Garuḍa brings somāmṛta
The story of Garuḍa bringing somāmṛta from the Astika Parva of the Mahābhārata is replete with symbolism. The mighty Garuḍa, the king of birds, was pained at the pitiable plight of his mother, Vinatā, who was trapped into slavery by the deception carried out by Kadrū and her sons, the Nāgas. He asks Kadrū of the price demanded by Kadrū and her sons for his mother’s freedom, and agrees to acquire somāmṛta that was being kept under close guard in Devaloka in exchange for releasing his mother from slavery.
On his return with the pot of amṛta, Indra hits Garuḍa with his vajra. Garuḍa was unaffected by the powerful weapon and taunted Indra — “I will cast off one of my feathers and you will never be able to find its ends. I have not felt the slightest pain at being struck by your vajra.” All the beings that saw that beautiful feather, were amazed and exclaimed, “Let this bird be called Suparṇa”
Indra was wonderstruck, and concluded that Garuḍa was a supreme being. He makes a deal with Garuḍa to return the pot of sōma, as it would be disastrous for the world if it fell into the wrong hands. (Garuḍa had already been granted immortality by Viṣṇu, and thus had no use for drinking sōma). Garuḍa agreed to return the nectar if he was granted the boon to make nāgas his food, and Indra blessed him accordingly. And then Garuḍa told Indra thus: “I took this pot of amṛta not for my own use. The nāgas cheated my mother and made her a slave, and she will be freed if only this pot of nectar is given to them (nāgas). Take the soma away when I have put it down.”
Thereafter, with great speed, Suparṇa went to free his mother. In great delight, he told all the snakes, “I have brought you the amṛta. I will place it for you here on this kuśa grass. O snakes! Drink it after bathing and performing your religious rites. As agreed, let my mother become free from this day, for I have accomplished your bidding.”
The snakes having said unto Garuḍa, ‘Be it so,’ then went to perform their ablutions. Indra, without alerting the snakes. picked up the amṛta and carried it off to Devaloka. After bathing and purifying themselves through prayers and rites, the snakes joyfully returned to the place where the sōma had been kept, to drink it. But the snakes found that they had been deceived. They began to lick the kuśa grass upon which the soma had been placed, with their tongues as the Amṛta had been placed upon it. The tongues of the snakes by that act became divided in twain. And the kuśa grass, too, from the contact with Amṛta, became sacred thenceforth. Thus did the illustrious Garuḍa bring Amṛta (from the heavens) for the snakes, and thus were the tongues of snakes divided by what Garuḍa did.
Then the mighty King of birds, delighted, enjoyed himself in those woods accompanied by his mother. Of all his grand achievements, deeply revered by all rangers of the skies, he gratified his mother by devouring snakes.
“That man who would listen to this story, or read it out to an assembly of good Brahmanas, must surely go to heaven, acquiring great merit from the recitation of (the feats of) Garuḍa.”
Garuḍa crashing through adamantine obstacles to reach the amṛta; Indra ineffectually casting the vajra on him; Garuḍa allowing Indra to deprive the serpents of the amṛta; Garuḍa becoming Viṣṇu’s vāhana while also being stationed “above” him on his flagstaff; Garuḍa invoked as Agni, Indra, Viṣṇu and Sūrya by the gods.
Garuḍa’s world-filling roar is identical with Agni's in the Ṛg Veda V.25.8: "a vast utterance like the voice of the pressing-stone of delight... like a thunder-chant from the heavens". In the Ṛg Veda, the eagle is most frequently used as a symbol not only of Agni but also of Soma itself, "the bird celestial, vast with noble pinion, the love germ of plants, the germ of waters" (1.164.52) representing the aspirant's soul immersed in the bliss he has churned out of his being.
The falcon or swan or bird is used to symbolise the soul liberated and soaring upwards to the heights of the supreme consciousness not limited by the laboured gallop of the life-energy, the horse, but winging widely in free flight. The golden plumage of Garuḍa symbolises the light of Sūrya, the Truth-Consciousness. Usually, birds are said to draw the chariot of the Aśvins, the lords of delight; because when the soul is thus liberated, it contacts the superconscient state of being which is identical with divine ecstasy. In the process of attaining liberation, the falcon breaks out from a hundred iron walls, and wrests soma-elixir from its jealous guardians — which is precisely what Garuḍa is shown as doing. In fact, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa episode of Garuḍa carrying Mandara to the ocean to use it as a churning rod is a clear re-working of the Vedic image of the falcon, bringing the Soma-stalk from beyond the Himalayas for Indra or the sacrificer.
References:
1. Purnic Encyclopedia by Vettam Mani
2. Mahabharata Vol I by Bibek Debroy
3. Bhattacharya, Pradip. “Symbols of Immortality in the Mahabharata.” India International Centre Quarterly 13, no. 1 (1986): 106–15. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23001678.
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