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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00134 Jan 2004

 
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Sri:

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

Dear Smt. Sangeeta,

Garuda or Vainatheya is a most celebrated Nithyasoori (citizen of Sri 
Vaikuntam, the eternal abode of Lord Narayana) of the Srivaishnava 
tradition. He is known as periya tiruvadi on account of his eternal 
service to Lord Narayana as his vehicle. Being Vaidikas let us 
explore the Vedam to begin our quest for references glorifying 
Garuda. The SouparNika Sooktham celebrates the greatness of Garuda 
through the rk "suparNOsi garuthmAn trivrutthEshinO gayathram 
chakshu:" (The golden winged Garuda has for his head the Trivruth 
Saaman and for his eyes the Gayathri Saman). The Anandavalli portion 
of the Taittriya Upanishad discusses Lord Narayana as being made up 
of Anandamaya rasa (rasO vai sa:). The Aitareya and Taittriya 
Brahmanas affirm that this rasa also known as soma rasa flourished at 
the third foot of Trivikrama and was brought by the high flying bird 
known as shyEna or Garuda. In fact the Anandavalli section of the 
Taittriya Upanishad is a succinct summary of the entire Soma Mandala 
of the Rg Vedam. The Anandavalli formally glorifies Garuda as "tasya 
yajurEva shira: rg dakshiNa: paksha: sAmOtthara: paksha: AdEsha Atma
aTharvAngirasa puccham prathiShTA:" (His head is the Yajur Veda; His 
top body is the Sama Veda; His lower body is the Rg Veda; His soul is 
the message; His tail is the atharvaNa Vedam), thus describing Garuda 
as being made up of the four Vedas. The Mahanarayana Upanishad 
contains a Gayathri Mantram for Garuda "thath purushAya vidhmahE 
swarNapakshAya DhImahi tannO garuda: prachOdhayAth".  

Having sampled the vedic tributes to Garuda, let us turn our 
attention to the ithihasas. The Ramayana speaks of the glory of 
Garuda when he comes to the rescue of Rama and Lakshmana, who were 
bound by the Naga Pasha of Indrajit in the war against Ravana. 
Indrajit used poisonous serpents for darts in his battle against Rama 
and Lakshmana, who were rendered unconscious by the arrows. The 
arrival of Garuda, the sworn enemy of the serpents caused them to 
beat a hasty retreat. As a result, Rama and Lakshmana regained 
consciousness. They were warmly embraced by Garuda. Adikavi Valmiki 
pays glowing tributes to this Kaimkaryam of Garuda and declares that 
Rama and Lakshmana became even more powerful than before as a result 
of the embrace of Garuda.  Another reference to Garuda in the 
Ramayana can be found in Rama's battle against the Asura Malyavan. 
Lord Rama was hard-pressed to defeat the Asura. However, the arrival 
of Garuda and his mere glance at the Asura caused Rama to 
effortlessly blow the asura away like a bale of cotton. Again, 
Adikavi Valmiki speaks of this Upakaram of Garuda in most 
affectionate and glowing terms.  We then explore the Mahabharata for 
further testimony in support of the greatness of Garuda. We may 
remember "VedhEShu pourusham sooktam purANEshu cha vaishnavam 
BhArathE Bhagavad-Gita DharmashAsthrEShu mAnavam" 
(The foremost among the Vedas is the Purusha Sooktam. The foremost 
among puraNas is the Vishnu Purana. The jewel in the crown of the 
Mahabharata is the Bhagavad-Gita and the foremost among the Dharma 
shastras is the Manu Smriti). In accordance with this statement, we 
focus our attention on the Bhagavad Gita to gain further insight on 
the glory of Garuda. Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita 
that "vainathEyasya pakshiNAm" (among birds I am VainathEya) 
and "vedhAnAm sAmavEdhOsmi"
(among the Vedas, I denote the Sama Vedam). The uniqueness of the 
Sama Vedam is that it glorifies Lord Narayana to the exception of all 
other deities., whereas in the Rg and Yajur Vedam one finds eulogies 
of Indra, Agni et al with the implicit notion that the tribute is 
meant for Lord Narayana, the in-dweller of these deities. It is 
helpful to note that Mantram 6 of the 17th section in the third 
chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad  pertaining to the Sama Vedam 
declares Lord Krishna, the son of Devaki to be the Supreme Being. 
This explains the fondness of Lord Krishna for the Sama Vedam
The Sama Vedam aspects of Garuda mentioned earlier taken in 
conjunction with the statements of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita 
make Garuda an overwhelming favorite of Lord Narayana. 

PuraNas such as the VishNu puraNa, Bhagavata purANa and Garuda PurANa 
wax eloquent on the glories of Garuda.  The glory of Garuda is 
further celebrated by Swami Alavandar in the Chatushloki 
salutation "vEdhAthmA vihakEshvarO" and by Swami Nigamanta 
Mahadesikan in the Garuda Dandakam and Garuda Panchasat. Swami 
Desikan notes that " Garuda's Atma is made up of Sthoman (Sthoman is 
the Sama Vedic Passage which discusses what Sama Vedam is about). His 
head is the Trivruth Saman; His body is the Vamadevya Saman; His eyes 
denote the Gayathri Saman; His wings denote the Bruhat Saman and 
RaThantara Saman respectively. His name is verily the Yajur Vedam." 
These references should suffice in establishing Garuda's pre-eminent 
status in the Srivaishnava tradition. The September 1999 Malolan net 
archives contains a posting by adiyen, which provides further details 
about Garuda.

PakshirAjAya Namaha,

Namo Narayana,

SriMuralidhara Dasan








 

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