Garuda

For the wasp, see Megalara garuda. For other uses, see Garuda (disambiguation).

Garuda
God of Strength and Vigilance
Garuda secures Amrita by defeating the Daitya
Devanagariगरुड़
Sanskrit transliterationGaruḍa
Affiliation
Genealogy
ParentsKashyapa and Vinata
SiblingsAruṇa, Sumati[4]
SpouseUnnati[2]
ChildrenSumukha (son)[3]

Garuda (Sanskrit: गरुड, romanized: Garuḍa; Pali: गरुळ, romanized: Garuḷa; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ, IAST: Garuḷa) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (vahana) of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths.[1][5][6] Garuda is also the half-brother of the Devas, Gandharvas, Daityas, Danavas, Nāgas, Vanara and Yakshas. He is the son of the sage Kashyapa and Vinata. He is the younger brother of Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun. Garuda is mentioned in several other texts such as the Puranas and the Vedas.

Garuda is described as the king of the birds and a kite-like figure.[7][8] He is shown either in a zoomorphic form (a giant bird with partially open wings) or an anthropomorphic form (a man with wings and some ornithic features). Garuda is generally portrayed as a protector with the power to swiftly travel anywhere, ever vigilant and an enemy of every serpent.[1][8][9] He is also known as Tarkshya and Vainateya.

Garuda is a part of state insignia of India, Indonesia and Thailand. Both Indonesia and Thailand has Garuda as their coat of arms, the Indian Army uses the Garuda on their Guards Brigade Regimental Insignia. The Indian Air Force named their special operations unit after him as the Garud Commando Force.[10] It is often associated with the Greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubius).[11][12][13]

  1. ^ a b c Robert E. Buswell Jr.; Donald S. Lopez Jr. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. pp. 314–315. ISBN 978-1-4008-4805-8.
  2. ^ Daniélou, Alain (December 1991). Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-89281-354-4. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Sumukha: 26 definitions". 12 April 2009. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Sumati, Sumatī: 26 definitions". 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  5. ^ Roshen Dalal (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
  6. ^ Helmuth von Glasenapp (1999). Jainism: An Indian Religion of Salvation. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 532. ISBN 978-81-208-1376-2. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference williams21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b T. A. Gopinatha Rao (1993). Elements of Hindu iconography. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 285–287. ISBN 978-81-208-0878-2. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Donaldson2001p253 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Meet the 7 mighty commando forces of India". The Economic Times. 10 June 2015. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  11. ^ IANS (21 June 2015). "Garuda's population now 500 in Bhagalpur, Bihar". Zee News. Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  12. ^ Sarkar, Gautam (16 December 2017). "Stork nests spread". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  13. ^ "National Symbols". Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)