GGHS – Tulsi Murthy
Class 3
Today I am going to narrate the story about the Merciful Lord. As we know Lord Krishna is the friend of all living entities. Mercy when we surrender to the Lord. This story is about Gajendra who was the king of elephants. Inspite of being an elephant he received the Mercy of the Lord. In his previous life Gajendra was King Indradyumna. He was cursed by Sage Agastya when he did not offer him a fitting welcome . King Indradyumna became the elephant Gajendra.
Gajendra had a beautiful family of many wives and children. All the forest animals respected him as their king as he was very powerful. One day Gajendra went to the lake side with all his family to enjoy. The lake was filled with lotus flowers, the water was clean and clear. The surroundings were beautiful. He entered the lake with his wives and children, splashing water on them. Everyone was happy. Suddenly a crocodile caught his foot. Gajendra tried very hard to pull himself away but to no avail. Being a land animal his power was decreasing in water and crocodile was becoming more powerful. He struggled for thousands of years to free himself, but could not. Now, he understood
that even though he is so powerful but nothing can save him. His wives, children and friends were just watching him but could not do anything to save him. At that time he remembered his past life and all the devotional service he has rendered to the Lord. He recited prayers to Lord Vishnu. Picking a lotus flower from the lake, he called out to the Lord in a helpless condition. Lord Vishnu immediately appeared on Garuda. He cut the crocodile with his Sudarshana chakra and saved Gajendra from the sharp teeth of the crocodile. For his faithful prayers, Gajendra was sent to Sri Vaikuntha Dham.
Since King Indradhyumna has practiced devotional service to the Lord he did not forget it in his next life as an elephant. The all Merciful Lord saved his devotee from the danger.
