Phraya Kruith (Garuda) 大鹏金翅鸟迦楼罗(GARUDA)

The most important creatures of the Himmapan forest is probably the Garuda. Garuda is the king of birds, half-man and half-bird, the vehicle of Vishnu, a Hindu God. Descriptions of Garuda vary from legend to legend. He usually represented as having the head, beak, wings, and talons of an eagle. With the torso like that of human. His face appears white, his wings red, and shiny golden body.

Some texts, however, give different descriptions. Sometimes, he is described as having eight limbs, with six being human limbs, two are legs with strong eagle like claws. Another text says Garuda has either four or two limbs.

When he shown with two limbs, he will be holding a Naga in each talon.

There are many Garuda related legends, some are derived from the Pali and Sanskrit literatures. The major Sanskrit literatures are the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas. The main Pali source is the Tripikata.

In the Sanskrit literature, Garuda is a son of Kasyapa. Legends says that Kasyapa was a powerful sage. He had many wives, two were his favorites. These two were sisters, Vinata and Kadru respectively. Kadru request a blessing from her husband that she should have a large number of children, eventually she gave birth to 1,000 Naga sepents. The Nagas chose to live underworld in the ocean depth. Vinata requested from her husband that she should have only two sons and should be more powerful than the children of Kadru. In time, she laid 2 eggs. Vinata waited for 500 years, but the eggs showed no sign of change. Vinata grew impatient to know what inside and broke one of the eggs herself.

Inside the egg was a boy with a well-developed upper body but has no limbs below his torso. Knowing that his mother was the cause of his premature birth and the reason of his deformity, the boy was furious. He cursed his own mother that she should become a slave of her sister, Kadru, for 500 years. After casting the curse, he rose up high in the sky and flew away, and finally settled down as the charioteer of the Sun God, Surya (Suriya). He was later known as Aruna (Arun).

Vinata second egg finally hatched 500 years later, and out came Garuda. The body of Garuda expended so large in all directions. His top most part reached the sky. His body shone with brilliant lustre that many gods mistaken him for an incarnation of the god of fire, Agni.

The curse of Aruna on his mother finally came true. At the time, Vinata and Kadru were having a quarrel about the color of the horse produced from the churning ocean ceremony. (The main purpose of the ceremony was to produce the Amarita or the elixir of immortality.)

Vinata believed the horse was pure white in color. Kadru said it was grayish in color, hence the horse should have some strands of black hairs. Their quarrel led to a wager by which the loser would become a slave of the winner for 500 years.

The horse was in fact pure white. Kadru knew it and didn want to lose the bet, she then ordered her Naga sons to assume the shape of horse hairs black in color and stick themselves alternating the real hairs to make the horse appear grey. The innocent Vinata lost the bet and became Kadru slave and was kept in custody underworld among the Naga population.

Garuda found this out later from his mother about the cunning trick. He made up his mind to free his mother. Garuda negotiated with Nagas by bringing them the Amarita (elixir of immortality) in exchange for his mother freedom.

He fought a troop of gods led by God Indra. But Garuda too powerful, even the lighting bolt, the most powerful weapon of Lord Indra, was broken. Garuda eventaully obtained the elixir of immortal. The fight intervened by the great God Vishnu (Narayana). The two are very powerful and no one can defeat another. The two then came to terms. Lord Vishnu gave Garuda a boon which made Garuda immortal, and promised him a higher seat than his own. In turn, Garuda agreed to become the vehicle of Vishnu. Garuda planned a trick by asking Lord Vishnu to follow him secretly and take away the elixir after Nagas have released his mother.

It the boon which Garuda obtained from Lord Indra (Some legends said from Lord Vishnu) that makes Nagas the natural food of Garuda. Generally, Garuda catches a Naga by holding the Naga with his talons and beak by Naga tail then split open the belly, eat only the fat and drop the body back to the sea.

泰国国徽

泰国国徽是一个极富宗教神秘色彩的图腾图案。深红色的大鹏鸟，鸟背上蹲坐着那莱王，是泰国民间传说中鹰面人身的神灵，它头顶金色宝塔，裸露的颈部、手臂和手腕都戴着光彩夺目的金色饰品，两臂弯向头部，手指内侧，偏偏起舞，构成泰国民间舞蹈舞姿的典型造型，展现出浓郁的泰国民族特色。大鹏身披深红色双翼和尾巴，戴着金色的盔甲，两只利爪雄健有力，令人顿生虔诚和敬意。
象征
　　泰国的国家和皇室标示叫做"Garuda"（伽楼罗，揭路荼），这是一个神话式的半人半鸟的形象，据传说是印度教主神之一毗瑟挐（Vishnu）的坐骑，用以装饰普密蓬•阿杜德国王的节杖和皇室旗帜。在泰国的许多政府机构部门都将揭路荼运用到他们的徽章上。此外，Garuda还象征着“受皇室任命、指派”的意思，对于那些获得杰出经济成就或在慈善事业显著的公司机构，此标志表示是受皇室正式批准的。但颁发这样的标志的情况是很少的，这将被视为一种崇高的荣誉。
迦楼罗
按照《迦楼罗及诸天密言经》的说法，就是中国的金翅大鹏鸟或大鹏金翅鸟，是印度教和佛教典籍中记载的一种神鸟。

迦楼罗人面鸟身形，其身肚脐以上如天王形。只有嘴如鹰喙，绿色，面呈忿怒形，露牙齿，肚脐以下也是鹰的形象。头戴尖顶宝冠，双发披肩，身披璎珞天衣，手戴环钏，通身金色。身后两翅红色，向外展开，其尾下垂，散开。泰国国徽上的迦楼罗就是此形象。

迦楼罗是古代世界性的巨鸟崇拜在印度地区的体现，如古埃及的长生鸟、起于两河流域而后流传于西方世界的狮鹫（半狮鹫、格里芬）、古希腊的福尼克斯（凤凰、火鸟）、阿拉伯的Roc（大鹏、神雕、神鹰）、中国的大鹏、凤凰、印第安人的雷鸟等等。

　　从迦楼罗临死全身遭火焚的特点来看，其与埃及的长生鸟应该有着更为紧密的联系，由于印度当地多毒蛇，人们又为其加上了捕食毒蛇的能力，作为崇拜的对象。

　　迦楼罗崇拜随着印度教和佛教的传播，在东亚、东南亚和南亚地区，都有很大的影响。人们把迦楼罗当作力量的象征崇拜。印尼的Garuda航空也以它为标志。

　　在中国，迦楼罗结合了古代传说中的大鹏形象，成为了佛祖的坐骑之一，在西游记中也有出场。据传说，名将岳飞，就是金翅大鹏鸟转世。　

大鹏金翅鸟迦楼罗,也被译揭路荼,音译自梵文的GARUDA,现代发音为嘎茹达. 传说之中人头鸟身的神鸟,有时候也绘为鸟头人身.他是维湿奴神的坐骑,鸟中之王.

大鹏金翅鸟的故事在<<摩诃婆罗多>>和诸多<<往世书>>中都有提到.他是迦叶大仙(KASYAPA)和维妮塔(VINITA)的儿子.维妮塔一日生下一个蛋,出生之后就是大鹏金翅鸟.他一出生就长的非常巨大,翅膀可以大的遮天,眼睛的光芒如同闪电,他一振动翅膀连山都要振动.

金翅鸟也有一个名字叫毗那夜迦(VINAYAKA)和象头神同一个名字.因为人们认为他也可以移走一切的障碍.金翅鸟受到印度人的崇拜,来源于他可以吃掉毒蛇.因为他的母亲维妮塔和天蛇的母亲卡杜(KADRU)结有很大冤仇,所以他到处寻找毒蛇来吃掉.(UDAAR注:天蛇,梵文NAGA,发音为那嘎.传说中的毒蛇,通常非常巨大,有无数的头.这个词传到中国的时候,被佛教徒译为了龙.也就是天龙八部中的龙部.所以佛教徒都以为金翅鸟是吃的龙,实际不是如此.很明显的是这个无爪又施毒的蛇形东物和中国的五爪龙是完全不同的概念.龙树菩萨,梵文NAGARJUNA,照理也应该译成蛇树才对.我们可以看到西藏唐卡所绘的龙树菩萨都是以七头巨蛇作为标识,而不是用的中国的龙).

金翅鸟的巨大能力引起了天界的恐慌,给他自己也带了危险.有一次他张开翅膀把月亮都遮住了.雷神因陀罗决定和他开战,结果天界的诸天都被金翅鸟打败了.但是金翅鸟却败在了维湿奴大神的手下,于是他温顺的成为维湿努神的坐骑.而金翅鸟的哥哥乌茹德(URUD),也被称为阿茹那(ARUNA)则是太阳神的御驾师.而金翅鸟的儿子佳塔由（Jatayu)在维湿奴神化现为罗摩的时候，为了保护悉塔女神而死于罗婆那的毒手，罗摩神亲手为他举行了火葬仪式．

还有传说,金翅鸟曾在天界盗取不死甘露去赎去自己被千头天蛇之母卡杜所绑架的母亲.但是被因陀罗发现了.他们发生了激烈的争斗,最后甘露是被夺回去了,但是因陀罗的雷电金刚杵却被打的粉碎.可见金翅鸟的威力之大.

印度是一个很多毒蛇的热带国家,印度人民经常受到毒蛇的袭击.而金翅鸟是毒蛇的克星,所以人们经常念颂金翅鸟的咒语来防范毒蛇的袭击.但是金翅鸟的神像并不单独供奉,他通常在维湿奴的寺庙里,和大神一起接受人间的供奉.

由于金翅鸟的强大保护作用,佛教也将他作为天龙八部之一供奉,并且比丘每日都会用米饭喂养金翅鸟以免其吞食蛇类，不同的是佛教认为世间上有很大鹏鸟，而印度教只相信有一个宇宙里只有一位大鹏鸟.而在泰国,金翅鸟是作为泰国皇家的象征，到处可见其像．而藏传佛教中更流传着世间大鹏鸟，化身大鹏鸟，智慧大鹏鸟等不同分法，智慧大鹏鸟更是作为出世间的菩萨受到信徒的供奉，当然无论哪种金翅鸟，都与它能降伏龙病（蛇）的原型分不开的，据说是莲花生未曾调伏龙（蛇）的心，导致藏地会有龙病不断因此才传下了许多金翅鸟的修法．

龍波醒2522大鵬金翅鳥-鷹神(Garuda)
在泰國有幾位大師制作大鵬金翅鳥(鷹神)很出名的,一位是龍波屈哪,另一位是龍波包,而最有名的應該算是屈班那(Wat Bangna )的龍波醒了。上圖是大師在佛曆2522年制作的第一期大鵬金翅鳥,材質有黃金(聽說但未遇見過)、純銀、那瓦和銅質四種,而上圖這面是純銀制造的。泰國人相信佩戴大鵬金翅鳥能辟邪擋險、令人信服和增加權力與威望,而泰國各大政府機構也用大鵬金翅鳥作為徽章,可想而知大鵬金翅鳥在泰國人民心目中的地位。大師在佛曆2531年圓寂,所以現在市場上很少見到這面大鵬金翅鳥,去年曾在一牌店見到一面銅質的,但純銀制做的還沒在牌店見到過。這面也是拜託泰國友人找回來的,因我對大鵬金翅鳥有一種莫名其妙的鐘愛。