Neev: Welcome back to Mythical Masala. Three times this season, a giant eagle has swooped into our stories. He carried a whole mountain to the sea for the churning of the ocean. He flew Vishnu down to rescue Gajendra the elephant faster than thought.

Co-host: And every single time you said, "We'll meet him properly later."

Neev: It's later. Today is Garuda's story, where he came from, how he became the one Vishnu rides, and why eagles and snakes have never, ever been friends.

Co-host: I've been waiting. Hey, I have snacks too.

Neev: Then let's go. It starts with a wise man, two wishes, and some eggs.

Co-host: Eggs? Not where I expected a superhero story to start, but okay.

Neev: Remember the great sage Kashyap from the Bali episode? Two of his wives were the mothers of the gods and the demons.

Co-host: The dad with the complicated family.

Neev: More complicated than that. Kashyap had 13 wives.

Co-host: 13? How does anyone remember 13 birthdays? And think about the number of presents he'd have to buy.

Neev: Two of them were sisters, Kadru and Vinata, and Kashyap was especially fond of these two. One day, he was in a wonderful mood, and he said to them, "You both make me very happy. Ask me for anything you wish."

Co-host: Uh-oh. Two sisters, one wish each. I think this is going to turn into a competition.

Neev: Kadru went first.

Co-host (as Kadru): "I want 1,000 sons."

Co-host: A thousand? That's not a family, that's a stadium.

Neev: Then Vinata. And Vinata said...

Co-host (as Vinata): "I only want two sons, but they should be stronger and braver than all of her 1,000 put together."

Co-host: Oof, that's not a wish either. That's a challenge.

Neev: Kashyap smiled and promised both wishes would come true. And then, being a sage, he wandered off into the forest to meditate for a very long time.

Co-host: Classic. Grants some wishes, competing ones in this case, and then leaves the house.

Neev: Sometime later, Kadru laid 1,000 eggs and Vinata laid two.

Co-host: Eggs. Humans don't lay eggs, but I guess this is a mythology story, so who knows? So 1,000 against two, huh? Not a fair fight.

Neev: Wait and see. Now, eggs like these don't hatch in a week. They take years. And one day, Kadru's eggs cracked open and out wriggled a thousand baby snakes. Shiny, black, hissing baby cobras.

Co-host: A thousand baby cobras? Um, that would be my worst nightmare.

Neev: Kadru thought they were gorgeous. She called her sister over.

Co-host (as Kadru): "Look at my beautiful boys."

Co-host: The proud mom photo dump is coming, times a thousand.

Neev: And Vinata looked at her own two eggs, still sitting there, still whole, nothing happening. She waited and waited, and then she couldn't wait any longer. She picked up one egg and cracked it open early.

Co-host: Oh, no, Vinata, you never open the oven while the cake is baking.

Neev: Inside was a boy glowing like the first light of morning, but only the top half of him had formed. His legs hadn't grown yet. He looked up at his mother, hurt, and said, "You were in a hurry, and now I'm incomplete. Because of this, you'll spend years as a servant to the very woman you are trying to beat."

Co-host: Wow, a newborn said that?

Neev: Vinata was heartbroken. She asked him...

Co-host (as Vinata): "Is there any way to make this right?"

Neev: And his voice softened. "Do not break the second egg. Be patient. The son inside it will set you free." And then he rose up into the sky.

Co-host: Where does a half-finished baby even go?

Neev: All the way to the sun. His name was Aruna, and he became the charioteer of Surya, the sun god. Every day, he drives the sun's chariot across the sky. He sits right at the front, so he arrives first.

Co-host: So now we are still waiting for the second egg to crack.

Neev: This time Vinata waited for years, and one day, the second egg began to tremble. It split open and out burst a bird so bright, so blazing, that the whole sky lit up like a forest on fire. He grew in moments, his wings stretching wider than hills. His feathers shone gold. His eyes flashed like lightning. And up in heaven, the gods actually panicked. They thought the world was ending.

Co-host: Imagine being the gods and thinking, is that a volcano? A comet? Nope. It's just a newborn.

Neev: They rushed to him and praised him and asked very politely, "Could you please turn the brightness down a little?" And the young bird, who had a good heart, dimmed his glow so he wouldn't frighten anyone. That bird was Garuda.

One evening, the two sisters were walking along the seashore, and far out on the sand, they spotted a horse. Not just any horse. A dazzling, pure white horse, fast as the wind.

Co-host: Hold on. Pure white, fast as the wind. Is this the horse from the churning of the ocean?

Neev: The very same. Back in episode two, when the gods and demons churned the ocean, a magnificent white horse came galloping out of the milky sea. His name is Uchchaihshravas.

Co-host: Uchchaihshravas. That's a lot of names for one horse.

Neev: Kadru pointed at him and asked...

Co-host (as Kadru): "Sister, what color is that horse?"

Co-host: Weird question. It's white. It's absolutely white.

Neev: That's what Vinata said. "White, all of him, nose to tail." And Kadru said...

Co-host (as Kadru): "Really? I think his tail is black. Want to bet?"

Co-host: Uh-oh. When someone wants to bet on something that obvious, you gotta run.

Neev: And the stakes were huge. Whoever lost would become the other one's servant.

Co-host: So not a cookie, not a dollar. Your whole life.

Neev: It was getting dark, so they agreed to come back in the morning and take a close look. And that night, Kadru gathered her thousand snake sons.

Co-host: I don't like where this is going.

Neev: She said...

Co-host (as Kadru): "Go to the horse. Wrap yourselves around his tail. Hang on so thick, so tight that it looks black."

Co-host: Hey, that's not winning a bet, that's rigging it.

Neev: Completely rigged. In the morning, the sisters walked back to the beach. Vinata looked at the horse, and its tail was black. Dark, and strangely wriggly.

Co-host: Wriggly. Vinata, look closer. The tail is hissing.

Neev: From far away, it just looked black. Vinata couldn't believe it. She had seen that tail white with her own eyes the day before. But Kadru just said...

Co-host (as Kadru): "A bet is a bet. From today you are my servant."

Neev: And just like that, Aruna's word came true. Vinata became a servant to her own sister.

Co-host: Cheated out of her freedom. What a tale, with a tail made of snakes.

Neev: And Garuda, growing bigger and stronger every day, had to serve too. Kadru's sons would order him around. "Fly usss to the island. Now fly usss back. Now take usss somewhere else." So the mightiest bird in the world had to carry a thousand bossy snake cousins on his back.

Co-host: Hey, the strongest bird in the universe is driving a snake school bus.

Neev: And every day, he watched his mother working, tired and sad. Finally, he asked her, "Mother, why do we have to obey them?" And Vinata told him everything. The horse, the bet, the trick.

Co-host: And now he knows. I'm guessing he doesn't just shrug.

Neev: He didn't shout. He didn't start a fight. He went to Kadru and asked one question: "What can I bring you that will set my mother free?" And Kadru smiled, because she was sure she was asking for the impossible.

Co-host (as Kadru): "Bring my sons the amrita."

Co-host: Amrita, the nectar of immortality, the same pot from the churning of the ocean.

Neev: Yes, the very same pot Mohini served to the gods. One sip and you live forever. And it was locked away in heaven, guarded by Indra, the king of the gods, and every warrior he had.

Co-host: Hold on. In episode two, Garuda carried the mountain for the churning, but the churning's already over, and he's just a kid. How does that work?

Neev: Depends on which old book you ask. The Bhagavata Purana says Garuda carried the mountain. The Mahabharata says a giant serpent pulled it up, and Garuda wasn't there at all. Stories this old come in versions.

Co-host: So the mountain maybe had two delivery guys and nobody really knows which one really did it? Okay, got it.

Neev: Anyway, the snakes wanted to live forever.

Co-host: A thousand immortal cobras. What could possibly go wrong?

Neev: Garuda didn't even blink. "I'll bring it." First, Garuda needed directions. His mother said...

Co-host (as Vinata): "Ask your father. He knows everything."

Co-host: Ask your dad. Uh, the dad who's been meditating in the forest since before you hatched.

Neev: Garuda found Kashyap sitting in his mountain retreat, and the sage was overjoyed to finally meet his son. Garuda explained everything, and Kashyap told him where the amrita was kept, and how hard it would be even to get close.

Co-host: Okay. So basically he is like, sure son. Good luck with your Mission Impossible.

Neev: Up in heaven, the gods could feel him coming. The ground trembled. Strange winds blew. Indra called all his guards. "Surround the amrita. Nobody gets near it."

Co-host: Biggest security team in the universe for one pot.

Neev: And then Garuda arrived. The gods formed a wall around the pot, and Garuda beat his wings once, just once. It whipped up a storm of dust so thick the gods couldn't see their own hands. They were coughing, stumbling, bumping into each other. Two guards charged at him and Garuda swept them aside like dry leaves. They landed in a daze.

Co-host: One flap and he's knocked out the entire security team.

Neev: But the amrita had one more guard. Around the pot spun a wheel, a giant ring of razor-sharp blades whirling so fast it was just a blur. Anything that touched it would be cut to pieces.

Co-host: A giant spinning fan of blades in heaven? Hey, somebody should really report on that.

Neev: Garuda studied it, and then he did something clever. He made himself small, smaller and smaller until he was tiny. He waited for the exact gap between two spinning blades and slipped straight through.

Co-host: Like jumping into double dutch at recess. It's all about timing.

Neev: There it was, the pot of amrita. Garuda grabbed it in his claws, grew back to full size, and burst out of heaven. He was holding immortality in his claws. One sip and he would live forever. Nobody was stopping him.

Co-host: Did he take a sip? I would have taken a sip. Maybe two.

Neev: Not one drop. It wasn't for him, it was for his mother. And someone had been watching. Vishnu.

Co-host: Of course, he never misses anything.

Neev: Vishnu appeared right in Garuda's path and said, "You carried immortality in your claws. You could have kept it. You didn't take one sip. All of it for your mother."

Co-host: Wait, that's what impressed him? Not the flying, not the size, not becoming a tiny thing and getting past the blades?

Neev: Vishnu gave him two gifts. First, he made Garuda immortal. No amrita needed. And second, he said, "You will always have a place above me." Garuda asked, "How can anyone be above you?" And Vishnu smiled. "On my flag. Your image will fly on my banner right over my head."

Co-host: Oh, that's clever. Everybody wins.

Neev: Then Garuda said, "You've given me so much. What can I give you?" And Vishnu said, "Be my companion. Carry me wherever I need to go." And Garuda bowed his head and said, "Yes."

Co-host: So that's how he became Vishnu's ride.

Neev: But first, he still had a pot to deliver, and someone else was racing after him. Indra himself, the king of the gods, riding the storm, raised his mightiest weapon, the vajra, the thunderbolt, strong enough to crush mountains into powder. And he sent it flying straight at Garuda.

Co-host: This is it, Garuda versus the thunderbolt.

Neev: It struck him and... nothing. Garuda kept flying, not a scratch. But he turned and he said, "Your thunderbolt is a great and holy weapon, and I respect it, so I'll give it one of my feathers." And he let a single feather drift down.

Co-host: Sounds like he gave the thunderbolt a participation trophy.

Neev: Kind of. But that feather was so beautiful that everyone who saw it was amazed. That's why Garuda has another name, Suparna, the one with beautiful feathers.

Co-host: Okay, that's a flex.

Neev: And Indra realized something. You can't beat this bird, so maybe you shouldn't try. He called out, "Garuda, you are the mightiest being I have ever faced. Let's be friends instead."

Co-host: If you can't beat them, join them. The king of the gods just offered a truce to a teenager.

Neev: Garuda agreed. And Indra asked, "Why do you even want the amrita? You haven't drunk a drop." So Garuda told him everything. His mother, the bet, the snakes. And Indra said, "If 1,000 snakes become immortal, there will be trouble forever. Let's make a plan."

Co-host: Oh, that sounds more like Indra.

Neev: Garuda said, "I promised to deliver the amrita, and I will, but I never promised they'd get to drink it. Once I set it down, you can take it back."

Co-host: Ooh. Hey, snakes, you gotta read the fine print.

Neev: Indra loved it, and he asked, "What would you like in return?" And Garuda said, "Those snakes tricked my mother and made her life miserable. From now on, let them be my food."

Co-host: So that's where the eagle versus snake thing starts?

Neev: Indra agreed, and from that day on, eagles and snakes have been enemies. Garuda flew back down to Kadru and her thousand sons, and he set the pot of amrita down on a bed of kusha grass.

Co-host: Kusha grass? What's that?

Neev: A tall, sacred grass with very sharp edges. Keep it in mind. Garuda said, "Here it is, the amrita, as promised. Now set my mother free." And Kadru had no way out. "A deal is a deal," she said.

Co-host (as Kadru): "Vinata, you are free."

Neev: And Vinata, after all those years as a servant, walked out with her head held high beside the son who kept his promise.

Co-host: The egg she didn't break. Aruna was right.

Neev: Then Garuda said one more thing to the snakes. "Before you drink something this holy, you should really wash up. Go have a bath first."

Co-host: Hey, it's like the wash your hands before dinner move.

Neev: The snakes thought that sounded reasonable, so all thousand of them slithered off to bathe. And the moment they were gone, Indra swooped down, scooped up the pot, and carried it back to heaven.

Co-host: Oh, this is so satisfying. The tricksters got tricked.

Neev: The snakes came back, all clean and shiny and ready for immortality, and... no pot. Just a patch of kusha grass where it used to be. So they did the only thing they could think of. They licked the grass, hoping a drop had spilled.

Co-host: The grass with the very sharp edges? Oh, no.

Neev: The sharp blades split their tongues right down the middle, and that, the story goes, is why snakes have forked tongues.

Co-host: Ah, so every snake flicking its tongue at the zoo is remembering the day they got outsmarted.

Neev: And the kusha grass? It had touched the pot of amrita, so it became holy. Even today, kusha grass is used in pujas, sometimes twisted into a little ring and worn on the finger during prayers.

And Garuda? He flew off to join Vishnu, just as he'd promised. That's why when you visit a Vishnu temple today, you'll often find a statue of Garuda near the entrance, hands folded, facing the shrine, waiting, ready to fly the moment he's needed.

And that's the story of Garuda. Next time, we're keeping a promise from our first episode. Vishnu dives into the ocean to bring back the Earth, as a... You know what? I'll let you try to figure it out.

Thanks for listening to Mythical Masala. See you next time.