Garuda

From Free net encyclopedia

For other uses, see Garuda (disambiguation).

Image:T.v.Adiparwa.jpg

Garuda (Sanskrit: गरुड Garuḍa), the eagle, is a lesser Hindu divinity, the mount (vahanam) of Vishnu, one of the main forms of God in Hinduism. Garuda is depicted as having a golden body, white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak and wings but a man's body. He wears a crown on his head like his master, Vishnu. He is ancient and huge, and can block out the sun.

His stature in Hindu religion can be gauged by the fact that an independent Upanishad, the Garudopanishada, and a Purana, the Garuda Purana, is devoted to him. Various names have been attributed to Garuda - Chirada, Gaganeshvara, Kamayusha, Kashyapi, Khageshvara, Nagantaka, Sitanana, Sudhahara, Suparna, Takshya, Vainateya, Vishnuratha and others. The Vedas provide the earliest reference of Garuda, though by the name of Shyena, where this mighty bird is said to have brought nectar to earth from heaven. The Puranas, which came into existence much later, mention Garuda as doing the same thing, which indicates that Shyena and Garuda are the same. One of the faces of Sri Panchamukha Hanuman is Mahavira Garuda. This face points towards the west. Worship of Garuda is believed to remove the effects of poisons from one's body.

In Buddhist mythology, the garuda are a race of bird-like divine creatures. They are the enemies of the Nagas, whom they hunt. In the Mahasamyatta Sutta, the Buddha is shown making temporary peace between the Nagas and the Garudas.

In Thailand it is known as Krut (ครุฑ). Garuda is the Indonesian form of the Phoenix. The Japanese also know the Garuda, which they call the Karura, although recent characters modeled on it retain the spelling Garuda (ガルーダ - see below). These three forms are local pronunciations of this Sanskrit name. In Myanmar, garuda are called ga-lon.

Thailand and Indonesia have the Garuda as their national symbols; the Indonesian national airline is Garuda Indonesia. The Garuda is also known in Thailand as Krut Pha, which is actually a form of Krut, means Krut with stretched wings. Krut Pha in Thailand is a sign of Royal family.

[edit]

Garuda in popular culture

In Saint Seiya, this is the name of one of the Kyoto, the three Judges of the Hell, called Aiakos of Garuda, then defeated by Ikki of Phoenix.

In Street Fighter EX, Garuda is one of the bosses of this fighting games series.

In Warhammer Fantasy Battle the Greater Daemons of Tzeentch bear a striking resemblance to traditional depictions of Garuda.

In Final Fantasy XI, Garuda is a naked bird-like woman with wings and large talons who must be defeated before she can be summoned to fight alongside the player.

In the US, Garuda was a death metal/grindcore band from Texas. In 2002 they released their first EP entitled “Cold Wired Sentiment.” The band's sound is denoted by its grinding music style but is more varied with melodic sounds so as to put it in the death metal category.

In the novel Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, the Garuda are a race of bird-people found in a desert region called the Cymek. One of the protagonists of the book is a Garuda named Yagharek whose wings were removed by his tribe after he committed a crime.

Garudamon is the name of Sora Takenouchi's Digimon Biyomon through Sora's Crest of Love.

In Megami Tensei series, the games developed by Atlus, Garuda is a demon and categorized into Avian / Spiritual Bird clan.

In Mahou Sentai Magiranger and in Power Rangers: Mystic Force, the symbol of the Yellow Ranger is the garuda.

In Chouseishin Gransazer, the bird mecha of the Fire Tribe is named Garuda.

In the MMORPG Tantra Online, Garuda is a character class resembling a female magician, also known as a "Mantra Weaver".

[edit]