Indian text. Its prominent mention and sacred
status are fully established only in the PURANAS,
Indian texts of mythology. There the river is said
to have descended from heaven, taken down to
Earth by the prayers of the sage Bhagiratha to
sanctify the ashes of the sons of his progenitor
Sagara. The latter had dug out a huge hole look-
ing for a lost horse, but the Ganges filled this vast
expanse to form the ocean. Descending from Lord
VISHNU’s toe, the river might have inundated all
the Earth, had not SHIVA agreed to let it first flow
through his topknot. Shiva has since that time
been depicted with the Ganges flowing through
his hair.
Ganga is considered a goddess, the eldest
daughter of HIMAVAT (the Himalayas). Ganga’s
husband is Shantanu; their son BHISHMA plays an
important role in the MAHABHARATA epic, as great
uncle of both the warring factions. Ganga’s water is
always pure and purifying, and pilgrims take flasks
and casks home for rituals and blessings. It is every
Hindu’s wish to have his or her ashes thrown into
the Ganges after cremation. It is widely believed
that such an act confers heaven or liberation on
the dead person. Because of the sacredness of the
Ganges and its importance to Hinduism India has
made great efforts to try to clean up this very heav-
ily polluted waterway. Activist movements have
for decades agitated for cleaning up this valuable
resource.
Further reading: Jagmohan Mahajan, The Ganga Trail:
Foreign Accounts and Sketches of the River Scene (New
Delhi: Clarion Books, 1984); Sudhakar Pandey, Ganga
and Yamuna in Indian Art and Literature (Chandigarh:
Indra Prakashan, 1984); Raghubir Singh, The Ganges
(London: Thames Hudson, 1992).
Garuda
Garuda is both the mount of VISHNU and the king
of birds. He is depicted with the body of a man
and the face of an eagle. He is considered the son
of the RISHI Kashyapa and his wife, Vinata.
Garuda is known to be an enemy of snakes,
a natural characteristic of a bird of prey such as
the eagle. In his case the enmity is attributed to a
rivalry between his mother and her sister Kadru,
mother of the serpents. Kadru had taken Vinata
captive but agreed to set her free if she would give
her the nectar of immortality (AMRITA). Garuda
was successful in going to heaven and defeating
the two snakes who guarded it there. It was this
deed that gained him the reward of being Vishnu’s
mount.
The story did not end at this, however. INDRA,
ruler of heaven, wanted his nectar returned.
Finally, he allowed Garuda to feed on snakes, the
traditional food of eagles, in exchange for return-
ing the nectar of immortality. Sometimes Garuda
is iconographically represented holding a pot of
ambrosia (amrita).Further reading: Shanti Lal Nagar, Garuda, the Celestial
Bird (New Delhi: Book India, 1992); Margaret Stutley,
An Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography (Boston:
Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985); W. J. Wilkins, Hindu
Mythology, Vedic and Puranic (Calcutta: Rupa, 1973).Gaudapada (c. 750–800 C.E.) Vedantic
philosopher
Gaudapada is best known as the guru of Govinda,
guru of the famous philosopher SHANKARA. He
is the earliest writer in the movement to revive
the UPANISHADIC tradition of non-dual (ADVAITA)
philosophy. His is author of a commentary on
the MANDUKYA Upanishad, called the Mandukya-
karika, which consists of four segments or books.
This work was commented on in turn by Shan-
kara. Notable in the text of Mandukyakarika is
the use of Buddhistic terminology. This has been
shown to reflect not Buddhist influence on the
VEDANTIC tradition, but rather an attempt to pros-
elytize the Buddhists.Further reading: T. M. P. Mahadevan, Gaudapada: A Study
in Early Advaita (Madras: University of Madras, 1952).K 164 Garuda