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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00207 Jan 2004

 
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Dear Bhaktas,

The following email was posted on another list. U.Ve. Sri Sadagopan 
Swamin encouraged adiyen to release this note on the Oppiliappan list 
for the benefit of interested readers. 

Namo Narayana,

SriMuralidhara Dasan

**********************************************************************
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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