Courtesy: Sri.Krishnan Muralidharan
Dear All,
Greetings and Namaste. Sri Garuda Panchami falls on Sunday (11-Aug-2013). In that connection, I am happy to share Sri Garuda Sahasranama Stotram by Sri Krishna Bhattacharya (I don't have much details on the author). This Sahasranama is a bit unique in that its meter is dissimilar to the usual Sahasranamas and it is also in the form of Kavacham (every shloka seeks Lord Garuda's protection and requests specific benefits).
A few snippets on Lord Garuda who performs the duty of being the Vahana of Lord Narayana:
1. Stutis on Garuda are very rare in Puranas. There is one Ashtottaram on Garuda in Brahmanda Puranam - which I will share in due course.
2. The stutis on Garuda are more from the Bhagavatas - e.g. Sri Vedanta Desikar's Garuda Panchashat, Garuda Dandakam, etc. I presume there might be a Garuda Kavacham too though Garuda Dandakam itself is treated as a form of Kavacha.
3. As per Kalki Purana, Garuda was given to Lord Vishnu by Lord Bilvodakeshvar (Lord Shiva) when Lord Vishnu prays to Lord Bilvodakeshvar with a stuti and seeks the permission to take Kalki Avatar (Chapter 3, Verse 25),
tvaM gAruDaM idaM cA .a shvaM kAmagaM bahurUpiNam |
shukamenash ca sarvaGYaM mayA dattaM gRRihANa bhoH ||
(Meaning : Lord Kalki, I bestow you Garuda, Ashva and Shuka and Garuda is capable of traveling fast and take many forms...)
3. From the astrological point of view, Garuda propitiation is attributed to Rahu/Ketu afflictions and Sarpa Dosha.
4. In Tantras, Garuda is worshipped in different forms such as mahAgaruDa, Ashu garuDa, sarpAshana garuDa, pracaNDa garuDA, mAyA garuDa, sammohana garuDa, jvAlAmAlin, kUTa garuDa, etc. May I request erudite scholars familiar with such Tantras to elaborate on the various forms of Garuda and purpose?
5. As we all know, South East Asia had strong influence of Hinduism until the early part of the last millennium. In Indonesia, Lord Garuda is one of the famous handicraft items one can get from Bali and other parts, though the image may look slightly different.
6. Though Garuda Sannidhi will always be there in all Vishnu Temples, a handful of Kshetras have special significance for Lord Garuda. The most important of them is Nachiar Koil (about 10kms from Kumbhakonam en route Kudavasal.). Here, Lord Garuda (known as Kal Garudan) is huge and does not face Lord Srinivasa (perpendicular to each other). Only once in a year, Lord Garuda is taken out in procession and is said that the weight of Garuda increases and decreases progressively - i.e. when the idol is lifted it requires 4 people; when it is taken out of the sanctum, 8 people are needed and by the time it reaches the street (a few hundred meters away), 64 people are needed to carry. After Purappadu, the people required to move the idol back are reversed.
Nachiar Koil is one of the 108 Divya Desams and it is said that prayers to Lord Kal Garudan bestows all rightful wishes. One can take a vow to visit the temple upon fulfilment of the wish. Further, special Archana is done on Thursdays in this regard and people can pay money to get Prasad after Thursday's Archana (for 8 weeks if I remember correctly). As I have seen, this is one of the very few temples which is prompt in sending prasadams every week.
As an aside - I have had the good fortune of performing Thirumanjanam (Abhishekam) to Lord Srinivasa few years ago in Nachiar Koil. It takes 4-6 hours for this as there are 4 very tall idols and performing Abhishekam needs many Archakas climbing up a ladder structure and do Thirumanjanam.. Interestingly my daughter was named after Thayar (Vanjula Valli - a very unheard of name) as ordained by the Archaka at the time of Ashirvada after Thirumanjanam - as my second child was due in a few months!!
May We Seek The Blessings of Lord Garuda!!
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