Garuda

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(disambiguation).

Garuda

Garuda, the Vahana of Lord Vishnu

Devanagari

गरुड

Sanskrit
Transliteration

Garuḍa

The Garuda (Sanskrit: garuḍa
गरुड, eagle; Pāli garuḷa; Burmese: ဂဠုန်,
[ɡəlòuɴ];
Tamil: karutan; Thai/Lao/Khmer: khrut ครุฑ;
Mongolian:
гарьд) is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in
both Hindu
and Buddhist
mythology.

From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and the Brahminy kite is
considered to be the contemporary representation of Garuda.[1]

Other nations adopt a more stylistic approach to the Garuda's depiction,
where it depicts an eagle (being much larger than a kite).[2]

Contents

1 In Hinduism

2 In the
Mahabharata

2.1 Birth and
deeds

2.2 Descendents

2.3 As a
Symbol

3 In Buddhism

4 As a cultural and national
symbol

5 Gallery

6 Notes

7 See also

8 External
links

[edit]
In Hinduism

Vishnu and Lakshmi riding on the Garuda -
Painting in LACMA from Rajasthan, Bundi,
c.1730

In Hindu
religion, Garuda is a
lesser Hindu
divinity,
usually the mount
(vahanam) of Vishnu. Garuda is
depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings,
and an eagle's beak and with a crown on his head. This
ancient deity was said to be massive, large enough to block out the sun.

His stature in Hindu religion can be gauged by the fact that an independent
Upanishad, the Garudopanishad,
and a Purana,
the Garuda Purana, is devoted
to him. Various names have been attributed to Garuda -
Chirada, Gaganeshvara, Kamayusha, Kashyapi, Khageshvara, Nagantaka, Sitanana,
Sudhahara, Suparna, Tarkshya, Vainateya, Vishnuratha and others. The Vedas provide the
earliest reference of Garuda, though
by the name of Śyena, where this mighty bird is said to have brought nectar to earth from heaven. The Puranas,
which came into existence much later, mention Garuda as
doing the same thing, which indicates that Śyena (Sanskrit for Eagle) and Garuda are the
same. One of the faces of Śrī Pañcamukha Hanuman is Mahavira Garuda. This
face points towards the west. Worship of Garuda is
believed to remove the effects of poisons from one's body. In Tamil Vaishnavism Garuda and Hanuman are known
as "Periya Thiruvadi" and "Siriya Thiruvadi", respectively.

In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10,
Verse 30), in the middle of the battlefield "Kurukshetra", Krishna
explaining his omnipresence, says - "Of
birds, I am the son of Vinata (Garuda)" indicating the
importance of Garuda.

Garuda plays an important role in Krishna Avatar in which Krishna and
Satyabhama ride on Garuda to kill Narakasura. On another occasion, Lord Hari
rides on Garuda to save the devotee Elephant Gajendra. It is also said that
Garuda's wings when flying will chant the Vedas.

[edit]
In the Mahabharata

[edit]
Birth and deeds

Balinese wooden statue of Vishnu
riding Garuda, Purna Bhakti
Pertiwi Museum, Jakarta

The story of Garuda's birth and deeds is told in the first book of the great
epic Mahabharata.[3]
According to the epic, when Garuda first burst forth from his egg, he appeared
as a raging inferno equal to the cosmic conflagration that consumes the world at
the end of every age. Frightened, the gods begged him for mercy. Garuda, hearing
their plea, reduced himself in size and energy.

Garuda's father was the creator-rishi Kasyapa. His mother was Vinata, whose sister
was Kadru, the
mother of serpents. One day, Vinata entered into and lost a foolish bet, as a
result of which she became enslaved to her sister. Resolving to release his
mother from this state of bondage, Garuda approached the serpents and asked them
what it would take to purchase her freedom. Their reply was that Garuda would
have to bring them the elixir of immortality, also called amrita. It was a tall order. The
amrita at that time found itself in the possession of the gods, who guarded it
jealously, since it was the source of their immortality. They had ringed the
elixir with a massive fire that covered the sky. They had blocked the way to the
elixir with a fierce mechanical contraption of sharp rotating blades. And
finally, they had stationed two gigantic poisonous snakes next to the elixir as
deadly guardians.

Undaunted, Garuda hastened toward the abode of the gods intent on robbing
them of their treasure. Knowing of his design, the gods met him in full
battle-array. Garuda, however, defeated the entire host and scattered them in
all directions. Taking the water of many rivers into his mouth, he extinguished
the protective fire the gods had thrown up. Reducing his size, he crept past the
rotating blades of their murderous machine. And finally, he mangled the two
gigantic serpents they had posted as guards. Taking the elixir into his mouth
without swallowing it, he launched again into the air and headed toward the
eagerly waiting serpents. En route, he encountered Vishnu. Rather than fight, the
two exchanged promises. Vishnu promised Garuda the gift of immortality even
without drinking from the elixir, and Garuda promised to become Vishnu's mount.
Flying onward, he met Indra the god of the sky. Another
exchange of promises occurred. Garuda promised that once he had delivered the
elixir, thus fulfilling the request of the serpents, he would make it possible
for Indra to regain possession of the elixir and to take it back to the gods.
Indra in turn promised Garuda the serpents as food.

At long last, Garuda alighted in front of the waiting serpents. Placing the
elixir on the grass, and thereby liberating his mother Vinata from her
servitude, he urged the serpents to perform their religious ablutions before
consuming it. As they hurried off to do so, Indra swooped in to make off with
the elixir. From that day onward, Garuda was the ally of the gods and the trusty
mount of Vishnu, as well as the implacable enemy of snakes, upon whom he preyed
at every opportunity.

Garuda Azhwar in front of the Sri VarahaSwamy
Temple, Thiruvananthapuram

[edit]
Descendents

According to the Mahabharata, Garuda had six
sons from whom were descended the race of birds. The members of this race were
of great might and without compassion, subsisting as they did on their relatives
the snakes. Vishnu was their protector.[4]

[edit]
As a Symbol

Throughout the Mahabharata, Garuda is invoked as a symbol of impetuous
violent force, of speed, and of martial prowess. Powerful warriors advancing
rapidly on doomed foes are likened to Garuda swooping down on a serpent.[5]
Defeated warriors are like snakes beaten down by Garuda.[6]
The field marshall Drona uses a military formation
named after Garuda.[7]
Krishna even
carries the image of Garuda on his banner.[8]

As the national symbol of Indonesia, it
is somewhat intertwined with the concept of the phoenix and is
symbolic of creative energy.

The Garuda Pancasila is coloured or gilt gold, symbolizes the
greatness of the nation and is a representation of the Elang Jawa or Javan Hawk-eagle
Nisaetus bartelsi. The black color represents nature. There are 17
feathers on each wing, 8 on the tail and 45 on the neck, which represent the
date Indonesia proclaimed its independence: 17 August 1945. The shield it
carries with the Indonesian Panca Sila
heraldry symbolizes self-defense and protection in struggle.[9]

[edit]
In Buddhism

The statues of Krut battling naga serpent, a Thai
Buddhist adaptation of Garuda in Wat Phra Kaeo temple,
Bangkok

In Buddhist mythology,
the garuḍas
(Pāli: garuḷā)
are enormous predatory birds with intelligence and social organization. Another
name for the garuḍa is
suparṇa
(Pāli: supaṇṇa),
meaning "well-winged, having good wings". Like the Nāgas, they combine the
characteristics of animals and divine beings, and may be considered to be among
the lowest devas.

The exact size of the garuḍa is
uncertain, but its wings are said to have a span of many miles. This may be a
poetic exaggeration, but it is also said that when a garuḍa's wings
flap, they create hurricane-like winds that darken the sky and blow down houses.
A human being is so small compared to a garuḍa that a
man can hide in the plumage of one without being noticed (Kākātī Jātaka, J.327).
They are also capable of tearing up entire banyan trees from their roots and
carrying them off.

Garudas are the great golden-winged Peng birds. They also have the ability to
grow large or small, and to appear and disappear at will. Their wingspan is 330
yojanas (one yojana being 40 miles long). With one flap of its wings, a Peng
bird dries up the waters of the sea so that it can gobble up all the exposed
dragons. With another flap of its wings, it can level the mountains by moving
them into the ocean.

There were also the four garuda-kings : Great-Power-Virtue Garuda-King,
Great-Body Garuda-King, Great-Fulfillment Garuda-King, and Free-At-Will
Garuda-King, each accompanied by hundreds of thousands of attendants.

Garuda in the way to Tirumala, Tirupathi

The garuḍas have
kings and cities, and at least some of them have the magical power of changing
into human form when they wish to have dealings with people. On some occasions
Garuḍa kings
have had romances with human women in this form. Their dwellings are in groves
of the simbalī, or silk-cotton tree.

The garuḍas are
enemies to the Nāgas, a race of
intelligent serpent- or dragon-like beings, whom they hunt. The garuḍas at one
time caught the nāgas by seizing them by their heads; but the nāgas learned that
by swallowing large stones, they could make themselves too heavy to be carried
by the garuḍas,
wearing them out and killing them from exhaustion. This secret was divulged to
one of the garuḍas by the
ascetic Karambiya, who taught him how to seize a nāga by the tail and force him
to vomit up his stone (Pandara Jātaka, J.518).

The garuḍas were
among the beings appointed by Śakra to guard Mount Sumeru and the Trāyastriṃśa
heaven from the attacks of the asuras.

In the Mahasamyatta
Sutta, the Buddha is shown making
temporary peace between the Nagas and the garuḍas.

The Sanskrit word garuḍa has
been borrowed and modified in the languages of several Buddhist countries. In Thai
the word for a garuḍa is
Krut (ครุฑ). In Burmese, garuḍas are
called galone (ဂဠုန်).
In Burmese astrology, the vehicle of the Sunday planet is the galone.[10]
In Kapampangan the
native word for eagle is Galura. In Japanese a garuḍa is
called Karura
(however, the form Garuda ガルーダ is used in recent Japanese fiction - see
below).

For the Mongols, the garuḍa is
called Khan Garuda or
Khangarid (Mongolian: Хангарьд). Before and after each round of Mongolian wrestling,
wrestlers perform the Garuḍa ritual,
a stylised imitation of the Khangarid and a hawk.[citation
needed]

In the Qing Dynasty fiction The Story of
Yue Fei (1684), Garuda sits at the head of the Buddha's throne. But when
a celestial bat (an embodiment of the Aquarius
constellation) farts during the Buddha’s expounding of the Lotus
Sutra, Garuda kills her and is exiled from paradise. He is later reborn as
Song
Dynasty General Yue Fei. The bat is reborn as
Lady Wang, wife of the traitor Prime Minister Qin Hui, and is
instrumental in formulating the "Eastern Window" plot that leads to Yue's
eventual political execution.[11]
It is interesting to note The Story of Yue Fei plays on the legendary
animosity between Garuda and the Nagas when the celestial bird-born Yue Fei
defeats a magic serpent who transforms into the unearthly spear he uses
throughout his military career.[12]
Literary critic C.T. Hsia explains the reason
why Qian Cai, the book's author, linked Yue with Garuda is because of the
homology in their Chinese names. Yue Fei's style name is Pengju
(鵬舉).[13]
A Peng (鵬) is a giant
mythological bird likened to the Middle Eastern Roc.[14]
Garuda's Chinese name is Great Peng, the Golden-Winged Illumination King
(大鵬金翅明王).[13]

[edit]
As a cultural and
national symbol

Garuda according to Ida Made Tlaga, a 19th
century Balinese
artist

India uses
Garuda as military symbols:

Garud Commando
Force is a Special Forces unit
of the Indian Air Force,
specializing in operations deep behind enemy lines.

The Brigade of the
Guards of the Indian Army uses the
Garud as their symbol.

The elite bodyguards of the medieval Hoysala kings in Karnataka,
India, were
called Garudas, because they served the king in the way that Garuda served
Vishnu.

In both Kerala and Andhra pradesh,its
state road transport are using Garuda as the name for Volvo
buses.

Indonesia uses the garuḍa, Garuda Pancasila as
its national
symbol.

The Indonesian national airline is Garuda
Indonesia.

Indonesian Armed
Forces United
Nations peacekeeping missions is known as Pasukan Garuda or
Garuda deployments.

Thailand uses the garuḍa (Thai: ครุฑ krut) as its national symbol. One form of the garuḍa used
in Thailand as a sign of the royal family is called Krut
Pha, meaning "garuḍa
acting as the vehicle (of Vishnu)."

The garuḍa,
known as Khangarid, is the symbol of the capital city of Mongolia, Ulan
Bator.[15]
According to popular Mongolian belief, Khangarid is the mountain spirit of the
Bogd Khan Uul range who
became a follower of Buddhist faith. Today he is considered the guardian of
that mountain range and a symbol of courage and honesty. The bird also gives
its name to Hangard
Aviation and Khangarid (Хангарьд), a football (soccer) team in the Mongolia Premier
League.

[edit]
Gallery

Garuda as national symbol of Indonesia

Garuda as national symbol of Thailand

Garuda (Khangardi) as the symbol of Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Garuda murthi in West Bengal,
India

10th century statue of King Airlangga as Vishnu
mounting Garuda, from Belahan temple, Trowulan Museum,
East
Java

13th century Cham sculpture
depicts Garuda devouring a serpent

12th century Cham sculpture in
the Thap Mam style depicts Garuda serving as an atlas

Garuda figure, gilt bronze, Khmer Empire,
12th-13th century, John Young
Museum, University
of Hawaii at Manoa

12th century bas relief at Angkor
Wat in Cambodia showing Vishnu in
battle mounted on Garuda

Wingless statue of Garuda or Karura in Kofukuji Temple, Nara, Japan, 8th
century

Thai Garuda in Hat Yai Municipal Park, Southern
Thailand

Garuda at the bow of the Thai naval ship HTMS
Rattanakosin, Royal Thai Naval Museum, Samut
Prakan

[edit]
Notes

^ Russel, RV
& Lal, H. 1916 The tribes and castes of the central provinces of India.
Published Under the Orders of the Central Provinces Administration In Four
Volumes Vol. I. Macmillan and Co., Limited St. Martin’s Street, London.
pp. 2231

^ http://www.embassyofindonesia.org/about/natsymbols.htm

^ Mahabharata,
Book I: Adi Parva, Sections 23 ff.

^ Mahabharata,
Book V: Udyoga Parva, Section 101.

^ "Loud was the
noise with which Arjuna faced his foes, like
that made by Garuda in days of yore when swooping down for snakes."
(Mahabharata, Book VIII: Karna Parva, Section 77.) "The impetuosity of Ashvatthama, as he rushed
towards his foe, resembled that of Garuda swooping down for seizing a large
snake." (Mahabharata, Book VIII: Karna Parva, Section 59.) Arjuna "seized Drupada as
Garuda seizeth a huge snake after agitating the waters of the ocean." (Book I:
Adi Parva, Section 140.)

^ Mahabharata,
Book VIII: Karna Parva, Section 85.

^ Mahabharata,
Book VII: Drona Parva, Section 20.

^ Mahabharata,
Book VIII: Karna Parva, Section 94.

^ http://www.embassyofindonesia.org/about/natsymbols.htm

^ http://www.myanmarmtetours.com/myanmar_planetary_post.htm

^ Hsia, C.T.
C. T. Hsia on Chinese Literature. Columbia University Press, 2004 (ISBN
0231129904), 154

^ Hsia, C.
T. Hsia on Chinese Literature, pp. 149

^ a
b
Hsia, C.T. C. T. Hsia on Chinese Literature, pp. 149 and 488, n.
30

^ Chau, Ju-Kua,
Friedrich Hirth, and W.W. Rockhill. Chau Ju-Kua: His Work on the Chinese
and Arab Trade in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, entitled
Chu-Fan-Chi. St. Petersburg: Printing Office of the Imperial Academy of
Sciences, 1911, p. 149, n. 1

^ Michael Kohn.
Mongolia. Lonely Planet, 2005. p.
52.

[edit]
See also

Garuda in
the Architecture of Cambodia

Karura

Vishnu

Garuda Purana

Thunderbird
(mythology)

Roc (mythology)

Phoenix
(mythology)

[edit]
External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Garuda

Garuda Purana

Gauruda, arch-enemy of the naga

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