Gajendra Moksham 2024 - introduction of a new elephant !!

Imp Pre-script : no authentic Srivaishnavism concept post – more about Temple tank and invasive species – remember recently posted about turtle found in Triplicane temple tank !!  

The tank of Sri Parthasarathi Swami is famous ~ it is  ‘Kairavini Pushkarini’… the pond of Lily – ‘allikkeni’ from which the place itself derives its name (~ and my blog is titled Kairavini Karaiyinile  literally meaning on the banks of holy Kairavini, the temple  tank).  The tank has added significance attributed to the birth of “Yathi Rajar” – Swami Ramanujar due to the penance undertaken by Kesava Somayaji and Kanthimathi ammal.

 

On  21^st July 2024    occurred grand purappadu at Thiruvallikkeni ……  even a child would know having heard so many times the puranic legend of ‘Gajendra moksham [salvation of elephant Gajendra]’ ~ whence   Lord Sriman Narayana  Himself  came down to earth to protect Gajendra (elephant) from the death clutches of Makara (Crocodile).   In our Sreevaishnava sampradhayam – Gajendra moksham is a concept of salvation.  Sriman Narayana  appeared on Garuda vahanam and saved the elephant by killing the crocodile with his ‘Chakram’.   It also explains that one who falls under the divine feet of Lord seeking salvation will surely be taken care of.  

ஸ்ரீ வைஷ்ணவ ஸம்ப்ரதாயத்தில் அடிப்படை நாதம் -  சரணாகதி - எம்பெருமானே, நீயே சரண் என அவன் கழலிணை பற்றுதல்.  இவற்றில் அதிகம்  கொண்டாடப்படும் விருத்தாந்தங்கள் -  கஜேந்திரன் சரணாகதி, விபீஷ்ண சரணாகதி, திரௌபதி சரணாகதி போன்றவை.    கஜேந்திர மோக்ஷ வரலாற்றை கேட்டாலே மிகவும் புண்ணியம் என்று பெரியோர்கள் கூறுவர்.  

சாபமும் சாபவிமோசனமும் புராணங்களில் வரும் நிகழ்வுகள். சாபம் என்பது எப்போதுமே பிரக்ஞையின் மேல்நிலையிலிருந்து கீழ்நிலைக்குத் தள்ளப்படுவது.  எம்பெருமானின் கருணையால்   விமோசனம் பெற்றதும்  மீண்டும் சுயநிலையை அடைவது நடக்கிறது.  

Crocodiles are large aquatic tetrapods that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia.  Though there could be many biological varieties, broadly there are – the mugger, alligator and gharials. The  obvious trait of crocodiles is their long upper and lower jaws being  the same width, and teeth in the lower jaw fall along the edge or outside the upper jaw when the mouth is closed.  Crocodiles are ambush predators, waiting for fish or land animals to come close, then rushing out to attack.  They can attack and harm humans too.    

Located about a thousand miles east of India’s mainland in the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman archipelago consists of several hundred lush islands known for breathtaking white beaches and unique biodiversity. Part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, the Andaman Islands harbour a total of around 9,130 animal species straddling both terrestrial habitats and marine waters. Of these, 1,032 species are endemic to these islands.   Historically, the forests of the Andaman Islands have also been home to several tree species coveted by loggers: the highly valued padauk (Pterocarpus dalbergioides); gurjan (Dipterocarpus turbinatus), a straight and tall tree known for good quality timber; gangaw (Mesua ferrea) suitable for sleepers; and didu (Bombax insigne) for tea boxes. 

In the late 19th century, the British colonial authorities started a bustling timber industry in these remote islands. In 1883, the first sawmill was established with an annual log intake capacity of 20,000 cubic meters. Soon, with the loggers, these islands also saw the arrival of a new species: the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Elephants from the Indian mainland and Burma were brought to Andaman to work in the logging industry. They would drag timber from logging sites to the docks on the seashore.  Large-scale logging continued in the Andaman Islands for over half a century after India’s Independence until it was banned in 2001. While the logging industry has become a thing of the past, the elephants brought to Andaman to work in timber extraction remain here. By 2009, there were about 99 captive elephants in the Andaman Islands. The figure declined to about 63 by 2019. Most of these elephants are now privately owned and maintained and used for timber-related work or tourism purposes.  

There is also a small population of feral elephants in the Andamans. Since the early days of timber exploration, working elephants occasionally escaped or were released into the jungle. Over time, these elephants formed feral – a term for domestic and primarily non-native animals that turned wild – breeding herds. Today, the largest population of Andaman’s feral elephants is found on Interview Island. Very small groups of feral elephants are occasionally reported from North Andaman.   The island ecosystems of Andaman are reeling under threats from various quarters.   In the early 1960s, a bankrupt logging company released an estimated 50 elephants on the island. These animals have since formed a breeding population. In 1985, the government declared Interview Island a wildlife sanctuary devoted to protecting these feral elephants.  Forest rangers in Andaman concur that Interview Island’s vegetation has declined significantly over the past few decades. Plants such as bamboo, rattans, and pandanus have become scarcer.  However, not everyone agrees that feral elephants have seriously impacted Andaman’s ecology.   

Moving on to the legend of Gajendra ever wondered how an elephant could have shouted surrender to Sriman Narayana.  Over the years, researchers who study elephants have noticed an intriguing phenomenon. Sometimes when an elephant makes a vocalization to a group of other elephants, all of them respond. But sometimes when that same elephant makes a similar call to the group, only a single individual responds.  Could it be that elephants address each other by the equivalent of a name?    

A new study involving wild African savannah elephants in Kenya lends support to this idea. The researchers analyzed vocalizations - mostly rumbles generated by elephants using their vocal cords, similar to how people speak - made by more than 100 elephants in Amboseli National Park and Samburu National Reserve.   Using a machine-learning model, the researchers identified what appeared to be a name-like component in these calls identifying a specific elephant as the intended addressee. The researchers then played audio for 17 elephants to test how they would respond to a call apparently addressed to them as well as to a call apparently addressed to some other elephant.  The study's findings indicate that elephants "address one another with something like a name," according to a behavioral ecologist of Cornell University and formerly of Colorado State University, lead author of the study published on Monday in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. Interesting ! 

Thousands had darshan of Sri Parthasarathi Emperuman Garuda Sevai and the enactment of Gajendra moksham at Kairavini pushkarini – likely that you could have missed out too – in earlier years it was a depiction of painted elephant and a crocodile on a wooden board in the neerazhi mantapam in the middle – this time a small beautiful attractive wooden elephant and a mugger crocodile catching his feet had been introduced into the temple pond, rather neerazhi mandapam. 

Here are some photos of the Kairavini pushkarini, Garuda sevai purappadu and the elephant (most of the photos credit my friend Sri Thirumalai Vinjamoor Venkatesh @ Jilla)  (las  close-up photos of Yanai and muthalai – Sri KV Rajappa Swami) 

adiyen Srinivasadhasan

Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
28.7.2024