Garudapanchasath-sloka2

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2. vedah svarThaaDhirroDah bahih abahih abhivyakthim abhyethi yasyaam

sidDhih saamkarshiNee saa pariNamathi yayaa saapavargasthrivargaa

praaNasya praanam anyam praNihithamanasah yathranirDhaarayanthi

praachee saa brahmavidhyaa parichitha gahanaa paathu gaaruthmathee nah

 

The garuda manthra manifests the Lord who shines in and out of Garuda, (inside as the import of the Vedas of which Garuda is the personification and outside as garudaarooda, seated on Garuda) and it gives all the purusharthas including moksha, as Garuda is described as the amsa of Sankarshana. Those who become engrossed in this manthra consider it as even above the life force, praaNa. This manthra is quite ancient and difficult to comprehend even with successive chanting. May that manthra protect us.

 

`Vedhaathmaa vihageSvarah,' Garuda is the personification of Vedas, which has been mentioned in the Veda itself. The symbolism of his being the vehicle of Lord is that Vedas are the sole means of communication of the glory of the Lord, as declared in the brahmasuthra , `SaaSthrayonithvaath.' Ramanuja explaining this suthra says, Brahman is known only through Vedas.

sAsthrayOnih=sAsthram yasya yOnih;kAraNam pramAnam; of whom the scriptures are the source of knowledge. Thasya bhAvah sAsthrayonothvam. thasmAth=sAsthrayonithvAth, therefore scripture is the proof of Brahman.

 

Thence it follows that the import of the Vedas is Brahman only. So Garuda as the vedasvaroopa , shows the Lord, who is svaarThaaDhirooDa, who is riding on the Vedas which are His vehicle as well as being the substance ,svaarTha of the Vedas, bahih and abahih, in and out of himself.

Garuda is said to be the Sankarshana amsa of the Lord. Sankarshana stands for jnana, knowledge and bala, strength. Garuda's strength is well known and made explicit in the later portion of the sthothra. Being the vedasvaroopa he is also janansvaroopa. As such the attainment of all the four purusharthas is made possible by the Garudamanthra.

The wise who are established in Brahman consider Garuda manthra as the prana or life force over and above the prana , the main life breath, as it pertains to the Lord Himself who is the power behind the manthra.

The import of the manthra cannot be comprehended by chanting or learning the meaning of the words because it denotes Garuda who is the Veda, the subject matter of which is the Lord Himself whose real nature cannot be understood except through His grace. The scripture says,

'nAyam AthmA pravachanEna labhyah na mEDhayA na bahunA SruthEna;yamaivEshavrnuthE thEna labhyah thasyaisha Athma vivrNuthE thanoom syAm,' (Kata.2-2-23)

It means that the Self cannot be obtained by instruction, nor by intellect, nor by much hearing. Whomsoever the Self chooses to reveal itself by him only it is obtained.

The same idea is stressed by Krishna in the Gita by,

bhakthyA thvananyaya sakyah aham EvamviDHo arjuna

jnAthum dhrashtum cha thatthvEna praveshtum cha paramthapa..

(BG.11-54)

May such manthra protect us says Desika in this sloka.