Gajendra

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Brooklyn Museum - Vishnu Saves the Elephant (Gajendra Moksha)

Gajendra is an elephant in Hindu mythology .

His story, Gajendra Moksha or The Liberation of Gajendra can be found in the 8th book of the Bhagavatapurana . In this story, Vishnu came down to earth to save Gajendra from the threat of the crocodile Makara . With Vishnu's help, Gajendra achieved liberation (Moksha) from the cycle of rebirth ( samsara ), acquired a physical form like Vishnu's form (Sarupya Mukti ) and entered his kingdom Vaikuntha with the god .

Gajendra Moksha

The elephant Gajendra, leader of his herd, lived in the Rtumat garden on Mount Trikuta. When he wanted to cool off on a hot day, he went to a lake with his flock. In this lake lived a crocodile that attacked Gajendra and bit his leg. Gajendra tried for a long time to free his leg from the crocodile's mouth. Gajendra's friends and family gathered around him, but they could not help him. When they felt that Gajendra was near death, they left him. Gajendra desperately called for help. With the very last of his strength (the fight with the crocodile had lasted over 1,000 years) he finally called to the god Vishnu and offered him a lotus flower with his trunk as an offering. In response to Gajendra's prayer, Vishnu appeared on the Garuda bird , cut off the crocodile's head with his wheel of fire (Sudarshana Chakra ) and thus saved Gajendra. He could only achieve the liberation of Moksha because he left all pride and doubt behind and surrendered unconditionally to Vishnu.