगरन्धित कर्माणो हृदि योगविभाविते

Yogarandhita karmāṇo hṛdi yogavibhāvite

Whose actions have been burnt away by yoga, in a heart made ready by yoga,

योगिनो यं प्रपश्यन्ति योगेशं तं नतोsस्म्यहम्

Yogino yaṃ prapaśyanti yogeśaṃ taṃ natossmyaham

the yogis behold Him: to that lord of yoga I have bowed.

नमो नमस्तुभ्यमसह्यवेग- शक्तित्रयायाखिलधीगुणाय

Namo namastubhyamasahyavega- śaktitrayāyākhiladhīguṇāya

Salutation, salutation to You, whose threefold power drives on with a force none can withstand, in whom every faculty of thought has its quality,

प्रपन्नपालाय दुरन्तशक्तये कदिन्द्रियाणामनवाप्यवर्त्मने

Prapannapālāya durantaśaktaye kadindriyāṇāmanavāpyavartmane

protector of those who take refuge, whose power has no limit, whose path the blunted senses can never reach.

नायं वेद स्वमात्मानं यच्छ्क्त्याहंधिया हतम्

Nāyaṃ veda svamātmānaṃ yacchktyāhaṃdhiyā hatam

This creature does not know its own self, struck down as it is by the 'I' that His power throws up:

तं दुरत्ययमाहात्म्यं भगवन्तमितोsस्म्यहम्

Taṃ duratyayamāhātmyaṃ bhagavantamitossmyaham

to that Bhagavan, whose greatness cannot be crossed, I have come.

श्री शुकदेव उवाच -

Śrī śukadeva uvāca -

Shri Shukadeva said:

एवं गजेन्द्रमुपवर्णितनिर्विशेषं ब्रह्मादयो विविधलिंगभिदाभिमानाः

Evaṃ gajendramupavarṇitanirviśeṣaṃ brahmādayo vividhaliṃgabhidābhimānāḥ

When Gajendra had praised Him in this way, without naming any particular form, Brahma and the other gods, each holding to his own distinguishing mark and identity,

नैते यदोपससृपुर्निखिलात्मकत्वात तत्राखिलामरमयो हरिराविरासीत्

Naite yadopasasṛpurnikhilātmakatvāta tatrākhilāmaramayo harirāvirāsīt

did not come forward; and then, because He is the Self of all, Hari appeared there, containing all the gods within Him.

तं तद्वदार्त्तमुपलभ्य जगन्निवासः स्तोत्रं निशम्य दिविजैः सह संस्तुवद्भि :

Taṃ tadvadārttamupalabhya jagannivāsaḥ stotraṃ niśamya divijaiḥ saha saṃstuvadbhi :

Seeing him in such distress, and hearing his hymn, the dwelling-place of the worlds, with the gods praising Him alongside,

छन्दोमयेन गरुडेन समुह्यमान – श्चक्रायुधोsभ्यगमदाशु यतो गजेन्द्रः

Chandomayena garuḍena samuhyamāna – ścakrāyudhosbhyagamadāśu yato gajendraḥ

borne swiftly on Garuda who is made of the Vedic metres, discus in hand, came at once to where Gajendra was.

सोsन्तस्सरस्युरुबलेन गृहीत आर्त्तो दृष्ट्वा गरुत्मति हरिम् ख उपात्तचक्रम

Sosntassarasyurubalena gṛhīta ārtto dṛṣṭvā garutmati harim kha upāttacakrama

He, seized within the lake by that great force and in anguish, seeing Hari upon Garuda in the sky with the discus taken up,

उत्क्षिप्य साम्बुजकरं गिरमाह कृच्छा – नारायणाखिलगुरो भगवन्नमस्ते

Utkṣipya sāmbujakaraṃ giramāha kṛcchā – nārāyaṇākhilaguro bhagavannamaste

raised his trunk with a lotus in it and said, with difficulty: Narayana, teacher of all, Bhagavan, salutation to You.

तं वीक्ष्य पीडितमजः सहसावतीर्य सग्राहमाशु सरसः कृपयोज्जहार

Taṃ vīkṣya pīḍitamajaḥ sahasāvatīrya sagrāhamāśu sarasaḥ kṛpayojjahāra

Seeing him in such pain, the unborn One came down at once and in compassion lifted him straight out of the lake, crocodile and all,

ग्राहाद् विपाटितमुखादरिणा गजेन्द्रं सम्पश्यतां हरिरमूमुच दुस्त्रियाणाम्

Grāhād vipāṭitamukhādariṇā gajendraṃ sampaśyatāṃ hariramūmuca dustriyāṇām

and there, before all who watched, Hari freed Gajendra from the crocodile, whose jaws He split open with His discus.