Spirituality and day to day practice, Enlightenment and Freedom

THE MYTHICAL GARUDA BIRD

Garuda is known as the king of birds in Thai mythology. It's characteristics are
very much eagle like. Garuda in the act of tearing Naga in two, symbolizes
the Thai monarchy. It is an ancient and enduring symbol. Besides serving as the
royal insignia, the Garuda is also the official seal of the civil government.
The emblem has varied in design from one reign to the next. The Garuda appears in all forms of art, architecture and even modern sculpture. Some old paintings have been found depicting Narai or Vishnu mounted on Garuda, with Naga in his talons, or in flight.

Garuda in Wat Phra Kaeo (Grand Palace) This mythic eagle and symbol of sovereignty was inspired by Hindu mythology. Hinduism portrays Garuda as a powerful deity in the lower domains of heaven, who sometimes comes among human beings. In the story of Kaki, Garuda came down from his celestial residence to gamble with the king in a dice game. In this well known story, Garuda saw the beautiful Kaki and stole her away.

According to Hindu mythologies, Garuda was a powerful celestial being. At his
birth, there appeared a radiance so brilliant that all heaven was troubled.
Thinking that the new arrival was Agni, the Fire God, the heavenly hosts came to
pay homage. Garuda is sometimes shown with the bill and wings of bird, but the body and limbs of a man. His face is typically white, the mouth red and his body green.

Garuda is also found in royal Buddhist temples The influence of ancient Brahmanism is still felt in royal ceremonies which pay homage to Garuda. The various ancient kingdoms in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, have been touched by Indian culture as far back as the 12th and 13th centuries of the Buddhist Era. The supreme deities in the Hindu pantheon are Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. There are a host of lesser spiritual divinities, of which Garuda is one. His likeness is depicted in the sculpture, architecture and painting adorning Hindu and Brahman temples.

Garuda is also found in royal Buddhist temples, in accordance with the Hindu belief that the king is an incarnation of Narai, who comes to alleviate human suffering. Garuda is the vehicle of Narai, and has been a symbol of the monarchy for hundreds of years. Garuda appears regularly in the history of Thai art. Bronze Garuda adorn royal sedan-chair and embellish the throne. Sometimes the figure decorates the gables and rooftops of royal residences. The frequent appearance of the symbol certainly reflects the belief in the Devaraja of divine king. The sovereign is revered as a divine epiphany, and incarnation of Vishnu who comes into the world, bringing peace and end to suffering.

The sculpture of Garudas Depositions of Garuda vary, in part, according to the fantasies and visions of the artists in different eras. In the Dvaravati art of 1200 to 1400 B.E., Garuda is a winged creature with a plump, male body. Much later, in the Lop Buri art of 1500 to 1799 B.E., Garuda becomes a powerful bird, like an eagle, king of the sky. The artist saw the deity as half-bird, haft-man. The face was human, but with a long, hooked beak, and the figure had both arms and wings. The lower part was like a bird. Images like this appear in the Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin Periods.

The most familiar image of Garuda shows him holding a serpent in each taloned hand. The origins of this image lie in an ancient story. According to one
interpretation, Garuda is really powerful because of the blessing his father,
Kasyapa, granted to his mother, Vinata. She asked that her son have power over all the gods. Garuda has a brother, Aruna, who has only the upper part of his body. It happened because Vinata, in her excitement and anxiety to see her son, broke open the egg too soon. Angry with his mother, Aruna cursed her. She would be Naga's slave until her younger son, Garuda, could purchase his mother's freedom by bringing Naga some heavenly ambrosia.

Garuda was able to carry off the ambrosia, even though it was heavily guarded.
It was told that Garuda overcame many heavenly beings indeed in order to gain
the ambrosia. No one was able to get the better of him, not even Narai. At last,
a truce was called and an agreement was made to settle the rancor and smooth all the ruffled feathers. If was agreed that when Narai is in his heavenly palace,
Garuda will be positioned in a superior status, atop the pillar above Narai's
residence. However, whenever Narai wants to travel anywhere, Garuda must serve as his transport.

This legend is expressed in court protocol. When the King is in residence, the maharaja flag with the Garuda insignia is raised above the royal apartments. When his Majesty travels, however, the flag flies from the front of the royal vehicle. That is, Narai is seated above Garuda. Some say that Garuda is as powerful as the Fire God, or that Garuda represents the Sun God. It is also notable that Garuda is the symbol, in philosophy, of Wisdom.

More Stories About Garuda

Gaurda plays a role in the rivalry between his mother and her co-wife, the progenitor of all snakes,and how he subsequently impressed Lord Vishnu enough to have the latter chose him as his vehicle. These tales are colorfully told in the Amar Chitra Katha children's picture book series.

Apart from these tales, however, Garuda is also a very important religious and philosophical character in the personal devotions of Vaisnava Vedantins. Perhaps more than anywhere else, he is honored in the tradition of the 11th century philosopher-saint Ramanuja, the founder of the Visistadvaita school of Vedanta philosophy.

In this tradition, Garuda is revered as one of the nitya-suris, those supreme seers of infinite consciousness described in the Vedas as being in constant communion with the Supreme Lord.

Philosophically, Garuda is symbolically seen to represent the Vedas themselves. Yamunacharya, the predecessor of Ramanuja, describes Garuda explicitly as ``vedAtmA vihageSvara:'' -- the divine eagle who constitutes the Vedas. Being the embodiment of these spiritual thoughts and sounds, it is but natural that Vishnu (one of the principal names for the Supreme Reality in Vedanta) is conveyed to mortal beings by this great eagle. Just as the Vedas bring us to an awareness of Vishnu the Supreme Brahman through their sounds, Garuda, being His vehicle, brings Him to us.

Several poems in the Visistadvaita tradition are addressed to Garuda. The best known are the garuda dandaka and garuda pancasat by Vedanta Desika (1268-1369), one of the most illustrious and extraordinarily gifted followers of
Ramanuja.

How Garuda Became Vishnu's Mount

The bird, Garuda, was the son of Vinata and Kasyapa. As soon as the massive bird crawled from his egg, he was immediately hungry. Upon seeing his size, his mother sent him to see his father, who would feed him.

Kasyapa instructed the bird that there were a hundred thousand evil Nisadas (Aborigines) by the ocean shore. These people were like crows, a danger to the environment. However, there was also a brahmin that lived among them in concealment and Garuda was instructed to leave him alone.

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So Garuda went to the ocean and devoured the Nisadas. In the process, he accidentally swallowed the Brahmin and could neither spit it out or swallow it. So he went back to his father and asked for help. The father spoke to the brahmin, but it was adamant that it would not leave until the Nisadas, who have always been his friends, were freed. Out of fear of brahmin-murder, Garada spit out the people and their brahmin.

After this incident, Garuda was still terribly hungry, so his father told him that somewhere in the ocean are a mighty elephant and tortoise who are trying to kill each other. They would make good food for the bird. Garuda immediately set off and found the two creatures.

But Garuda soon found that no mountain or tree would hold himself and his two creatures of prey so he flew two hundred thousand leagues with the speed of a gale and finally perched on a huge rose-apple tree. The branch immediately snapped, but Garuda was able to catch it before it killed any cows or brahmin.

Vishnu Hari (Vishnu in human form) was watching from below and asked the bird what it was doing. Garuda explained the situation and Hari offered his arm to sit on while the bird ate. After Garuda had finished his meal, he was still hungry, so Hari offered him the flesh on his arm to eat. Garuda ate plentifully, and not a wound showed on Hari's arm. Garuda then asked what favor he could do. Hari replied that he could be his mount for all time to come. The bird graciously accepted the offer.