Mythological Superheroes: 1. Garuda

It gives me immense joy to announce that this is the 50th post in this blog page. At this great moment, we at Thedal want to thank all the readers who keep us going with their encouragement and suggestions. Looking forward to your continued support.

***

Long before fictional superheroes emerged from the West, Hinduism has been celebrating its extraordinary superheroes whose valour and greatness far exceed those of fictional ones. Apart from the phenomenal strength and other powers of fictional characters, our superheroes possess a deep-rooted sense of righteousness and devotion to the supreme which are virtues that our kids should emulate. Let us learn about such eminent characters in this series.

Our superhero for today is Garuda. Garuda is the king of birds and and the vahana (mount) of the god Vishnu. Garuda is mentioned in the Vedas as Garuthmaan and also mentioned in epics like Mahabharata and in many Puranas. He symbolizes valour and martial prowess. He is well-known all over South-East Asia as indicated by ancient statues and paintings found in India, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Suriname, the Philippines and Thailand.

Legend – Birth and slavery

As per mythology, the great sage Kashyapa had two wives Kadru and Vinata to whom he granted a wish each. Kadru wanted a thousand Naga sons, while Vinata wanted two sons equalling the power of all of Kadru’s sons. Kadru gave birth to one thousand eggs from which Nagas (serpents) emerged. Vinata gave birth to two eggs. Eager to see her sons, Vinata broke one of the eggs from which emerged the partially formed Aruna. He chided his mother for her impatience due to which he was born without legs and cursed her to be a slave until his brother rescues her. He then left to become the charioteer of Surya, the Sun God.

Some time after this, the two sisters were involved in an argument about the color of Lord Indra’s horse Uchaishravas. While Vinata claimed it to be of pure  white color from head to tail, Kadru maintained that though it was white, the tail alone was black. They agreed to a bet wherein the loser shall be the slave of the winner. Kadru knew that the horse was white and so she called her serpent sons to entwine the horse around its tail to make it look black. When the two sisters came and saw the horse, it appeared with a black tail. Thus due to Kadru’s evil designs, Vinata became the slave of her sister. In the mean time Garuda emerged, radiant like the sun and he also became the servant of Kadru and her sons.

The strength of Garuda

Soon Garuda grew tired of doing the bidding of his brothers and asked them how to get him and his mother free from slavery. The snakes replied that if Garuda can bring them the divine nectar (Amrutham) they would release them from bondage. So Garuda decided to achieve the impossible and set out. He met Kashyapa on the way who blessed his son and said, “If you continue along your way, you will see an elephant dragging a tortoise who is his elder brother. In their previous birth, they were two rishis named Supritika and Vibhavasu. They quarreled over property and cursed each other to be born like this. They are still quarreling in this life. If you eat them, your hunger shall be appeased. May you be successful in your quest!”.

Garuda encountered the animals on his way and he devoured them whole and satisfied his great hunger. He then came upon a tree where sages called the Valakhilyas were performing a penance on a branch. When Garuda attempted to sit on it, the branches broke away. Worried about the sages, he carried the whole branch in his claws. It was then that he got the name of Garuda, which means bearer of heavy weight.

Possessing the Nectar (Amrutham)

Finally Garuda confronted the devas who were guarding the nectar. Lord Indra himself strode in front of his army and the great battle began. The Devas were sorely harassed by the mighty Garuda, who wounded them with his claws and beak. After killing a large number of the warriors, he finally approached the place where he found the nectar surrounded on all sides with enormous flames. Garuda opened his large mouth and swallowed the contents of many rivers and put out the flames easily. He then saw a wheel with razor-sharp edges spinning very fast in front of the nectar pot, intending to destroy all who came near.He then assumed a small form and With great speed that matched the rotation of the spinning wheel, he passed between the spokes of the wheel. Beyond that he saw two great snakes guarding the vessel. Garuda then generated a great dust storm with his powerful wings, blinded them and mangled them to death. He then rose triumphantly carrying the vessel in his claws.

Hoodwinking the serpents

When Indra saw that the nectar was being stolen, he released his powerful weapon Vajrayudha towards Garuda. In respect of the weapon, Garuda shed just one feather and continued his journey back fearlessly. Despite possessing the nectar, he did not partake it but thinking only of fulfilling his promise to his brothers. Garuda then set the pot of nectar in Kusa grass (dharbai) in front of his brothers and asked them to release them from bondage immediately.The snakes readily agreed and started to advance towards the Pot. Garuda stopped them and asked them to take a purifying bath first before partaking it. While the snakes went to the river to purify themselves, Indra took back the vessel. Thus the evil snakes were thwarted at their bid to attain immortality. Since the nectar had been placed on Kusa grass, that grass became sacred from that day.

Garuda and Kalinga

There are other stories that portray his enormous strength. In the Bhagavata Purana a legend is told where Garuda fights the fearsome many-headed snake Kalinga. On one occasion Kalinga on account of his terrible poison thought himself superior to Garuda and did not provide offerings to Garuda. Garuda attacked Kalinga with such force that Kalinga had to hide the Kalindi River. Kalinga would later get his comeuppance though Lord Krishna during Krishnavatara.

Pride, fall and protection

Once Matali, the charioteer of Indra had a daughter Gunakeshi fell in love with Sumukha, a Naga. Sumukha feared for his life as Garuda was about to attack him. Gunakeshi went to Indra to appeal for Sumukha’s life who requested Lord Vishnu to intervene. When Vishnu enquired Garuda, he protested saying that Nagas are his natural food and he won’t spare Sumukha. Vishnu then gently placed his hand on Garuda’s wing, causing Garuda to become immobile and thus making him realize his mistake. He spared Sumukha who married Gunakeshi with the Lord’s blessings. Impressed with Garuda’s wisdom, integrity and selflessness Lord Vishnu made Garuda his mount and also displays Garuda’s image on his banner in his flag. Garuda has been serving the Lord relentlessly ever since and is considered a permanent fixture (Nithyasuri) in Vaikuntam. Several hymns exist that sing the praise of Garuda of which ‘Garuda Panchashath‘ by Swami Desikan is the most prominent one. 

Garuda is a part of state insignia in many countries. The Indonesian official coat of arms is centered on the Garuda. The national emblem of Indonesia is called Garuda Pancasila. The Indian Air Force also uses the Garuda in their coat of arms and even named their special operations unit after it as Garud Commando Force.