My Veda Guru said : Before you sleep think of Hanuman, Garuda and Bhima.
rAmaskandam hanumantam, vainatEyam, vRkOdaram,
The shoulder of Rama - Hanuman, Vynateya (Garuda), the wolf stomached one (Bhima, the Pandava)
s’ayane yassmaratE nityam, dusswapnam tasya nas’yatE.
One who thinks of them when sleeping, his bad dreams are destroyed.
According to the Vamana Purana, Pulastya (the son of Brahma, grand father of Ravana रावण), told Narada that any one who reads, listens properly to or remembers Gajendra Moksha,
has their bad dreams destroyed.
- It is available easily and affordably as the last section of the Sri Pancha Ratna Gita published by Gita Press.
- It is simple and beautiful and easy to read.
- Vamana Purana in Sanskrit : http://is1.mum.edu/vedicreserve/puranas/vamana_purana.pdf
- Vamana Purana in English : http://www.astrojyoti.com/vamanapurana-15.htm
The story is set in the trikUTa parvata, the son of Sumeru Parvata. It begins with the description of the magical trikUTa parvata and all the wonderful beings you might meet there!. One of its golden peak is served by the one who causes the day – the Sun, another by the moon and the third is the residence of Brahma.
(This golden peak bit is just like Mt. Kailas which reflects awesomely grandly the early morning sun and looks like it is made of pure gold! This description may also be the reason why some mlecchas (foreigners) like Megasthanes expected to find gold in the Himalayas, whereas Chanakya wrote that it was in the deccan that gold and gems were to be found! The gems you find in the Himalayas are a completely different kind 
)!
In that divine place, visible only to the pure folks, there lived a fierce crocodile and a majestic elephant.
(In such stories look for symbolism, what do those animals represent?)
The crocodile caught hold of the elephant’s foot and the elephant – king, gaja – indra, Gajendra, prayed to Vishnu in the most charming and endearing words.
(It interesting that he praised Vishnu as Varaha, Trivikrama (Vamana) and Vasudeva but there is no reference to Matsya that I could easily see, and none to Narasimha, Kurma, Rama or Krishna. See Also : Kurma Avatara is after the Narasimha Avatara : Matsya Purana )
Then Vishnu came there, with his sankha, chakra and gada, on his Garuda and he killed the crocodile with his chakra and freed the king of the elephants (Gajendra – Moksha). The crocodile (makara) was really a Gandharva named hUhU, and he was freed from a s’Apam (curse) and went to heaven. Pothana wrote that Vishnu left at once and his sankha, chakra and gada flew after him, since he did not stop to gather them.
(Remember the name hUhU, he shows up in someother important stories.)
The elephant got a divine body since it was touched by Vishnu.
Then Bhagavan spoke sweetly to Gajendra. He said that anyone who remembers Vishnu, Gajendra, the trikUTa parvata, the crocodile, the as’vattha, sun, gangA, naimiSaranya, with an effort and a steady mind, devoted and clean, their bad dreams get destroyed and they get good dreams. He also said that those who remember, in the morning, matsya, kUrma, varAha, vAmana, tArkshya, narasimha and nAgEndra, the cause of creation and pralaya, have their papAs destroyed and attain the puNyalokAs.
Then Vishnu praised by all the beings of various kinds, including Indra, went to a place that’s hard to find and everyone was full of wonder.
And Pulastya said that anyone who hears this story is blessed with puNya (good Karma), and all their pApa (vikarma – bad action) gets destroyed.
The video clips below give you a version of Gajendra Stotra, but not from the Vamana Purana, wherefrom I don’t yet know.
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
See Also : http://www.dreamwisdom.info/library/nightmare_remedies_dw.htm
- Astrological Remedies
- Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra
- Does Astrology work on Saturn? on Alpha Centauri?
- Hindu Predictive Astrology
- Sri Rama Jatakam
