"Garuda" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... or animal form so as to maintain the order of righteousness. Symbolism has further endowed him with a consort, the goddess Sri or Lakshmi, typifying fortune; sometimes also he is represented with another wife, the Earth-goddess. The divine hawk or kite Garuda, who seems to have been originally the same as the eagle who in the Rigvedic legend carried off the soma for Indra, has been pressed into his service; he now rides on Garuda, and bears his figure upon his banner. I have already suggested a possible explanation of this evolution (above, p. 41): owing ...
— Hindu Gods And Heroes - Studies in the History of the Religion of India • Lionel D. Barnett
... deity with the whole heavens as his sphere, the sun itself comes to be regarded as a separate and minor deity. His weapon of the chakra or discus, which was probably meant to resemble the sun, supports the view of Vishnu as a sun-god, and also his vahan, the bird Garuda, on which he rides. This is the Brahminy kite, a fine bird with chestnut plumage and white head and breast, which has been considered a sea-eagle. Mr. Dewar states that it remains almost motionless at a great height in the air for long periods; and it is easy to understand ...
— The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India—Volume I (of IV) • R.V. Russell |
