Wednesday 30 December 2015

Garuda

While this was happening, in the house, Vinata's egg hatched. The child that came out of the egg, grew in size instantly and stood up. It kept growing till its head nearly touched the skies. Gods were scared to see this. Who was this? The Gods went to the child and said, Son of Vinata, you are a holy soul. You are Garuda. Please do not scare us. You are the son of Kashyapa.
Satisfied, Garuda controlled his size. Garuda then brought forth his brother, who had been forcibly hatched by Vinata. He was Aruna. Garuda took him and placed him in the chariot of Surya. From now on, Aruna would serve as the charioteer of Surya.

Leaving Aruna, Garuda then went is search of his mother and he found her serving Kadaru. He bowed down before her.
Kadaru wanted Vinata to carry her to an island. The condition was that Vinata needed to carry her on her back. Garuda lifted the nagas on his back. While Vinata went towards the island, Garuda flew upwards towards the sun. The heat of the sun started burning the snakes. Seeing this Kadaru appealed to Indra to help her sons. Indra started the rains and Garuda was compelled to take the nagas to the island.
The nagas on the island would order Garuda to take them places, and treated him like a slave also. Hurt, Garuda went to his mother and asked the reason for this.
Vinata told her son about how she came to be Kadaru's slave.
Garuda went to Kadaru and wanted to know how his mother would be free. Kadaru said if she could be given the nectar of immortality, his mother would be free. Garuda went to his mother and said he would get the nectar and free her. Before he set for the journey, he said he was hungry. His mother told him to go towards the ocean and eat whatever he wanted. She also advised him not to touch anyone who was pure, holy or good.  Further, Vinata blessed him, She said he would not be destroyed by any weapons. He would be invincible. He would also be the ruler of all flying creatures.
Flying on, he saw his father, Kashyapa, meditating. He went and bowed down to his father, and wanted to know where he could something to eat.

Kashyapa said, Listen King of Birds, close by is a lake where an elephant and a tortoise are fighting for ages. Theirs is wonderful story. There were once two brothers - Vibhavasu and Supratik. They were sons of a rishi and had all knowledge. Some friends managed to get the brothers separated. Once they went apart, each demanded the other's territory. Supratik would pester his brother for a share and one Vibhavasu got angry. He cursed him saying I have given you all that is due to to you, but you still demand more. You are fit to live in a forest. Go dwell there.
Supratik said what I asked for was not unjust and your curse was not just either. Saying he cursed his brother to become a tortoise.

Ending his tale Kashyap said the elephant in the forest and the tortoise are not like any that you have seen before. Their size is huge. They just keep fighting everyday near the lake. Go eat them. Your hunger will be satisfied and your journey to get the nectar will also be successful.

Going close to the lake Garuda saw the two fighting. Catching each in one hand, Garuda started looking for a place where he could sit and eat them in peace. Any trees that he could sit on, could not stand his weight. He sat on a branch of a strong tree and that broke and began to fall towards the ground. Garuda noticed that the Balkhilya Rishis were meditating on that branch. Garuda grasped the branch in his mouth and with the elephant in one hand, and the tortoise in the other hand, Garuda flew to his father and wanted to know where he should place the branch. Kashyapa told him to go to the Himalayas where he could place the branch. Keeping the branch there, Garuda ate the elephant and the tortoise and then went in search of the nectar.

In the heavens, Indra was seeing bad omens. What was the cause of this, he asked his guru Brihaspati. The guru said this was an indication of a curse of Indrra,  that Garuda had come to take the nectar.

Indra asked his army to be ready.

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The sages that had been listening from Sauti so far, wanted to know why Indra had been cursed.


4 comments:

  1. Mahabharat is a discovery. And by trying to put in things here, I am rediscovering many things that I had heard or read somewhere, and forgotten.

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  2. True...I have never read these holy books.
    Enriching myself now.

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  3. Good - so I am doing something nice :-)

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