Garudapanchasath-sloka5

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5.eko vishNoh dhvitheeyah thrichathuravidhitham panchavarneerahasyam

shAdguNyasmera sapthasvaragathih aNimAdhyashtasamath navAthmA

dhevo dharveekarArih dhaSaSathanayana ArAthisAhasralakshe

vikreedath pakshakotih vighatayathu bhayam veethasankhyodhayo nah

In this sloka Desika describes the glory of Garuda by sankhyAtha, enumeration mentioning the numbers on to ten, hunded, thousand and lakh and a crore showin that he is sankhyAvAn, learned.(the word sankhya means both number and intellect.)

Garuda is ekah, only one. He is vishnOh dhvitheeyah, the second manifestation of vyuha form of Lord Vishnu, that is , SankarshaNa. Only three or four know. thrichathuravidhitham the secret meaning of his manthra which consists of five syllables, panchavarNeerahasyam. He shines with the six guNas of bhagavan,shAdguNyasmerah, namely, jnana, knowledge, shakthi, power, bala, strength, aisvarya, lordship, veerya, valour and thejas , splendour.

He is the embodiment of Samaveda which is the source of the seven svaras of music, sapthasvaragathih. He is endowed with the eight kinds of yogic powers, known as the aNimAdhi siddhis.

`aNimA n mahimA chaiva laghimA garimA thaThA

prApthih prAkAmyam eesathvam vaSithvam cha ashtasidDhayah'

They are,

aNimA- contracting the body, mahimA- enlarging the body, laghimA- lightening the body, garimA – making it heavy, prApthih- acquiring the desired object, prAkAmyam- appearing wherever desired, eeSithvam- lording over others, vaSithvam- controlling others by will.

The magnificent form of Garuda appears new and fresh every time, navAthmA. Theus the word nava, meaning nine is used in its alternative meaning of `new.' The numbers ten and hundred and thousand are cleverly used in the same word by dhasaSathanayana arAthisAhasra, meaning, the thousands of the enemies of Indra who has dhaSasatha nayana, 10x100, that is, thousand eyes. The words denoting lakh and crore are skillfully used in their alternative meaning in describing Garuda as having daSaSathasahasra arAthi lakshe vikreedath pakshakoti. The sharp tips of the wings, pakshakoti, playfully makes the enemies of Indra as its target, lakshe vikreedath.

 

Garuda is veethasankhya udhayah, manifesting in innumerable forms to protect his devotees. Thus the sankhyA or enumeration ends with the word veethsankhyA, countless, after mentioning the numbers one to crore which is the illustration of sankhAvatthvam, the intellectual caliber of Desika.

May that Garuda destroy our fear , nah bhayam vighatayathu, as he is, besides all that have been mentioned, also dharveekara arih, enemy of snakes. The snake is called dharveekara , the word dharvee meaning the expanded hood of a snake and dhrveekara is derived as dharvee eva karah yasya, the hood of the serpent is his hand.