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Can animals attain Moksha or do that have to take human birth to attain Moksha ?

There is this story of Gajendra Moksha where an elephant gets Moksha. Is it just a special case or is it possible by animals to attain Moksha.

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  • yup they do.. In south India, there is a famous temple with name "SreeKalaHasthi" where it is written that animals (who were devotees of god) attained moksha. I think this temple is same to which you mentioned as Gajendra Moksham.
    – Mr_Green
    Jul 24, 2014 at 5:17
  • @Mr_Green, maybe you can convert this into an answer.
    – Bharat
    Jul 24, 2014 at 16:47
  • +1,Actually isn't it the 'soul' getting Moksha with births of animals. I know you meant that, just a reason for commenting on the good question.
    – user11
    Jul 30, 2014 at 18:22

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No, animals don't attain moksha. Because the natural order is as below:

sthāvarāḥ krimayo'vjāśca pakṣiṇaḥ paśavo narāḥ
dārmmakāstridaśāstadūnamokṣiṇaśca yathākramam [VP - 2.6.34]

Meaning
After experiencing the sufferings of hell, the sinners go through the various stages of existence in the following order: immovable trees, worms, birds, animals, men, pious men, gods and liberated souls.

Moreover, if by moksha you mean, the advaita one, then by no means animals can attain that because they cannot cultivate the knowledge to ward away ignorance.

However, due to the grace of the Lord an animal certainly can attain mukti, just like Gajendra did [SB - 8.4.6]. But these are special cases when they were devotees of Lord in their previous births. For example, Gajendra was a devotee of the Lord:

This Gajendra had formerly been a Vaiṣṇava and the king of the country known as Pāṇḍya, which is in the province of Draviḍa [South India]. In his previous life, he was known as Indradyumna Mahārāja. [SB - 8.4.7]

Other than that, I have also heard that god-realized saints can also liberate animals if they want. But in anyway, animals can't attain moksha naturally by their own, because unlike humans, those are bhoga yonis (where one only experiences the deeds of his actions, doesn't accumulate newer ones).

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    No, animals don't attain moksha This is not true. Animals also can attain moksha because of their previous birth's karma. For example The elephant who got killed by Lord Krishna in Mathura(when he attacked on Krishna) then after got kill by Lord's hand he surely got moksha. There might be other examples also can be found.
    – Vishvam
    Oct 12, 2017 at 8:18
  • The way it is written here it could be talking about those in Naraka only tititudorancea.com/z/the_vishnu_purana_book_ii.htm#fnA302
    – Aupakarana Abhibhaa
    Oct 8, 2021 at 16:28
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Well,they probably can get Moksha too.Its all upto Parameswara to decide.

Manu Smriti says that even insects & plants can attain higher worlds(i.e heavens) by austerities!.So,if they can attain higher worlds they can probably attain moksha too.Because,even attaining heavens is an equally impossible task(seemingly of course) for all those beings.

Manu Smriti 11.240. Insects, snakes, moths, bees, birds and beings, bereft of motion, reach heaven by the power of austerities.

From the significance of Rudrakshas and Bhasmas chapter of the Devi Bhagawata Purana:

However, Sage Narayana quoted Maha Deva telling Kartikeya that any human being irrespective of caste or even animals or other species carrying Rudrakshas would be immune from sins as an ass carrying a load of the beads died on way but had salvation!

So,yes animals possibly can get moksha too.

Our Guruji's dog always refuses to eat on ekadsahi tithis!

Now,what can be the rational reason for this?How does it know which day is ekadashi ?& how does it know that one is not supposed to eat on that day?

May be this is how the dog is doing it's share of austerities and making itself fit for salvation.So,you never know actually.

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    @UdayKrishna Yes u are right.Some people even think that the "vanaras" depicted in scriptures like epics are equivalent to the monkeys of our times haha..
    – Rickross
    Nov 5, 2016 at 15:22
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    reaching heaven is not equal to attaining mokha.
    – Vineet Menon
    Jan 30, 2017 at 5:51
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    @VineetMenon Where did i say that?I simply said that if they can attain heavens (which is also an equally "seemingly impossible" task for them. from common sense) they can attain moksha too..Moksha is the grace of Almighty ..It can come down on anyone ..So to say that NO animals can't get moksha is equivalent to insulting God and his authority..we are none to decide...Let him decide..and in any case the Devi Bhagvata quote clearly says that the ass obatained moksha..
    – Rickross
    Jan 30, 2017 at 6:22
  • No. I was implying you said so. Your first part of answer describes how animals can reach heaven, for which I commented. Also, see @Be Happy's answer.
    – Vineet Menon
    Jan 30, 2017 at 7:10
  • @VineetMenon That verse quoted in the selected answer has been repeated in many other scriptures..so nothing new..What is want to say is that if u say "No animals can't get moksha "u are being God..Usually they can't but sometimes they can too depending on Iswara's desire ..
    – Rickross
    Jan 30, 2017 at 11:45
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Yes , animals can attain moksha. Sri vaishnavas take sharanagathi from a guru. The guru can also give sharanagati to a cow in the house of a vaishnava.

From Padma Purana Uttara Kanda Chapter 224

Those devotees of Visnu, having stuck to (i.e. round) their necks the garland of Tulasi or lotuses or a rosary, having the marks of conch or disc at the roots of their arms, or those having the Urdhvapundra (the vertical lines) on their foreheads, quickly purify the world. Beings are not sorry for those who pre-serve (but) do not properly carry (the mark of) the extensive disc of the lord of heaven. Those who carry the disc very firm(-lymarked) with (the proper) rite on their arm(s), quickly occupy, by means of their lustre, a high place in the sky. He who has at the root(s) of his arms the disc mark of Visnu, the highest soul (made) by heating (the disc) in the sacrificial fire, crosses the great ocean of the mundane existence, and goes to the pure world of the highest lord. A man should make at the roots of his arms the marks with the heated discs etc. He should also get such marks put on (the bodies of) his wife, children, servants and beasts etc.

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I agree with @Mr_Green's answer in the comment.

Srikalahasti is the place where The Spider (SRI), Cobra (KALA) and Elephant (HASTI) rendered service with devotion to lord shiva and attained moksha (wiki).

Second as again pointed by @Mr_Green, Gajendra_Moksha is a good example. Elders say this is when the makara/crocodile got boon to turn into makara torana (as decoration behind lord vishnu in all His temples).

Most of the hindu gods have animals or birds as vehicles like hen, peacock by lord Subrahmanya, cow by lord Dattatreya, rat by lord Ganapathy, lion by mother goddess, owl by lord Lakshmi, camel by lord Hanuman, kite by lord vishnu, nandhi by lord Shiva, swan by mother saraswathi .. the list is endless. Snake is worn by lord Shiva as ornament in His neck and hands, lord Vishnu as His bed, lord Ganapathy as His yagnopaveetham, those snakes attained moksha in this way. Behind every of these there is a story on how they attained moksha! There are good no of wiki articles on this!

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  • Those animals didn't attain moksha. Instead they got next life as Human to attain moksha.
    – Shiv
    Aug 26, 2016 at 3:59
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In short:Yes.

Assuming that the sense of the question is “is it possible?”

https://sriramanamaharishi.com/animals-birds/ramana-maharshi-and-cow-lakshmi/

This blog talks about how Lakshmi,a cow got liberated.

Ramana Maharshi also makes this clear:

It is not true that birth as a man is necessarily the highest,and that one must attain realisation only from being a man.Even an animal can attain self realization.

Since Maharshi doesn’t mention special intervention by God for the animal,I’m assuming it can/may be the norm as well..

But as someone pointed out in a previous answer,the detail of bhoga yonis may also have to be looked into..

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Animals cannot attain moksha.

Passing through four types of bodies in order of their karmas and leaving one body after the other a thousand times, taking birth in human form, and acquiring knowledge due to good acts one obtains release.

[Garuda Purana, Dharma Khanda, Chapter XLIX]

In the eighty four lacs of bodies of creatures one does not acquire true knowledge anywhere unless one is born as a man.

Here, after thousands of crores of births a creature obtains human form only sometime due to aggregate of virtue.

Having obtained a rare human form he should endeavor for moksha. If he does not endeavor for it, there can be no greater sinner in the world.

Born in the most beautiful human form he incurs the sin of slaying a Brahmin if he neglects his self.

Without human body it is not possible to obtain the supreme goal. One should be, therefore, very cautious to guard wealth in the form of his body and perform good actions.

…… So far as this body remains intact he should practice dharma. One is a perfect fool who digs a well only when the house is on fire.

[Garuda Purana, Dharma Khanda, Chapter XLIX]

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