Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c7.1516

c7.1516

With his heart overflowing with joy, Jīmūtavāhana went to his house. Mitrāvasu was there. He revealed the purpose of his coming. Jīmūtavāhana, who had the remembrance of his previous births told Mitrāvasu that in the previous birth also they had been friends and that Malayavatī had been his wife. Thus their marriage took place. Delightful days of the married life passed one by one. One day Jīmūtavāhana and Mitrāvasu went for a walk. They reached a forest on the seashore. Seeing some bones there Jīmūtavāhana asked Mitrāvasu about them. Mitrāvasu said : “In ancient days Kadrū, the mother of Nāgas (serpents) made Vinatā, the mother of Garuḍa, her slave by some trick. Garuḍa liberated her from slavery. But the hatred increased day by day and Garuḍa began to eat serpents, the children of Kadrū. Seeing this, Vāsuki the King of Nāgas entered into a contract with Garuḍa, so as to prevent the nāgas from being destroyed altogether. The arrangement was that Vāsuki would send a serpent everyday to Garuḍa. Garuḍa ate all those serpents sent by Vāsuki in this place. These are the bones of those poor snakes.”