Tuesday, September 19, 2006
long time din visit nalanda web site liao... so juz drop by and look for some informations... all the garuda team members... drop by more post about garuda at the garuda's sub-forum oh... and as well as other topics... let us spread the dhamma all around to the people around us....
found this information about garuda at the garuda sub-forum...
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 Malay 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.
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.
7:27 PM