Astika Parva — Story of Garuda

Sauti said: The moment the branch of the tree was touched by the greatly powerful Garuda with his feet, it broke down. As it was about to fall, it was caught by him.

As he cast his eyes in wonder on the broken branch of the tree, he saw that the Valakhilya Rishis were hanging form it, with their heads downwards.

Having seen the holy Rishis thus suspended, he said to himself, “These Rishis of great penances must not be killed.

If the bough fell down, the Rishis will be killed.” Reflecting thus, the mighty bird held more firmly the elephant and the tortoise.

The king of birds, from the fear of killing the Rishis and from the desire of saving them held the bough in his beaks and rose on his wings.

The great Rishis, seeing this act which was beyond the powers of the celestials, was filled with wonder and they gave the great bird a name.

They said "As this great bird rises on its wings with a heavy burden, let the best of the birds, the eater of snakes, be called Garuda.”

Then shaking the mountains, the bird with the elephant and tortoise, slowly moved onward in the sky and when he was thus going he saw many countries underneath.

Wishing to save the Valakhilyas he could not find a (proper) place to sit on. At last he went to that best of mountains, called Gandhamadana.

There he saw his father, Kashyapa, engaged in ascetic devotions. His father also saw that great bird of divine form.

And of great splendour, strength and energy, as swift as the wind or the mind, huge as a mountain peak, a ready smiter as a curse of a Brahmana,

Inconceivable, indescribable, fearful to all creatures possessed of great powers, terrible, as full of splendour as Agni himself.

Incapable of being overcome by the Devas and Danavas, capable of splitting mountains and of sucking the ocean,

Capable of destroying the three worlds and as fierce-looking as Yama himself. The greatly illustrious Kashyapa, seeing him approach and knowing his intention, thus addressed him,

Kashyapa said : My son, do not commit a rash act, for you will then have to suffer pain. The Valakhilyas, that support on the rays of the sun, if angry, can blast you.

Sauti said: Therefore, Kashyapa for the snake of his son, propitiated the very glorious, exceedingly ascetic and sinless Valakhilyas.

Kashyapa said : O great Rishis, the action of Garuda is for the good of all creatures. He is trying to accomplish a great act and therefore, you should give him permission.

Sauti said: The great ascetics, having been thus addressed by the illustrious Kashyapa, quitting the bough, went to the sacred Himalayas to observe ascetic penances.

When the Rishis went away, the son of Vinata, his voice choked by the bough in his beaks, asked his father Kashyapa,

"O illustrious one, where stall I throw this great bough of the tree? O illustrious one, point me a place free from men."

Kashyapa told him of a mountain without human beings, with caves and dales, always covered with snow and inaccessible by ordinary men even in thought.

The great bird, carrying the bough, the elephant and the tortoise, proceeded in great speed towards that mountain of broad waist.

The great bough with which the huge bird flew away could be girt round with a cord made of a hundred hides.

The king of the birds, Garuda, flew away one hundred thousand Yojanas in the shortest time.

Going almost within a moment to the mountains as directed by his father, the bird let fall the great bough. And it fell with a great noise.

That king of the mountains trembled, having been struck with the storm, raised by Garuda's wings. The trees thereon dropped showers of flowers.

And the peaks of that great mountain, decked with gems and gold, were loosened and fell down on all sides.

The falling bough struck down many trees, which, with golden flowers amid their dark leaves, looked like clouds charged with lightning.

And these trees, bright as gold, falling down upon the ground and dyed with the mountain metals, looked as if they were bathed in the rays of the sun.

Then the best of birds sat on the summit of that mountain and ate both the elephant and the tortoise.

The son of Tarkshya (Garuda), having thus eaten the elephant and the tortoise, rose on his wings from the top of that mountain summit.

Various evil omens appeared before the celestial foreboding fear. Indra's thunder-bolt blazed up in a fright.

Meteors with flames and smoke, loosened from the welkin, shot down during the day; and the weapons of the Vasus, the Rudras, la Adityas, the Sadhyas, the Maruts and of all other classes of celestials began to fight among one another.

Such things had never happened, not even during the war between the Devas and the Danavas. The winds blew with thunder; meteors fell in thousands;

The cloudless sky made a tremendous roar. Even he who was the god of the gods, dropped blood,

The garlands in the necks of the celestials grew pale and dim and their splendour was lost. And terrible masses of clouds vomited thick showers of blood.

The dust, raised by the winds, darkened the splendour of the coronets worn by the celestial. Thereupon, Indra with the other celestials, perplexed with fear on account of these evil omens, addressed Brihaspati thus.

Indra said : O illustrious one, why have these great disasters suddenly arisen? I do not see any enemy who will oppress us in a war.

Brihaspati said : O king of the celestials, O Shatakratu, it is from your carelessness and from your fault and owing to the penances of the illustrious Rishi Valakhilyas,

That the son of the Rishi Kashyapa and Vinata, the great bird, capable of assuming any form at will, is coming to take away the Soma.

And the strongest of all the strong, that bird is capable of taking away the Soma. Everything is possible in him. He can achieve even the unachievable.

Sauti said : Having heard this, Indra spoke to those that guarded the Ambrosia, "A greatly powerful bird has determined to take away the Soma;

I warn you beforehand, so that he may not succeed in taking it by force. Brihaspati has told me that his strength is matchless."

The celestials, when they heard it, were astonished and they took precautions. They stood surrounding the Ambrosia and the greatly powerful Indra stood with them, thunder-bolt in hand.

The celestials wore wonderful and greatly valuable breast-plates of gold, set with gems;

They wore bright leather arīnours of great toughness and wielded various sharp weapons of terrible forms,

All emitting fire with smoke and all raised up by the best of the celestials.

They were armed with many discusses, iron maces, spikes, lances, tridents, battle-axes and various other sharp-pointed missiles, polished swords and maces of terrible forms, all suited to their respective bodies.

Armed with these bright weapons and adorned with all celestial ornaments, the celestials, having their fear allayed, waited there (ready to meet Garuda).

The celestials of matchless strength, energy and splendour, capable of splitting the cities of the Asuras, displayed themselves in forms resplendent as the blazing fire; they all resolved to protect the Ambrosia (at all hazard).

And in consequence of the celestials standing there and owing to hundreds of thousands of maces furnished with iron spokes, that battle-field looked like another firmament illuminated by the rays of the sun.