Garuda is a large, mythical Eagle, which appears prominently in Hinduism.
Garuda was said to be the king of birds, and the Vahana of Lord Vishnu. Garuda was immensely powerful, and was so huge that he could even block the sun. He resembled a bird with the head, wings, talons and beak of an eagle and the body of a man. Garuda was the eternal enemies of the nagas, or serpents, and used to kill them and eat them. Garuda’s image is often used as a charm to protect a person from snakes or snake bites, as it was thought that snakes were afraid of him, and did not harm his devotees. Garudi Vidya is a hymn used to cure all kinds of snake poison and remove all evil from this world.
He is known by various names, like Chirada, Gaganeshvara, Kamayusha, Kashyapi, among others. There is an Upanishad in his name, the Garudopanishad, and a Purana, the Garuda Purana is sang in his devotion. The earliest mention of Garuda is in the Vedas, by the name Syena. It is written that the mighty bird was responsible for bringing nectar to earth from heaven.
One of the five faces of Panchmukhi Hanuman is that of Garuda’s, which points towards the west. He is known to have powers that can heal any kind of poison from a person’s body. Garuda wears the serpent Adisesha on his left toenail and Gulika on his right cerebral vortex. His sacred thread is formed by the great snake Vasuki. The belt of his hip is formed by the dreaded cobra Takshaka. He wears Karkotaka as a necklace around his neck.
The snakes Padma and Mahapadma are his earrings. He wears the snake Shankachuda in his divine hair. He is often accompanied by his two wives, Rudra and Sukrithi. These are all mentioned in Vedanta Desika’s Garuda Panchashath. Garuda also represents the five Vayu in us, prana, apana, vyana, udana and samana by the five forms that he takes of Satya, Suparna, Garuda, Tarkshya, and Vihageshwara.
Garuda, being the eternal devotee of Lord Vishnu, plays a major role in the Dwapar Yuga when Lord Krishna, Vishnu’s Avatar, and Satyabhama ride on Garuda to kill Narakasura.
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