THIRUVAHEENDRAPURAM
There was a prajapathi by name Arishtanemi. He had two
wives, Vinatha and Kadru. The wives fought with each other regarding a horse by
name Uchaisravas which aarose out of the ksheerabdi. Vinatha argued that the
tail of the horse was white whereas Kadru said it was black in colour. The
silly argument turned wild. Kadru concluded that if it was white she would
become the slave of Vinatha else Vinatha should turn her slave. But Kadru
played foul game. She sent her sons, the black serpants and asked trhem to
cover the tail of the horse so that it looked black. Vinatha believed the tail
was really black and as promised she became Kadru’s slave. In due time two sons
were born to Vinatha. Her eldest son was Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun
whereas her younger son was none other than Garuda, the Lord’s divine carrier.
Garuda came to know of his mothers slavery. He begged Kadru to release her. But
Kadru releneted on the condition that he would bring her nectar from the
ksheerabdi.
Immediately Garuda proceeded to capture the pot of nectar. A
severe battle ensued between the Devas and Garuda. The Devas were defeated and
they inturn surrendered to the Lord. Lord Vishnu met Garuda on the way and
asked him to return the nectar. Garuda, now proud of having won over the
Devas refused to relent. He said “ I have
obtained this through my might and if you want it back may you fight with me. “
The Lord smiled and said “ Being the soul of every being I can easily win you
but I prefer your friendship to war.” Garuda was still adamant. “ Iam greater
than you and you very well know this. This is why you prefer my friendship,
being afraid of me. “ The Lord too said ‘ Yes. I accept that you are stronger
than me and Iam weak. That is exactly the eason why I would like to make
friendship with you. Saying so as an act of friendship the Lord threw one of
his arms around Garuda’s shoulder. Unable to bear the weight of a single arm
Garuda panted in exhaustion. He finally agreed that the Lord was the creator of
all. Yet he said “ My mother has been enslaved and this is why I need the nectar”.
The Lord told him “ Kadru had cheated your mother. The tail of the horse is
white in reality. Show it to her and your mother would be released free.
Gaaruda thanked the Lord for his advice and handed over the pot of nectar. The
Lord pleased with his love towards his mother said “ Ask any boon of me, My
dear”. Garuda said “ iam indeed jealous of your brain and brawn. I want to be
superior to you in might and fame. “ The Lord said “ may you be my carrier.
Thus it would be proven to the world that you bear Me ( my weight), who has all the world in
Himself. Also You can stay as as ymbol in my flag. That way you will be above
me” Garuda thanked Him profusely, freed his mother and came back to the Lord.
However he was filled with the guilt of having tested the Lord’s might. Hence
he came to Bhuloka, to Oshadiparvatha.
He made a lake from his beak It is called The Garuda river. He planted
Mruthasanjeevani on this hillock. Aadisehsa too created a well called
Amruthakupa. Garuda prayed to Lord Devanatha at the banks of this river. Those
who visit this kshetra will get rid of all diseases. Since this kshetra totally was conceived by adisesha it
came to be called Thiru aheendrapuram. The Lord is called Devanatha ( deiva nayagan). A Hayagriva swami sannidhi is also here. Swami Desika worshipped hayagriva and Garuda on this hillock.
