Garuda Panchami

5 min readAug 13, 2021

Today is Garuda Panchami and my ode to the Lord

Garuda Gayatri Mantra | गरुड़ गायत्री मंत्र

ॐ तत्पुरूषाय विद्महे, सुवर्णपक्षाय धीमहि, तन्नो गरुड: प्रचोदयात् ||

Om Tatpurushay Vidmahe Suvarnpakshaay Dheemahi Tanno Garudah Prachodayat ||

Meaning — We meditate on Garuda, the Great Soul, the manifestation of Supreme Consciousness. May He, who has golden wings, give me clarity. Oh Garuda, please bring me enlightenment and inspiration.

Thiruvelliyankudi temple, near Kumbakonam — Here, the Lord is with Chaturbhuja, with 2 hands in his original inimitable style — folded hands and the other two carrying the Chakra & Shankha given by the Lord

ஆழ்வார்கள் தங்களுடைய விஷ்ணுவைப் பற்றி பிரபாவத்தில் கருட பகவானைக் கொண்டாடுகிறார்கள்,

1. புள்

2. கருளக்கொடி

3. கருடன்

என்ற பல்வேறு வார்த்தைகளால், சுமார் 50+ பாசுரத்தில் வர்ணிக்கப்படுகிறார்.

ஆண்டாள் கண்ட கருட சேவை

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

மாலாய்ப் பிறந்த நம்பியை மாலே செய்யும் மணாளனை

ஏலாப் பொய்களுரைப்பானை இங்கே போதக் கண்டீரே

மேலால் பரந்த வெயில்காப்பான் வினதை சிறுவன் சிறகென்னும்

மேலாப் பின்கீழ் வருவானை விருந்தா வனத்தே கண்டோமே (639)

O Lord Narayana with many names! You smell strongly of Tulasi fronds! Singing songs of Madana, god of love, you enter the house. O, What is this, What is this, What is this?

வெற்றிக் கருள கொடியான்றன் மீமீ தாடா வுலகத்து

வெற்ற வெறிதே பெற்றதாய் வேம்பே யாக வளர்த்தாளே

குற்ற மற்ற முலைதன்னைக் குமரன் கோலப் பணைத்தோளோடு

அற்ற குற்ற மவைதீர அணைய வமுக்கிக் கட்டீரே (633)

He moves like a despot in the world sporting a vicious bird-banner. His mother repents bitterly that she brought up a useless son. Bring the insolent youth to justice; bind him up firmly-by his beautiful arms to my faultless breasts.

Lord Garuda in Mahabharatha

Though our Lord appears in many places in the Mahabharatha, here are some:

1. on the flag of Lord Krishna

2. Both the armies arrived at the formation of Garuda Vyuha on different days

Lord Garuda in Ramayana

When the Lord had alighted down to help the beings then can the Nityasuri be left behind? he had a role in the Ramayana.

tato muhuurtad garuDam vainateyam mahaa balam |

vaanaraa dadR^ishuH sarve jvalantam iva paavakam || 6–50–36

Thereupon, all the monkeys saw within a moment, a mighty eagle, Garuda, the son of Vinata, like unto a blazing torch.

tam aagatam abhiprekShya naagaas te vipradudruvuH |

yais tau sat puruShau baddhau shara bhuutair mahaa balau || 6–50–37

On beholding Garuda the eagle which came there, the serpants who bound those two warriors Rama and Lakshmana in the form of mighty arrows, fled away.

tataH suparNah kaakutsthau dR^iShTvaa pratyabhinandya ca |

vimamarsha ca paaNibhyaam mukhe candra sama prabhe || 6–50–38

Thereupon, Garuda the eagle, coming into contact iwth Rama and Lakshmana d offering them his good wishes, with his hands caressly touched their faces that were radiant like the moon.

A novel on Lord Garuda

Lord Garuda & Swami Desika

The Vaishnavite Acharaya, Sri Vedanta Desika was ably guided by Lord Garuda and that led him towards the darsan of Lord Hyagreeva.
Later, he composed two sets of slokas — Garuda Panchashat and Garuda Dandakam. In the former, the Garuda mantram was suitably placed at appropriate places and need the help of a teacher/acharya to understand the intricacies.
They are set in a rapid & robust metric style; When one starts chanting the Dandakam fluently, one can feel the ups & downs of a bird on the flight.