When Garuda defeated the celestials and took the pot of nectar, Lord Narayana asked Garuda what boon he craved. To this Garuda replied that he would grant a boon to the Lord! The Lord then asked him to be His vahana. Garuda then asked for his boon from the Lord. Garuda wished to always be above the Lord. The Lord said Garuda would be both His flag and His mount. Thus Garuda would have his wish and be above the Lord as His flag, and the Lord would have His wish and Garuda would be His mount. This was one of those rare occasions when someone offered to give the Lord a boon, said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse.
A similar incident is recorded in another instance. However, the occasion was not a joyous one, but a grim one. When Brahma became egoistic, the Lord caused two demons to emerge out of His ear wax. The demons acquired a boon from Durga that they could be killed only if they wished to die. The demons then stole the Vedas, and Brahma was humbled.
But the Vedas had to be restored to Brahma. So Lord Mahavishnu waged a war against the demons. The demons then asked Lord Vishnu if He wanted a boon from them. The Lord said that they should wish to die. They agreed, and the Lord expanded His thigh. He put the two demons on His thigh and squashed them to death. Thus, both in the case of Garuda and in the case of the demons, the Lord was requested by others for a boon. But the similarity ends there. While in the case of Garuda, the outcome was auspicious, in the case of the demons the outcome was the killing of the demons.
