FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.3.1

శ్రీబాదరాయణిరువాచ ఏవం వ్యవసితో బుద్ధ్యా సమాధాయ మనో హృది । జజాప పరమం జాప్యం ప్రాగ్జన్మన్యనుశిక్షితమ్ ॥ ౧ ॥
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
[shree-baadaraayanir uvaacha]
evaṁ vyavasito buddhyā
[evam vyavasito buddhyaa]
samādhāya mano hṛdi
[samaadhaaya mano hridi]
jajāpa paramaṁ jāpyaṁ
[jajaapa paramam jaapyam]
prāg-janmany anuśikṣitam
[praag-janmany anushikshitam]
śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said evam — thus vyavasitaḥ — fixed buddhyā — by intelligence samādhāya — for concentration manaḥ — the mind hṛdi — in consciousness or in the heart jajāpa — he chanted paramam — a supreme jāpyam — mantra he had learned from great devotees prāk-janmani — in his previous birth anuśikṣitam — practiced.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
evaṁ vyavasito buddhyā
evam
thus
vyavasitaḥ
fixed
buddhyā
by intelligence
samādhāya mano hṛdi
samādhāya
for concentration
manaḥ
the mind
hṛdi
in consciousness or in the heart
jajāpa paramaṁ jāpyaṁ
jajāpa
he chanted
paramam
a supreme
jāpyam
mantra he had learned from great devotees
prāg-janmany anuśikṣitam
prāk-janmani
in his previous birth
anuśikṣitam
practiced.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thereafter, the King of the elephants, Gajendra, fixed his mind in his heart with perfect intelligence and chanted a mantra which he had learned in his previous birth as Indradyumna and which he remembered by the grace of Kṛṣṇa.

Such remembrance is described in Bhagavad-gītā (6.43-44):

tatra taṁ buddhi-saṁyogaṁ labhate paurva-dehikam yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṁsiddhau kuru-nandana pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva hriyate hy avaśo ’pi saḥ

In these verses it is assured that even if a person engaged in devotional service falls down, he is not degraded, but is placed in a position in which he will in due course of time remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained later, Gajendra was formerly King Indradyumna, and somehow or other in his next life he became King of the elephants. Now Gajendra was in danger, and although he was in a body other than that of a human being, he remembered the stotra he had chanted in his previous life. Yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṁsiddhau kuru-nandana. To enable one to achieve perfection, Kṛṣṇa gives one the chance to remember Him again. This is proved here, for although the King of the elephants, Gajendra, was put in danger, this was a chance for him to remember his previous devotional activities so that he could immediately be rescued by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

It is imperative, therefore, that all devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice chanting some mantra. Certainly one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is the mahā-mantra, or great mantra, and also one should practice chanting cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu or the Nṛsiṁha strotra ( ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ ). Every devotee should practice in order to chant some mantra perfectly so that even though he may be imperfect in spiritual consciousness in this life, in his next life he will not forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even if he becomes an animal. Of course, a devotee should try to perfect his Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life, for simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa and His instructions, after giving up this body one can return home, back to Godhead. Even if there is some falldown, practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness never goes in vain. For example, Ajāmila, in his boyhood, practiced chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa under the direction of his father, but later, in his youth, he fell down and became a drunkard, woman-hunter, rogue and thief. Nonetheless, because of chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa for the purpose of calling his son, whom he had named Nārāyaṇa, he became advanced, even though he was involved in sinful activities. Therefore, we should not forget the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra under any circumstances. It will help us in the greatest danger, as we find in the life of Gajendra.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thereafter, Gajendra, deciding in this way, fixed his mind on his heart with his intelligence and chanted a mantra which he had learned in his previous birth. In the Third Chapter, the Lord, satisfied with Gajendra’s prayers, lifts him from the water, kills the crocodile with his cakra and in that way delivers both of them. Vyavasitaḥ means “he decided.”
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