Gajendra Moksha: The Elephant's Cry

Gajendra, the majestic king of elephants, was immensely proud of his physical strength. One day, while bathing in a serene lake with his herd, a massive crocodile clamped its powerful jaws onto Gajendra's leg.

A fierce struggle ensued. The elephant fought with all his monumental might, pulling towards the shore, while the crocodile, in its natural element, pulled him deeper into the water. The battle lasted for a thousand years. Slowly, Gajendra's wives, children, and friends, realizing they could not help him, abandoned him on the shore.

Exhausted, bleeding, and pulled down to the point where only his trunk remained above the water, Gajendra realized the futility of his ego and physical power. In that moment of absolute helplessness, a latent memory from a past life awoke within him.

He plucked a single lotus flower with his trunk, held it up to the sky, and offered a profound prayer not to any specific form, but to the Supreme Reality, the source of all existence.

Hearing this cry of total, ego-less surrender, Lord Vishnu did not even wait for his mount, Garuda, to land. He hurled his Sudarshana Chakra from the heavens. The discus severed the crocodile's head, freeing Gajendra. Vishnu descended, pulling the elephant from the water and granting him eternal liberation. The story teaches that ego must be exhausted before true grace descends.