Garuda and Nagaraja (The Eagle and the Serpent)

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Like a river winding its way, the serpent creeps along the ground; it dwells in the earth and stars forth like a fountain from its hole. It is an embodiment of the water of life issuing from the deep body of the Mother Earth. Earth is the primordial mother of life; she feeds all creatures out of her substance, and again devours all; she is the common grave. She clasps to her bosom the life she has brought forth, denying to it the unbound freedom of celestial space. In contrast, the infinity of heaven denotes the free sway of the unbound spirit, freely roaming as a bird, disentangled from the fetters of earth. The eagle represents this higher, spiritual principle, released from the bondage of matter and soaring into the translucent ether, mounting to its kin, the stars, and even to the supreme divine being above them. On the other hand, the serpent is life-force in the sphere of life-matter. The snake is supposed to be of tenacious vitality; it rejuvenates itself by sloughing off its skin.

Whereas in Western tradition the spiritual antagonism of bird and serpent is commonly understood and stressed, the opposition, as symbolized in India, is strictly that of the natural elements: sun force against the liquid energy of the earthly waters. Ablaze with the heat of the glowing sun, drying up the moisture of the land, the "fair-feathered" (suparna), golden-winged, griffon-Iike master of the sky violently attacks, ruthlessly and eternally, the embodier and guardian of the vivifying liquid of the all-nourishing earth. The bird is addressed as "He who kills nagas or serpents" (nagantaka, bhujagantaka), "He who devours serpents" (pannagasana, nagasana). His proper name is Garuda, from the root gri, "to swallow." As the relentless annihilator of serpents, he is possessed of a mystic power against the effects of poison; hence is popular in folklore and daily worship. At Purl, in the Indian province of Orissa, persons suffering from snake bite are taken to the main hall of the Great Temple, where they embrace a Garuda pillar filled with the magic of the celestial bird. Garuda is represented, generally, with wings, human arms, vulture legs, and a curved, beaklike nose.

Here Garuda stamps in a wrathful gesture of triumph upon Nagaraja, the king of serpents. He grips in his right hand the head of another serpent, the tail of which extends over to his other arm, extending across his frame like a drape. His outstretched wings, sharp-pointed lower talons and beak lend to him an awesome appearance.