Garuda

The Hindu mythical winged bird demigod whose name means “wings of speech” has the body of a man and the head of a falcon or eagle. In the Hindu tradition it symbolizes Vedic knowledge and the mind. When Garuda is portrayed with Vishnu on a serpent bed, it represents balance and harmony, a significant aspect of Vishnu. Familiar to Hindus, Buddhists and Jainism, Garuda is the mount (vahana) of Vishnu; and appears in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and symbolizes the virtue of knowledge, bravery and discipline, Vedic knowledge and the mind.

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  • Antique Hindu Garuda Prayer Bell, India (9545XLC) $295

    $295.00
    H: 10”  Dia: 3.75” | FREE SHIPPING within Continental U.S.!

    This Hindu prayer bell was likely placed on a home or temple altar and used in daily puja rituals. It has a smooth and undecorated body with only incised parallel rings circling plain surfaces and is topped by a Garuda pair sheltered by Naga hoods. Garuda, Vishnu’s mythical winged bird  mount, and Naga, a seven-headed hooded serpent, are natural enemies but when they are represented together, they symbolizes  peace, a very appropriate adornment for the tranquility and serenity elicited by the pleasing sounds of a prayer bell.

    Martin Lerner and Steven Kossak, The Lotus Transcendent: Indian and Southeast Asian Art from the Samuel Eilenberg Collection, New York, Harry Abrams, 1991.

     

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