Gajendra Moksha Katha

- an extract from Vishnu Purana

In Indian philosophy and Hindu theology or Hindu mythology, there are

many stories which are symbol of various philosophies or preachings, used by our
forefathers to unravel the mysteries of life. The whole story of Mahabharata is
symbolises the struggles of one‟s life relating to the struggle between the good and
the evil. Similarly in Ramayana, it was war between Rama and Ravana...was the
war of cultures…was the war between the truth and the untruth….These stories are
in the form of epics…but there are some short stories too which are
symbolic….being the story of Holika, the story of king Moortdhwaja, the story of
‘Moksha of Gajendra’ i.e. Salvation of an Elephant.

Once there was a huge elephant. He goes to drink water in a river, where a
crocodile already resides. As soon as the elephant enters into the river, the
crocodile catches his leg in his powerful jaws. The elephant tries his best to free
himself…he fights against the power of crocodile…he tries his best.When his
efforts are futile and he loses the hope of life, he foresees death. He starts
praying…he calls Lord Vishnu…the God hears his cry and saves his life. “In the
material sense, if the life of the elephant has been saved by the God….How can the
story be called Salvation of an Elephant or „Gajendra Moksha Katha‟?”

This story is the symbol of Maya, Jeeva and Ashubh(Evil). The elephant,
representing Jeeva, is caught by the crocodile or Maya and the power of the
crocodile, symbolic to Asubh, prevails everywhere in the society. Man inclines
towards the evil as it is tempting. When an elephant goes to the river, the crocodile
in the river awaits to catch the elephant. The power of crocodile inside the river is
greater than several times outside, as Asubh is the weapon of Maya, and Maya
with its weapon is invincible. Maya is enticing and when a person is trapped by
Maya, he is unable to liberate himself from its shackles. The philosophy of
Existentialism states that, „the world is not as solid as any solid thing…it is not
liquid as any liquid thing…. In fact it is semi solid or sticky as honey. When a
person falls into it, he cannot save himself‟…behold the Indian philosophy, an
elephant or Jeeva caught by crocodile or Maya can only be saved by the mercy of
God.
 When the elephant has no hope of life and foresees death….he starts to
pray…he calls the God from the core of his heart and whilst in the process of
praying… his soul becomes pure…as true Bhakti makes a person revere. Prayer is
the condition precedent for real Bhakti, and when the seed of true Bhakti is planted
in the elephant‟s heart…he realises that his body and life is false…the earthly
world, an illusion…thus germination of real knowledge or Bhakti takes place. He
thinks, why I am crying for this body which is a mere illusion….Bhakti is the path
to salvation…the knowledge of reality or the realisation of „Ultimate Truth‟ is
salvation. As soon as the elephant realises the Ultimate Truth…he attains salvation.

This story paradigm God‟s mercy…when a person is under the mercy of

God, no evil can harm him. This is an actual paradox…when a person leaves the
greed for life, his life becomes safe…if one wants to live, he must know the art of
death. As the elephant leaves his longing for life, he attains salvation; thus is the
story of Salvation of an Elephant or the Gajendra Moksha Katha. Bhakti is the path
leading to salvation and real Bhakti germinates with absolute dedication towards
the Ultimate Truth, bringing closer to the great God.

Bhagirath Verma

A.D.J.

U.P.S.L.S.A, Lucknow.