The Story of Garuda
I am Naga, a serpent. My home is
Patala. I have a story to tell about an enemy of mine. My
enemy is the king of birds. His flying speed puts the wind to
shame. His skills at flying have earned him a position with the
great Vishnu. My enemy is Garuda, the son of Kashyap and
Vinata. He hatched from an egg that his mother laid. His
head, face, and wings are that of an eagle, but his body is that of a
man. Because of his intense beauty, he was mistaken for the fire
god, Agni.
My story will explain the
relationship between Garuda, the mighty eagle, and Nagas, the snakes.
Listen…
When Garuda discovered his mother
was being held captive in Patala, the underground serpent city, he
quickly flew to her rescue. Vinata was imprisoned by her
husband’s
other wife, Kadru, when she lost a bet to her.
The serpents would not release
Vinata unless Garuda brought a cup of amrita from the celestial
mountain.
In order to get to the amrita,
powerful elixir,
Garuda had three obstacles to overcome. The first obstacle was a
ring of fire. Garuda passed this obstacle by drinking up many
rivers and dousing the fire, making his path safe. The second
obstacle was a door, the shape of a circle, with a spiked, metal ring,
which spun in its frame. Garuda conquered this obstacle as
well. He made himself very small and slipped right through the
sharp metal. The final obstacle that Garuda had to pass was to
battle and defeat two fire-spitting serpents. Garuda flapped his
mighty wings with such speed that the force kicked up a dust cloud,
which temporarily blinded the vicious serpents leaving them defenseless
against Garuda’s ruthless beak. Garuda grabbed the amrita and
headed for Patala. The Gods were aware of Garuda’s plan and
attempted to stop him. Garuda, however, proved to be a better
warrior than even Indra himself.
Garuda finally reached Patala with
the amrita. The Nagas were overjoyed to have possession of the
powerful amrita. They released Vinata to her son and prepared to
drink the amrita.
Just as the Nagas were about to
consume the amrita, Indra and the other gods charged in and recovered
the
stolen amrita. The Nagas, however, were quick enough to lick a
few drops
of the amrita, which was so powerful that it split their tongues in
two. The amount of amrita that they consumed was just the amount
needed to give them immortality.
The Nagas held their part of the
bargain and Garuda’s mother was safe, but Garuda could not rid himself
of the deep hatred towards serpents forever more.
Garuda is a mythological, Indian
character that was born opposed to all things evil. He had a face
of white, a body the color of gold, and wings of red. He was said
to have combed the world over, eating up evil where he found it.
Garuda’s
father had two wives, Vinata and Kadru. The two wives did not get
along and they were incredible rivals. The two wives challenged
each
other to a bet and the loser was to become the winner’s slave.
This is how Vinata found herself in the hands of the Nagas.
The two women did not agree on the color
of the Uchchaisravas, the king of horses with eight heads.
Uchchaisravas was one of the magical objects produced during the
churning of the ocean of milk. Kadru won the bet and ordered
Vinata to be enslaved at Patala, among the serpents.
This story is a
wonderful way to explain the predator/prey relationship between eagles
and snakes and also explains why the tongue of a snake is split.
Image info:
Mystic
Asia
Story info:
Encyclopedia
Mythica