Bhagavad Gita · Mahabharata Codex

Garuda

गरुड · garuḍa

King of birds; mount of Vishnu

He stole the nectar of the gods to buy his mother's freedom.

Garuda is the great eagle, son of Vinata, for which the Gita's Sanskrit calls him Vainateya. His mother had been tricked into slavery by her sister, the mother of the serpents. To ransom her he fought his way past the gods and carried off the nectar of immortality. Vishnu, impressed, made him his mount. He has been the enemy of snakes ever since.