{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/hmvp/hmvp44.htm","path":"hin/hmvp/hmvp44.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/hmvp/hmvp44.htm","text":"Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic, by W.J. Wilkins, [1900]\nSome of the animals regarded as sacred have already been mentioned in connection with the deities to whom they are specially dear, and in whose worship they participate. They are regarded as the V\u0101hans, or vehicles, upon which these gods and goddesses travel. Thus Indra rides upon the elephant Airavata; Siva on the bull Nandi; Yama on a buffalo; Durg\u0101, as Singhav\u0101hini, on a lion, as Durg\u0101 on a tiger; Agni on a ram; V\u0101yu on an antelope; Ganesa on a rat, and Sasti on a cat. Virabhadra, the emanation of Siva which destroyed Daksha's sacrifice, rode on a dog, and K\u0101madeva travelled either on the monster Makara or a parrot. The jackal is regarded as a representative of Durg\u0101, who in this form assisted in preserving Krishna, on the night of his birth, from Kansa's anger. Monkeys, as representatives of Hanum\u0101n, are very commonly worshipped; the dog, though worshipped by some, by others is regarded as unclean.\nAmongst birds, the goose is the V\u0101han of Brahm\u0101, the peacock that of Kartikeya, Sani rides upon a vulture; the Br\u0101hmani kite is said to be a form of Durg\u0101, and the Khanjana, or wagtail, represents Vishnu, because the mark on its throat is thought to resemble the Sh\u0101lgr\u0101ma; the owl, too, is worshipped at the festivals of\n[paragraph continues] Kartikeya, Brahm\u0101, and Lakshmi. Garuda, the V\u0101han of Vishnu, and Jat\u0101yus and Samp\u0101ti, the vultures who assisted R\u0101ma, will be described separately.\nThe cow, though not regarded as the V\u0101han of any deity, is worshipped too. Brahm\u0101 is said to have created cows and Br\u0101hmans at the same time; the Br\u0101hman to officiate at worship, and the cow to provide milk, gh\u012b, etc., as offerings, whilst cow-dung is necessary for various purifying ceremonies. Regular worship of the cow takes place yearly, at which similar ceremonies are performed to those which are employed at the worship of images; the horns and bodies of the cows are painted, and they are then bathed in the rivers. Some people are said to worship the cow daily.\nGaruda or Superna is a mythical being, half-man and half-eagle, the V\u0101han of Vishnu. Though not strictly divine, he appears frequently in Vishnu's exploits, and, being worshipped together with his lord, it is necessary to give some description of his birth and deeds.\nWhen Daksha's sons refused to people the world, he produced sixty daughters, thirteen of whom he gave to Kasyapa the sage; of these, two come into prominence in connection with Garuda. Vinat\u0101 bore him two celebrated sons, Garuda and Aruna: the former, also called Superna, was the king of the feathered tribes, and the remorseless enemy of the serpent race. Aruna became famous as the charioteer of the Sun. \"The progeny of Kadru (the other sister) were a thousand powerful many-headed snakes, of immeasurable might, subject to Garuda.\" * The mother of Garuda is said to have laid an egg; hence her son assumed a bird-like form.\nAnother legend makes \"Garuda the son of Kasyapa and Diti. This all-prolific dame laid an egg, which, it was predicted, would yield her a deliverer from some great evil. After the lapse of five hundred years, Garuda sprang from the egg, flew to Indra's abode, extinguished the fire that surrounded it, conquered its\nClick to enlarge\nGARUDA.\nguards, and bore off the amrita, which enabled him to liberate his captive mother. A few drops of the immortal beverage falling on some Kusa grass, it became eternally consecrated; and the serpents greedily licking it, so lacerated their tongues with the sharp grass, that they have ever since remained forked. But the boon of immortality was ensured to them by their partaking\nof the amrita.\" * \"As soon as Garuda was born, his body expanded till it touched the sky; the other animals were terrified. His eyes were like the lightning. The mountains were driven away with the wind caused by the flapping of his wings. The rays which issued from his body set the four quarters of the world on fire; the affrighted gods imagining that Garuda must be an incarnation of Agni, resorted to that deity for protection.\" \u2020\nGaruda is the mortal enemy of snakes. His mother Vinat\u0101 quarrelled with her sister, Kadru, the mother of the snakes, respecting the colour of the horse that was produced at the churning of the ocean; since that time there has been constant enmity between their descendants. On the occasion of his marriage, the serpents, alarmed at the thought of his having children who might destroy them, made. a fierce attack on him; but the result was that he slew them all, save one, which he has ever since worn as an ornament round his neck. To this day superstitious Hindus repeat the name of Garuda three times before going to sleep at night, as a safeguard against snakes.\nThe following legend from the Mah\u0101bh\u0101rata \u2021 gives the account of his liberating his mother from servitude, and of his appointment as the V\u0101han of Vishnu. His mother, having lost her wager with her sister respecting the colour of the sea-produced horse, was reduced to servitude to the serpents, who, being anxious to become immortal, promised to liberate her on condition that her son Garuda should bring them Chandra (the Moon), whose bright spots are filled with amrita. Before starting on this expedition he went to his mother for\nfood, who advised him to go to the seashore and gather whatever he could find, but entreated him to be most careful not to eat a Br\u0101hman; adding, \"Should you at any time feel a burning sensation in your stomach, be sure you have eaten a Br\u0101hman.\"\nAfter receiving this warning, he set off on his journey. Passing through a country inhabited by fishermen, he at one inspiration drew in houses, trees, cattle, men, and other animals. But among the inhabitants swallowed, one was a Br\u0101hman, who caused such an intolerable burning in his stomach that Garuda, unable to bear it, called in the greatest haste for him to come out. The Br\u0101hman refused unless his wife, a fisherman's daughter, might accompany him. To this Garuda consented.\nPursuing his journey, Garuda met his father Kasyapa (he shines as the Pole Star), who directed him to appease his hunger at a certain lake where an elephant and tortoise were fighting. The tortoise was eighty miles long, and the elephant one hundred and sixty. Garuda with one claw seized the elephant, with the other the tortoise, and perched with them on a tree eight hundred miles high. But the tree was unable to bear the ponderous weight, and, unhappily, thousands of pigmy Br\u0101hmans were then worshipping on one of its branches. Trembling lest he should destroy any of them, he took the bough in his beak, continuing to hold the elephant and tortoise in his claws, and flew to a mountain in an uninhabited country, where he finished his repast on the tortoise and elephant.\nGaruda having surmounted astonishing dangers, at last seized the Moon and concealed it under his wing. On his return, however, being attacked by Indra and the gods, he overcame all, excepting Vishnu. Even Vishnu was so severely put to it in the contest, that he\ncame to terms with Garuda, made him immortal, and promised him a higher seat than his own; while on his part Garuda became the V\u0101han or carrier of Vishnu. Since then, Vishnu rides upon Garuda, while the latter, in the shape of a flag, sits at the top of Vishnu's car.\nIn the R\u0101m\u0101yana Garuda is represented as doing great service to R\u0101ma and his followers, and his powers and peculiarities are repeatedly referred to. Thus, in the description of Hanum\u0101n it is said, that\nIn like manner it is said of two heroes:\nWhen Ansum\u0101n found the ashes of the sixty thousand sons of S\u0101gar, \u2021 who, owing to Kapila's curse, had been destroyed, and was in distress because he could obtain no water with which to offer oblations for the dead, he sees their uncle\u2014\nGaruda then tells Ansum\u0101n that if he can succeed in inducing Gang\u0101 to descend from heaven, and with her\nstreams to touch these ashes, the dead shall return to life, and finally ascend to Indra's heaven.\nIn the description of the city of Ayodha, when R\u0101ma had gone into the forest, is a reference to Garuda's antipathy to snakes:\u2014\nIn the following lines is an account of Garuda's resting on a tree when he was carrying off the elephant and the tortoise as narrated above. R\u0101vana impelled by the accounts of Sit\u0101's beauty, goes to see her, and on his journey\nIn the great conflict with R\u0101vana, as R\u0101ma and his brother were wounded and well-nigh dead, owing to a flight of serpents sent by Indrajit, Garuda appeared to restore them, and thus enabled them to carry on the war. His approach and work are thus described:\u2014\nFor this great work of restoration R\u0101ma expressed his gratitude, whereupon Garuda replied\u2014\nGaruda is represented in pictures and sculpture in various ways. Sometimes he has the head and wings of a bird, with a human body; sometimes he has a bird's claws; and at others he has a human face, and the body of a bird.\nGaruda had two sons, named Jat\u0101yus and Samp\u0101ti, who also assisted R\u0101ma. As he, Lakshman and Sati reached the hermitage in the forest where they intended to remain, they saw \"a mighty vulture, of size and strength unparalleled.\" Struck with his appearance, R\u0101ma inquired who he was, when Jat\u0101yus informed them of his parentage, and offered to be their friend:\nThis offer was accepted; and when R\u0101ma saw the stag which R\u0101vana sent to attract him from his home, he went after it with the greater sense of security because Jat\u0101yus was there to guard his wife. When R\u0101vana seized Sit\u0101, she cried out to Jat\u0101yus\u2014\nJat\u0101yus first tries by reasoning to lead R\u0101vana to restore Sit\u0101 to her home, and warned him that death would result from his act of violence. When, however,\nClick to enlarge\nJAT\u0100YUS.\nneither advice nor threats availed, he prepared to fight.\nJat\u0101yus succeeded in breaking R\u0101vana's bow, but\u2014\nThe giant's arrows wounded the vulture; the vulture in return threw darts which injured R\u0101vana, struck the steeds of the chariot, and broke the chariot itself; whilst with his beak and claws he tore the coachman to pieces. R\u0101vana descended from his chariot and fought on foot; but gradually the strength of Jat\u0101yus, who was weak with age, gave way. R\u0101vana, therefore, re-ascends the chariot, and is about to fly through the air, when the vulture a second time intercepts his flight, and\u2014\nJat\u0101yus was able to tear off the ten left arms of R\u0101vana, but unfortunately others grew to replace them. At length R\u0101vana seizes his sword, and, after giving the vulture a mortal blow, hurries off with Sit\u0101 to Lanka.\nWhen R\u0101ma and Lakshman commence their search for Sit\u0101, they come upon the dying bird, and, seeing the marks of blood upon him, at first think that he has been guilty of carrying off the lady; but, after hearing from him the story of R\u0101vana's visit and flight, they watch the bird expire, and perform his funeral rites.\nIn their search, reaching the seashore, but still ignorant\nof Sit\u0101's whereabouts, some of their monkey followers see an immense vulture, weak with age, who, hearing them mention Jat\u0101yus' name, inquires of his welfare. When told that he had been slain by R\u0101vana, the vulture informs them that this victim of the giant was no other than his own brother; and in revenge assists them, by informing them where R\u0101vana and Sit\u0101 were at that moment. He told them that he had Garuda's power to see immense distances, and, mounting into the sky, saw Lanka, and told the V\u0101nar chiefs that the object of their search was there. Hearing this, Hanum\u0101n was despatched to communicate with Sit\u0101, and to assure her of R\u0101ma's coming to rescue her.\nClick to enlarge\nTHE LOTUS.\n449:* \"Vishnu Pur\u0101na,\" p. 119.\n451:* Moor's \"Hindu Pantheon,\" 341.\n451:\u2020 Ward, ii. 200.\n451:\u2021 Ibid., ii. 201.\n453:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" i. 94.\n453:\u2020 Ibid., i. 96.\n453:\u2021 See Gang\u0101.\n453:\u00a7 Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" i. 186.\n454:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" ii. 167.\n454:\u2020 Ibid., iii. 162.\n455:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" v. 153.\n456:* Griffiths's \"R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" iii. 68.\n456:\u2020 Ibid., 230.\n458:* \"Griffiths's R\u0101m\u0101yana,\" iii. 236.\n458:\u2020 Ibid., 237.\n458:\u2021 Ibid., 240.","title":"Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic: Part III. The Inferior Deities: Chapter VII. Sacred Animals and Birds","type":"page"}