Sri: SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha, Dear Bhaktas, This post is intended to highlight the commonalities between Garuda and the Padhukas, which equivalently denote Satari Soori and Swami NammAzhwar. Veda Swaroopi Garuda is reverentially saluted by Swami Alavandar as VedAtma VihageshwarO. Swami Desikan blesses us with rare insights into the following Vedic associations of Garuda. Specifically, Sthoman is the Sama Vedic passage dealing with Saaman itself. This Sthoman is the Atma of Garuda. Garuda's head denotes the Trivruth Saman, while his body denotes the Vamadevya Saman. Garuda's eyes denote the Gayathri Saman. The wings of Garuda denote the Bruhat Saman and Radantara Saman respectively. Garuda's name denotes the Yajur Veda, while his limbs denote the Gayathri Chandas. The overwhelming Sama Vedam association of Garuda assigns Garuda an elevated place in the context of his Kaimkaryam to Lord Narayana. This can be gleaned from Lord Krishna's Bhagavad-Gita declarations "VedAnAm sAmavEdOsmi" and "VainathEyasya pakshiNAm". The Mahanarayana upanishad contains the following Gayathri for Garuda "Tath PurushAya vidhmahE swarNa pakshAya Dheemahi tannO garuda prachOdayAth". The Vedas embody Dharma and where there is Dharma, there there is victory. Since Garuda is a personification of the Vedas, He is seen announcing the Lord's victory over His enemies. Thus, the victorious Lord himself comes to be known as Garudadhwaja. Therefore, the sight and sound of Garuda are extremely auspicious. This is in keeping with the Rg Vedam declaration "Bhadram KarNeBhi:...". Garuda's dhwani sound is the condensed essence of the Rks from the Samavedam and thus is the sum total of all Mangalavadyams put together. Swami Desikan establishes in the Padhuka Sahasram that Swami NammAzhwar and the Padhukas are verily the crown jewels that adorn the head of the Shruti Shiras, i.e., the upanishads. Also Swami NammAzhwar's Sri Sookthis contain the essence of the four Vedas with significant emphasis on the Saama Vedam. It is important to note that the Azhwar devotes 1102 verses to eloquently convey the import of Saama Vedam-specifically the Gayathri Saman through his formal SharaNagati at the Lotus feet of the Lord of Seven Hills in the famous "Ahala illEn" Pasuram. The uniqueness of Gayathri Saman lies in the fact that it extols the Lotus Feet of Lord Narayana to the exclusion of all else. Since Garuda's eyes denote the Gayathri Saman, he is constantly beholding the Lotus feet of Lord Narayana as seen in the Vishnu sooktam salutation "Tad VishNO: paramam padagam sadA pashyanthi soorayaha" Just as the arrival of Garuda spells doom for the Asuras, so too the contact of one's head with the Padhukas (denoting Swami NammAzhwar and Sadhacharyas in his line) ruthlessly destroys all sins caused by the ten headed asura denoted by the Karma indriyas and jnAna indriyas and paves the way for Moksha through the margam of SharaNagati. Namo Narayana, SriMuralidhara Dasan
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