When snakes were unleashed against Vaishnavite Acharya Vedanta Desika by a snake charmer, the Acharya chanted the Garuda mantra. Garuda captured the snakes and took them all away. So now the snake charmer was left without any snakes, for snakes constituted his livelihood. Desika then requested Garuda to return the snakes to the man. He then composed Garuda Dandakam, to express his gratitude to Garuda, for the latter’s timely help.
Those who are bound in samsara are called baddhas. Muktas are those who have got moksha due to Saranagati or through one of the three yogas which Lord Krishna talks about in the Bhagavad Gita. Nityas are those who are never bound by karma. They do appear from time to time on this earth, but it is of their own free will and never due to karma. Garuda belongs to this category of Nityas, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi in a discourse.
Garuda is the perfect example of a devoted son. His mother was enslaved by Kadru, and the only way to liberate her was for him to fetch nectar. But this was not a task that could be easily accomplished, for the pot was well-guarded by Indra. But Garuda brought the nectar, breaking down the hurdles in his path. In his Garuda Panchasat, Desika shows the respect Garuda commanded from everyone.
Desika says that Surya was afraid that Garuda would destroy the harness of the horses that drew his chariot. His fear was justified, because snakes were the harness! However, since Aruna was Surya’s charioteer, his fear was diminished a little, because Aruna was Garuda’s brother. Lord Siva was afraid that the string of his bow would be destroyed, for the snake Vasuki was the string! Lord Narayana Himself asked Garuda not to get close to Adisesha — His serpent bed!
