Gajendra Moksha (गजेन्द्रमोक्षः)

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Once, the king of Elephants was distressed due to his leg being caught by an extremely powerful crocodile in a lake. He immediately plucked a lotus and held it out in his trunk as an offering and called out to Lord Vishnu. The Lord too, hearing the appeal of his devotee rushed to his aid mounted on Garuda. He then cut asunder the jaw of the crocodile with his weapon, the Sudarshana Chakra and dragged the elephant out by the trunk. This episode of Lord Vishnu’s grace towards his devotee, the lord of the elephants, is referred to as Gajendra moksha.

This story has been taken from Adhyaya 7 of the 2nd Skandha of the Bhagavata Purana.

अन्तः सरस्युरुबलेन पदे गृहीतो ग्राहेण यूथपतिरम्बुजहस्त आर्तः ।

आहेदमादिपुरुषाखिललोकनाथ तीर्थश्रवः श्रवणमङ्गलनामधेय ॥ १५ ॥

श्रुत्वा हरिस्तमरणार्थिनमप्रमेयः चक्रायुधः पतगराजभुजाधिरूढः ।

चक्रेण नक्रवदनं विनिपाद्य तस्माद् धस्ते प्रगृह्य भगवान् कृपयोज्जहार ॥ १६ ॥ Bha. Pu. Skandha 2, Adhyaya 7