Shloka 21
Garuḍa’s Assault on the Devas and the Fire-Barrier (अमृत-रक्षा-युद्धम्)
ततः खगो वदनममित्रतापन: समाहरत् परिचपलो महाबल: । निषूदयन् बहुविधमत्स्यजीविनो बुभुक्षितो गगनचरेश्वरस्तदा,तत्पश्चात् शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले, अत्यन्त चपल, महाबली और क्षुधातुर पक्षिराज गरुडने मछली मारकर जीविका चलानेवाले उन अनेकानेक निषादोंका विनाश करनेके लिये अपने मुखको संकुचित कर लिया
tataḥ khago vadanam amitra-tāpanaḥ samāharat paricapalo mahābalaḥ | niṣūdayan bahuvidha-matsya-jīvino bubhukṣito gagana-careśvaras tadā ||
Then Garuḍa—the bird-king, mighty, exceedingly swift, and a tormentor of foes—drew in and tightened his beak. Hungry, he set about destroying the many Niṣādas who lived by catching fish, asserting his dominance in the sky and clearing his way by force.
गरुड उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overpowering hunger and the drive to accomplish a goal can push a powerful being toward harsh action, raising a dharmic tension: strength used for survival and purpose can still cause suffering to those who live by their own livelihood.
Garuḍa, hungry and formidable, contracts his beak and attacks the Niṣādas—people who subsist by fishing—killing many of them as he moves forward in the episode.