Garuda deva is the mount of Lord Vishnu. The mention of Garuda is found in all the major Hindu mythological texts. Presence of Garuda is very much evident in Hindu and Buddhist sculptures from India, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal and Bali. Garuda Pancasila is the National Emblem or Coat of Arms of Indonesia.
Once upon a time, there was a great sage, Maharishi Kashyapa. He had two wives, Kadru and Vinata. Although they were sisters, they were extremely jealous of each other. One day, the sage thought to fulfil their wish of having children. Kadru asked for a thousand powerful sons, while, Vinata asked for only two sons who would be more powerful than the thousand sons of Kadru. Kashyapa gave Kadru a thousand eggs from which a thousand Nagas (snakes) were born. Vinata got only two eggs and she kept the eggs in a safe warm place under constant observation.
More than five hundred years had passed, but nothing came out of the eggs. Being impatient, Vinata finally broke one of the eggs. There was a boy inside the shell whose upper half of the body was complete but the lower half was still in a formative phase. He was bright and radiant, like the morning sun. His name was Aruna (or Aruni).
He cursed his mother for her impatience and told her that she would be enslaved by someone for her sin and that the other son of Vinata would free her from the humiliation. The son of Vinata went to the sky and became the charioteer of the Sun god (Surya deva).
One day, Vinata and Kadru spotted the white celestial horse, Ucchaishraba. He was as white as a pearl, as strong as a bull, and had a pair of wings, more beautiful than that of a swan. He was flying through the clouds. Kadru said that the white horse had black tail. Inevitably, Vinata argued that the horse had white tail. The argument went extreme, and they decided to confirm the actual colour on the next day and the loser would serve as the slave of the other.
Kadru knew that she was wrong and she actually tricked Vinata into the bait. Kadru told her sons to cover the tail of the celestial horse so that it could appear black from a distance. As the Nagas were not willing to do the task, Kadru cursed her own sons in anger. The Nagas, being afraid of their mother's curse, agreed to do so, and they intertwined the tails of the horse in such a way that it indeed appeared black. Obviously, next day, Vinata was made a fool and she was forced to become a slave. She started to serve her sister and waited patiently for her second son to be born.
After many years, the remaining egg was hatched and a powerful boy emerged from it. He was the Garuda deva. He had a face of bird with a beak and the body of a human with two large red wings and talons. He was enormous in size and very strong, and his body was golden in colour. He had a brilliant radiance which was even brighter than the sun. Even the gods were afraid of the radiance and started to chant mantras to please the newborn child. In response to the pleas from the gods, Garuda reduced the intensity of his radiance.
Just like her mother, Garuda was also a slave to Kadru and the Nagas since birth. When Garuda asked his mother about the reason for their situation, Vinata explained how she was tricked by her own sister. Enraged, Garuda decided to take revenge for this unjust humiliation in time. One day, Garuda was carrying Kadru and her sons on his back to an island. Intentionally, he flew so high that the snakes started to burn down from the heat of the sun. As they started to scream from agony, Kadru prayed to Indra deva. Indra deva saved her sons by sending a cloud.
Then Garuda asked the Nagas how to be free from the bondage. The Nagas replied that if Garuda could fetch Amrita (the divine nectar of immortality) from the gods, they would set him and his mother free. Garuda decided to go to the Swarga (heaven) and bring Amrita to earn their freedom.
But it was a daunting task, and he needed lots of strength. Hence, he asked for food from his mother. Vinata told him about the Nishadas, who used to live close to the sea. They were the people who had fallen from the path of justice (dharma). She told her son to eat them. So Garuda started to eat Nishadas. But that was not enough to satisfy his hunger. So he flew to the Himalayas and spoke with his father, rishi Kashyapa. The sage told him about an elephant and a tortoise who were constantly quarrelling with each other for a long time. They were two brothers in their previous life and used to quarrel over a property dispute. They were still fighting in their next life.
As told, Garuda ate those two monsters, and with a full belly, Garuda started his quest for Amrita. As he approached Swarga, the gods came to stop him from taking Amrita. But the gods were no match for Garuda. He was very powerful and the gods were forced to flee by his courage and strength. Garuda finally reached the place where Amrita was kept by the gods.
First, there was a circle of fire around the vessel containing Amrita. Garuda flew back to the ocean and returned with lots of water in his mouth, quenching the fire. Then there was the Sudarshana chakra (a flying disc of metal). The chakra would inevitably cut whoever trespassed to steal Amrita. Garuda changed his shape and became very small and passed through the central hole of the chakra and entered the inner layer, which was guarded by two fire-breathing serpents. Garuda fought with the snakes and cut them into pieces.
At last, he took the Amrita and started his return journey. Now Shree Vishnu appeared in front of him. Vishnu was very pleased as Garuda did not drink a drop of Amrita himself. He only stole to regain his freedom. Vishnu deva blessed him with immortality for his selfless act and asked him to wish another boon. Thus, Garuda asked the Lord to grant him a position above the Lord himself, and thereafter, Garuda secured his position on the flag of the Lord Vishnu. When Garuda deva also expressed his desire to give Lord Vishnu something in return, the Lord asked him to become his vahan (mount). Garuda happily agreed to serve him. Then he continued his journey to Patal lok where the Nagas were eagerly waiting for Amrita.
Now Devraj Indra appeared to stop Garuda and threw his Vajra (thunderbolt) at him. The Vajra was merely ineffective against Garuda. But to show his respect to Lord Indra and the rishi Dadhichi, he shaded one of his feathers. The feather fell into the ground from the sky and it was so beautiful that Garuda got his name, Suporno, or one with beautiful feathers. Indra was both amazed and afraid to see that and admired Garuda for his extraordinary strength. He then requested Garuda not to give Amrita to the wicked Nagas. Garuda replied that he needed to deliver the kalash to the Nagas, but after that, Indra could retake back the vessel immediately. Being pleased with the answer, Indra blessed Garuda that he would be considered as the King of the birds (Khageshwara). In return, Garuda offered him his friendship. Indra was very pleased and told Garuda to ask for any boon. Garuda wished to have snakes as his staple food. Indra granted the boon, saying 'Tathastu' (so be it).
At last Garuda reached Patalpuri with the Amrita kalash and placed the kalash on the scutch grass (durva grass). The greedy Nagas were about to embark on Amrita, but Garuda stopped them and asked them to purify themselves first by taking a bath before consuming Amrita. Understanding the sacredness of the divine nectar, Nagas went for a bath, leaving the Amrita unattended. Meanwhile, Indra-putra Jayanta retrieved the vessel and returned it back to Swarga. When the Nagas returned, they saw that the Amrita was gone. They asked Garuda why he did not protect it. Garuda reminded them that they asked him to bring Amrita and give them, not to protect from stealing. Nagas had no other choice but to free Garuda and his mother from slavery.
Disheartened Nagas started to lick the scutch grass where Amrita kalash was kept by Garuda and their tongues were cut by the sharp edges of the grass. Since then, the snakes have forked tongues, and scutch grass is considered sacred. Thus, Garuda freed his mother and himself from Kadru and her sons and became the king of the birds. His consort was Devi Unnati, and his son was Sampati. The Garuda deva became the mount of Lord Vishnu.
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