Shloka 7
Garuḍa–Śakra Saṃvāda and the Retrieval of Amṛta (गरुड–शक्र संवादः अमृत-अपहरण-प्रसङ्गः)
गुरु भारं समासाद्योड्डीन एष विहंगम: । गरुडस्तु खगश्रेष्स्तस्मात् पन्नमनभोजन:
guru-bhāraṃ samāsādya uḍḍīna eṣa vihaṅgamaḥ | garuḍas tu khagaśreṣṭhas tasmāt pannam-anabhojanaḥ ||
Dijo Rauhiṇa: «Tras alzar una carga pesada, esta ave ha volado hacia lo alto. Por eso se le llama Garuḍa—el mejor de los pájaros—quien no come serpientes.» En su contexto, el verso expone una etimología tradicional del nombre “Garuḍa” a partir de su hazaña de cargar gran peso y elevarse al cielo, y a la vez lo caracteriza éticamente como alguien que se abstiene de devorar serpientes.
रौहिण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how names can encode remembered deeds (traditional nirukti/etymology) and also frames Garuḍa’s identity with an ethical note of restraint—‘not eating serpents’—emphasizing self-control alongside power.
Rauhiṇa describes a remarkable bird who, after taking up a great weight, flies into the sky; on that basis he is identified and named ‘Garuḍa,’ praised as the foremost of birds, with the added characterization that he abstains from eating serpents.