Mahabharata – 52,

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                           

 Adi Parva

The birth of Garuda revisited

Garuda ate the elephant & the tortoise to his fill. With fresh vigour he started winging in the blue deep. In no time he reached the ramparts of the heaven.And the gods espied terrifying omens. A blaze of fire suddenly burst forth from Indra’s thunder. Flaming metors ran amuck in the skies that was covered with smoke from no - where. The weapons of all the gods including Vasus,the Rudra,the Marutas,& the Adityas & the Sadhyas fell from the hands. Such things never hapened earlier even during the battle between the gods & the demons. The cloudless skies covered with smoke roared.The God of gods seemed  to shower blood. The bright garlands of the gods became pale.Dust carried by the wind shrouded the crowns of the gods. Terrified Indra along with other gods approached Vrihaspati.J Vrihaspati or Jupiter told them that the son of Kasyapa & Vinata,Garuda was coming to take away nectar by force.Garuda the foremost of  all the great could do everything & anything & nothing is impossible for him.Vrihaspati added that it was Indra to blame for such misfortune of heaven.

Thus told the gods shouted -- To arms ! To arms !they were determined to defend the heaven against the attack of Garuda.They must save the nectar from Garuda’s grasp.The gods who are intelligent & pure in  essence donned celestial armours studded with countless gems including cat’s eye.Flame & fire flashed forth from their breast plates.Some wielded the sword some others took heavy clubs & axes.Others were ready with tridents to encounter Garuda.Indra the king of gods stood among them in battle array with his shining thunder.Even the glory of the sun god seemed to become pale in the light that flowed from the armours the weapons & bodies of myriads of gods.

While Sauti was narrating how the kingdom of heaven was on the verge of being attacked by the mighty Garuda Saunaka interrupted with  the following question ---

O Sauti what was Indra’s fault

How was Garuda  born

As the result of Valakhilyas’penanace.

Kasyapa the great sage is a Brahmin

How come that his son has become the king of birds

With a fierce beak

Mighty wings & claws.

In response Sauti said that Kasyapa the prajapati the lord of all the creatures was observing a sacrifice to the end of begetting a child.During that occassion Kasypa commanded the gods & the sages to carry wood for the fire sacrifice.While the gods like Indra were carrying big logs,the Valakhilya sages who were as tall as the thumb of the hand of a human being were carrying very small leaves of some tree for the fire sacrifice on their way the fell into a puddle.They could not get out of the puddle with all their might .Indra saw them & could check his mocking laughter.Seeing the countenance of Indra laughing at the sages the sages took fire.They promised that they would go for another fire sacrifice to beget another Indra who would be mightier.They started the fire sacrifice at once.The heaven quaked.Indra & other gods scared went to the great sage Kasyapa & told him about the state affairs.The sage Kasyapa rushed to the Valakhilya sages & asked them to stop the sacrificial rite.But the sages said that the sacrificial had almost reached its omega.One more offering to the fire clould clinch up the sacricial rite.Kasyapa said that the Valakhilya sages must not disturb the plan of the creator Brahma.He asked them to bless so that the sacrificial rite he was himself observing should beget another Indra as his & Vinata’s son.The son that would be born should be the king of the birds & he would be mightier than the king of the gods.Thus the king of the gods would remain unchallenged by another. Kasyapa at the same time told Indra the king of the gods that he must not laugh at great sages who are pure at heart & rich in the wealth of penance allthough they might look small.The Valakhilya sages agreed with Kasyapa & clinched up sacrificial rites rather abruptly.So the wishes of the great sage Kasyapa & blessings of Valakhilya sages mingled to give birth to the great Garuda.Vinata became instrumental in bringing about the birth of the great Garuda.  

Mahabharata – 53

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                           

AdiParva                   

Garuda possessed nectar by force

Gods were in perfect battle array to defend the heaven against the impending attack of Garuda & to protect the much coveted nectar in the heaven. Garuda showed up. He looked like a mountain afloat in the skies. His dazzling wings shrouded the sun.His terrible claws were ruby red. They were as big as  lakes fenced with nails. His emerald beak was longer than the palmyra tree. The gods struck Garuda from every side with their weapons. Garuda repelled them. He struck them inturn with his wings & clwas. Garuda summoned the winds that were beyond the control of the wind god.And they blinded the gods with asteroids ,meteors & stardust – a darkness created by sparkling light. Garuda agitated the whole heaven & severely wounded the gods with his bill & wings.The very palace of the king of gods Indra Vaijayanti cracked.Indra at once commanded the wind god to clear the dust.The dust was driven away presently. The darkness made a flight was dispelled.They could now see Garuda & attacked  him.Then the mighty Garuda roared louldly in rage that outdid thunder & the gods were shaken to their bones & nerves in fear. Then the mighty Garuda the destroyer of enemies rose upon the skies & fluttered above the gods.There is a sky beyond the skies. Then Indra & other gods attacked him with arrows, clubs, lances, swords & sharp spikes etc. The gods rained sharp weapons upon Garuda.But they were of no avail.Then Garuda with great prowess attacked the gods from all sides with his wings, nails & breast. Blood began to flow in large quantities from the bodies of the gods as they were severely injured by the tearing claws & bill. Thus defeated by Garuda the gandharvas & sadhyas fled in the east.The Rudras along with Vasus fled towards the south Adityas winged towards the west. The Aswini brothers fled towards the north.Thereafter Garuda encountered with nine Yakshas of great courage namely Aswakrananda,Tapana,Uluka,Swasanaka, Nimesha,Paruja,& Pulina. Garuda was like furious Mahadeva during the end of the creation.The Yakshas of great might & courage vanquished by Garuda looked like masses of black clouds dropping showers of blood And lo! There was a heaven quake. Gods in the mean time were rejuvinated.They came back to fight Garuda once again. Winds that were beyond the control of wind god,winds beyond the winds seemed to sweep & sway the heaven. And lo! Garuda alight like the blazing sun of the twilight was about to swoop upon the gods in their bright armours which paled before the glow & grandeur of Garuda’s apparition with stretched wings that covered & transcended the skies.Yama the god of  death himself was scared at this super natural sight that could never be espied in earth or heaven. The gods presently struck Garuda with all their might & weapons. But they likened vollyes of chocolate creams.  The war hungry Garuda enjoyed the assaults of the gods in great glee. His wings & beak & claws wounded the gods. Had the gods not being immortal it would be a necropolis of heaven. Thus making his way among the gods Garuda reached Viswakarma the architect of the cosmos with earth & heaven. He  was protecting the nectar in golden pitchers.He was wise & of great energy. He shone like electric fire.And there - after a terrific battle lasted for some time Viswakarma also fell down as if he were dead.The pitchers brimming with nectar were surrounded by fire on all sides.The terrible flames of the fire covered the sky & the sun aburning. Then the Garuda assumed the figure of a bird with numerous beaks.He drank water from countless seas & lakes he kept them in his thousand mouths.Then he rained gallons of water upon the fires till they were extinguished. Now Garuda could see terrible wheels made of blades that would carbonado any insect whatever, rotating ceaslessly with great speed to protect the nectar.There was apparently no passage through the wheel but Garuda became as small as a virus with golden body to repel the golden flames & radiation from the wheel. He entered into the space beyond the wheel through intermolucular pores. Just below the wheels there were two hideous snakes,of gigantic size with stretched tongues. Their crimson eyes vomited fierce flames that were poisonous.Garuda raised a storm of dust that blinded the snakes instantly. Garuda with his beak & claws cut the  snakes into million pieces. Wasting no time now Garuda took the pitcher brimming with nectar,& broke the wheel into thousand pieces & descended from the heaven with rocket speed.On the ethereal highway down to the charmed planet that Kadru & Vinata lived he met Lord Vishnu .The most hgh lord Vishnu congratulated Garuda & told Garuda that Vishnu was very happy with Garuda.Garuda might ask for any boon from Lord Vishnu Garuda saluted Vishnu & told him that Garuda wanted to be immortal without partaking of nectar that he was carrying in his wings.Garuda further said that he desired to be superior to Vishnu. Vishnu granted the prayers of Garuda.Now Garuda’s turn came he also was ready to grant a boon to lord Vishnu. This was natural .Because Garuda was already superior to Vishnu.Vishnu prayed that Garuda should be the mount of Vishnu himself .Garuda readily granted the prayer of Vishnu. There is a sense of humour in this episode.One who is superior to Vishnu, Garuda becomes the mount of Vishnu.Garuda here is a role model. The person who is superior to others should carry the burden of others. Bidding farewell to Lord Vishnu, Garuda rushed downwards.