garudapanchasath-slokas6and7

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6.satthyAdhyaih sAtthvathAdhi praThitha mahimabhih panchbhirvyoohabhedhaih

panchAbhikhyo nirunDhan bhavagaraLabhavam prANinAm panchabhAvam

prANApAnAdhibhedhAth prathithanu maruthah dhaivatham panchavrttheh

panchAthmA panchaDhA asou purusha upanishadhghoshithah thoshayeth nah

May Garuda who is renowned for his five –fold forma, names and actions as acclaimed in the Vedas and in the pAncharAthra aAgama, make us happy. He has five names Sathya etc., proclaimed by the Paancharaathra sasthra, corresponding to his vyuhas or five powers. He destroys the poison of samsara for all beings and frees them from death. He is the fivefold devatha controlling the five vital airs in every body, functioning in five-fold manner. This is affirmed by the Upanishads also.

The pAncharAthra agama, which the most sacred scripture next to vedas for vaishnavites, due its being spoken by Lord Narayana Himself, contains many books called samhithas out of which sAthvatha poushj kara and jayAkhya are most sacred.

This sloka refers to the Lord also as He has the five forms, parathva, vyuha, vibhava, archa and antharyami. and is referred to as sathyam, jnanam, Anandam, Sivam and Sundaram in the Upanishads and Paancharaathra. He is the controller of the vital airs and destroys the evils of samsara. Thus the identity of Garuda with the Lord is emphasized.

The five names of Garuda are, sathya, suparNa, garuda, thArkshya and vihageSvara. In pAncharAthra these five names and the forms that represent the five-fold powers are described.

The five vital airs are ,prAna, apAna, udhAna, vyAna and samAna, which discharge the functions of breathing, excretion, etc.

 

 

7.Slishyath bhogeendhrabhoge SruthinikaranidDhou moorthibhedhe svakeeye

varNavyaktheervchithrAh parikalayathi yovakthrabaAhoorupAdhaih

prANah sarvasyajanthoh prakatithaparamabrahmabhAvah sa itTham

klESam Chindhan khageSah sapadhi vipadhi nah sanniDhih sanniDhatthaAm.

May Garuda, who displays his manifestation as Brahman, who wears the serpents close to his body, which personifies the Vedas, whose face, arms, thighs and feet show different colours, who is the life force for all beings and treasure for the good souls, arrive near us at once when we are in trouble in order to remove our suffering.

This sloka, like the slokas4 and 6 denote both Garuda and the Lord by use of pun on the words.

The word used to denote Garuda is khageSa, the Lord of the birds(khaga). The Lord is also khageSa being the master of Garuda,the khaga.

The Lord is the life force, prANah of all beings,sarvajanthu, as without Him they cannot live.

Prakatitha brahmabhAva, refers to Garuda as he is identical with Brahman, the Lord who Himself is Brahman and hence prakatitha brhamabhaava.

The line varNavyaktheevichithrAh parikalayathi yo vajthrabAhoorupAdhaih , means with reference to Garuda that he displays variegated colours, varnavyaktheevichithrAh , through his face, arms, thighs and feet.

Referring to the Lord, the word varna is taken to mean the four varNas of brahma, kshathriya, vaiSya and Sudra who are said to be born from the head, arma, thighs and feet respectively. (vide. Purushasuktha)

The Lord is the real purport of the Vedas and hence He is the nidhi, treasure to be found in the Vedas, Sruthinikara.

Fianally the epithet slishyathbhogeendhrabhoge, which means that serpents are found clinging to the body of Garuda applies to the lord when construed to mean tat He is in close contact with the bhogeendhra, the king of serpents, AdhiSesha.

Thus the prayer that Garuda should come quickly when we are in trouble and remove our suffering is made to the Lord Himself that He should speedily come mounted on Garuda as He did to save Gajendhra, when He hurried with Garuda hastening behind.