DIVINE INFORMATION PART 62 Respectedfriends,
While going through oneof my external memory device, I came across some good information stored from websites. Ithought of sharing interesting ones from them as a series. In part 62, I am starting with 237TH item in this posting. Kindly note the series is a compilation. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 25-07-21 237 Garuda –introduction Kasyapa the grandson of Lord Brahma married Adithi, Dithi, Dhanu, Kalika,Thamra, Krodhavasa, Manu and Anala, who were all the daughters of Daksha. Ofthem Thamra got five daughters viz Krounchi, Dasi syeni, Dhrutharashtri andShuki. The children of Krounchi were owls. Dasi became the mother of Dasa(Slaves). Syeni gave birth toeagle and vulture, Drutharashtri becamethe mother of Swan and Nightingale. Shuki gave birth to daughter called Nathaand her daughter was Vinatha. Kadru was the daughter of Kroda vasa. (There is a different version saying that Kadru and Vinatha weresisters who married sage Kashyapa.) Once Vinatha and Kadru, were serving Sage Kashyapa who was doing Thapas.When he woke up from meditation, he told them that he was pleased with them andwilling to give them one boon each. Kadru requested for 1000 sons. Vinatha requested for two sons who wouldbe more valorous than Kadru’s children. He gave them the boon as requested. After some timeKadru laid 1000 eggs and Vinatha two eggs. Both of them preserved these eggs in warm pots. After500 years Kadru’s eggs broke and from them came 1000 snakes. But nothing happenedto the two eggs laid by Vinatha. So she took one egg and broke it open. Insidethe egg was a half formed Aruna. Aruna became very angrywith his mother and cursed her, “Due to yourimpatience you have made me suffer. So you would become a slave to Kadru .But agreat son will come out of the other egg and he would rescue you from thisslavery.” He then went away to Sun God andbecame his charioteer. Since he was of purple colour, the dawn when he comesout is of purple hue. Another 500 yearspassed by and from the other egg came out Garuda. His body was shining like fire. The fire God found that his luster wasless than that of Garuda and approached the devas. The devas then approached Garuda and requested himto reduce his luster and he agreed. They all gave him several boons.Garuda returned to his mother. Uchaisravas was a white horse born out of the churning of the ocean ofmilk by Devas and Asuras. He became the steed of King Indra. Once Kadru told Vinatha that the tail of this horse was black, Vinathadiffered and told Kadru, that if indeed the tail is black she will become theslave of Kadru. The snake sons of Kadru simply attached themselveson the tail of this horse, when Vinatha saw the horse and the tail appearedblack to her. Because of this she wasforced to become the slave of Kadru. So Garuda also hadto become the slave of Kadru and her snake sons. Once the snakes, ordered Garuda to carry them to the pretty island of Ramaneeyaka (heartmelting pretty). Garuda flew to the island but rose so high in the sky thatmany of the snakes got burnt due to Sun’s rays. However when Kadru requestedthe Sun, he sent a cooling rain and the snakes recovered. Tired of being aslave to Kadru, once Garuda asked them, what he should do so that he and hismother got their freedom. They told him that if he can go to heaven and bring nectar (amrutha) forthem, then they will free both of them. Garuda informed about his determinationto bring nectar, to his mother Vinatha. He was worried about his food duringthe long journey to heaven. Then Vinatha told him about an island calledNishadalaya (Abode of darkness). She told that hecan visit the island and eat as many Nishads as he wants. She also told him that there were a few Brahmins inthe island and he should under no circumstances eat them. Garuda then asked hismother as to how to recognize Brahmins. She told him that if he tries to swallow Brahmins,they will be as hot as fire. Then Vinatha blessed her son and said that his wings will be protected bywind god, back by the Sun and the moon, head by fire and body by the eightVasus. Garuda reachedNishadalaya and started eating thousands of people there. By mistake hehappened to try to swallow a Brahmin and his wife. Since theywere as hot as fire, he spit them out .They both blessed him. Then Garuda went to the place where Sage Kasyapa was doing Thapas(meditation). The sage blessed him. Garuda told him that he was very hungry. Sage Kasyapa toldhim to eat a tortoise and an elephant which were spoiling the waters of thelake of that island. They both were brothers called Vibhavasu and Supreethika. They quarreledfor share of their father’s wealth. Supreethika cursed that Vibhavasu shouldbecome a tortoise and he in turn cursed him to become an elephant. Garuda got hold of both of them, killed them and started flying with themfor a proper place to eat both of them. After a long search, he located a verybig Banyan tree. He sat on the tree and started eating his prey. The branch onwhich he was sitting broke. Then Garuda realized that sages called BalaKhilyas were doing Thapas onthe branches of that tree, by hanging upside down. Then Garuda started flyingwith a branch so that he can keep in a place so that the sages will not beharmed. He reached the Gandhamadhana Mountains and informed Sage Kashyapa abouthis problem . Kashyapa requested for pardon from the sages for the unknowing deed ofhis son Garuda. The sages did not get angry and blessed Garuda and went toHimalayas. Garuda then atehis prey of the elephant and tortoise and continued his journey to heaven. Later he put the great branch ofbanyan tree in the sea. From the place he deposited thebranch, a land mass came up and this is the present day Sri Lanka. Even before Garuda cameto Deva loka, there were very bad omens there. Brahaspathi told the devas thatit is due to the fact that Garuda is coming to take away their hard earnednectar. Indra and devasdecided that they will guard the pot containing Amrutha (nectar), come whatmay. Garuda neared the pot of Amrutha. First he was opposed by Viswa Karma.Garuda defeated him very easily. Due to the flapping of the wings of Garuda,lot of dust rose from all sides and the Devas were having very poor visibility.Later Devas, Indra, moon and the Sun fought with Garuda and they were alldefeated. Then Garuda entered the place where the pot of Amrutha was kept. Roundthe pot two huge Chakra (wheels) were rotating. All round the chakras, one verydangerous Yantra (machine) was also installed. Below the Chakras several snakeswere raising poisonous fumes. The snakes never closed their eyes. Garuda threw dust onthe eyes of the snakes and cut them in to two pieces. He took a microform and entered near the pot. He also destroyed the Yantra and Chakras .Then Garuda took the pot ofAmrutha and rose on the sky. Lord Vishnuwho was watching this valorous deed, became pleased with Garuda and offered hima boon. Garuda requested him to make him as his steed and also he should becomean amara (one without death) even without taking Amrutha. Lord Vishnu grantedhim, both these boons. At this timeIndra opposed him and sent his Vajrayudha against him. This greatweapon could only remove one of his feathers. Indra then askedfor Garuda’s pardon and requested him to return the pot of Amrutha. Garuda agreed tothis provided Indra permitted him to eat snakes as his food. Indra granted thisboon. Then Garuda told Indra, “I am not taking this pot for myself but to mycousins, because they have made me and my mother their slaves. I would give the pot of Amrutha to them and I do not haveany objection if you take it back from them.” Indra agreedand followed Garuda. Garuda took the pot of Amrutha and gave it to the Nagasand Kadru. He told them that this pot shouldbe kept on a bed of Durba grass and they should eat it only after they havetaken their bath. The Nagas agreed. When Nagas wentto take their bath, Indra stole the pot of Amrutha and took it back. TheNagas which came back, felt sad at the loss of Amrutha and licked the Durbagrass, where some drops had spilled. This sharp grass cut their toungues in the middle. From then on allsnakes have a tounge cut in the middle and are called Dwijihwas (Two toungedones). Garuda and his mother werefreed. There is also a storythat Indra was humbled by Garuda because of a curse by the Balakhilya sages. Once, Sage Kasyapa was doing a great fire sacrifice to get a very greatson. He requested Indra and the 60000 BalaKhilyas who were very tiny to bringfire wood for his fire sacrifice. Indra collected the necessary fire wood in avery short time and the Balakhilya saints were trying to lift very small piecesof wood, even by that time. NaturallyIndra made fun of the saints. BalaKhilyas left the place and started another firesacrifice to humble Indra. Indra rushed to sage Kashyapa and requested to himto get pardon from the BalaKhilya stages. Kashyapa approached them. Then theytransferred the effect of fire sacrifice they were doing and blessed him to geta son who will humble Indra. Garuda was born as a result of this firesacrifice. 238 Garuda andKaliya Due to his being permitted to eat snakes for food by Indra and also dueto his great enmity with them, Garuda started eating snakes (naga) en masse. The snakes who were not able to oppose him, told him thatthey would send one big snake as food for him everyday. Though all the snakes agreed with this arrangement, a snake calledKaliya did not agree. There was abig war between Garuda and Kaliya. This war was fought over the present dayYamuna river. While fighting, due to the movement of feathers of Garuda, waterrose very high and fell on a sage called Soubhari. This sagecursed Garuda saying that if he comes to that area , his head will break in tothousand pieces. Because of this Garuda was not able to go near that spot ofYamuna and the snake Kaliya lived there with his family. 239 Garuda andthe King Sagara There was a king called Subahu in the Sun dynasty. He had a queen calledYadavi. For a long time after marriage she did not conceive. After prayers bySubahu and Yadavi she conceived. The other wives of Subahu did not like thisdevelopment. They gave her a poison through deceit. Yadavi did not give birthto a child for seven years and carried her pregnancy. At this time Subahudecided to leave the kingdom and become a disciple of a sage called Ourva. Yadavi also accompanied him. Suddenly Subahu died. Yadavi also wanted todie in his funeral pyre. Sage Ourva told her that she was carrying a child andthat child would become one of the great kings of the world. Then she desisted from death and in due course gave birth toa son called Sagara. During this timeVinatha who had lost her way in the forest, reached the hermitage of Ourva.When he came to know that she was living as a slave to Kadru, he blessed her and told her that a son called Garuda wouldbe born to her and he will free her from slavery. At that time Vinatha had a daughter called Sumathi. Her hand wasrequested by a sage called Upamanyu, to save his ancestors. But Sumathi refusedto marry him. He cursed her saying that, she would not get a Brahmin as hergroom. Because of this Vinatha was terribly worried and send Garuda to thehermitage of Ourva. When Garudaexplained the problem, the sage suggested Garuda to give his elder sister inmarriage to Sagara. Sagara later became a very great king and begot 60 thousandsons out of Sumathi. 240 Garuda wasHumbled Mathali the charioteer of Indra had a very prettydaughter called Guna Kesi. He went on searching for a suitable groom for his pretty daughter. He took the help of SageNarada in this search and reached Patala. There they located the Very eligibleSumukha who was a Naga (serpent) Lord. But Chikura the father of Sumukha had just then been eaten by Garuda. Atthat time Garuda has told Sumukha that he would eat him in another month. ThenMathali and Narada approached Indra to find a solution to this problem. At thattime Lord Vishnu also happened to be in Indra’s court. Indra blessed Sumukha withlong life and as a result he married Guna Kesi. When he heard about this Garuda was terriblyupset and flew to the court of Indra and threatened him.LordVishnu, then extended his right hand to stop Garuda and asked him whether hecan lift it. As soon as Lord Vishnu’s hand was kept on Garuda’s head, he feltas if the entire universe was kept on his head and felt miserable. Garudarequested the pardon from Lord Vishnu. 241 Garuda andGalava Once the God ofdeath took the form of sage Vasishta and went to the hermitage of sageViswamithra. He requested for food. But since the food prepared was over, SageViswamithra himself prepared rice. By this time the God of death left the placesaying he will come in a minute. Sage Viswamithra brought a plate full of hotrice and was waiting for the God of death. Since he did not come, he had towait for one hundred years. God of death came at that time and took the food.Galava was the disciple of Viswamithra who was with him and who looked afterhim during that hundred years. Viswamithra blessed him. After his education was completed, it was timefor Galava to go away. At that time he asked his teacher, what he can give himas fees. Viswamithra refused to accept anything from such a good student. But whenGalava went on insisting, he requested him to bring him 800 whitehorses with black ears Galava did not have money to purchase the horses. When he was upset,Garuda came near him and offered his help. He flew with Galava on his back tothe eastern side. After lot of time they reached the Rishbha Mountain. There aBrahmin lady called Sandali was doing penance. She prepared food and gave them. While taking food Garuda insulted Sandali. After food both of them slept.When he woke up Garuda found that all his feathers have fallen away from him Garuda begged the pardon ofSandali. She excused him and blessedhim. His feathers grew on him again. Then they traveled again and reached the palace of King Yayati. Yayatidid not have sufficient money. But he gave his daughter Madhavi to Galava. Galava was ableto obtain only 600 horses by giving Madhavi in turn to three kings, He then gaveViswamithra the 600 horses as well as Madhavi instead of the remaining 200horses. 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