[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879) › c5.585 # A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.585 A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.585 - **Language:** English ### [c5.585](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.585) GARUDA. A mythical bird or vulture, half-man, half-bird, on which Vishnu rides. He is the king of birds, and descended from Kasyapa and Vinatā, one of the daughters of Daksha. He is the great enemy of serpents, having inherited his hatred from his mother, who had quarrelled with her co-wife and superior, Kadru, the mother of serpents. His lustre was so brilliant that soon after his birth the gods mistook him for Agni and worshipped him. He is represented as having the head, wings, talons, and beak of an eagle, and the body and limbs of a man. His face is white, his wings red, and his body golden. He had a son named Sampāti, and his wife was Unnati or Vināyakā. According to the Mahā-bhārata, his parents gave him liberty to devour bad men, but he was not to touch Brāhmans. Once, however, he swallowed a Brāhman and his wife, but the Brāhman so burnt his throat that he was glad to disgorge them both. - [Previous: c5.584](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.584) - [Next: c5.586](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.586) - [Up: c5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5) ## Cites (1) - [Mahābhārata](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.585](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.dowson-1879.c5.585) · Pramāṇa