The Story of Garudeshwar: Garuda’s Shivling in Kashi

Kadru and Vinata were both daughters of Daksha and wives of Kashyapa. Kadru became the mother of the serpents. Vinata became the mother of Garuda.

One day, at play, Kadru asked Vinata a question. What color is Uchchaihshravas, the horse of the Sun’s chariot? Kadru proposed a wager. Whoever lost would become the other’s slave.

Vinata said the horse was white. Kadru said it was variegated.

Kadru then ordered her serpent sons to darken the horse. They refused, so she cursed them to become prey for Garuda. Some fled to the nether worlds. A few obeyed her, climbed onto the horse, and stained it dark with their poisonous breath.

The day of the wager arrived, and the two sisters set out to see the horse for themselves. Kadru climbed onto Vinata’s back, and Vinata carried her up into the sky toward the Sun.

Kadru’s sons had already darkened the horse with their poisonous breath. But as they rose higher, the Sun’s heat grew fierce, and Kadru began to burn. She panicked. She begged Vinata to go slowly, then to turn away from the Sun’s path altogether. Then she fainted, clutching Vinata’s wings.

When she cried out, she meant to say that a firebrand was about to fall. In her confusion, the word that came out was “Khakholka.” Vinata took it as a name for the Sun and praised him by it.

The Sun moved on and cooled a little. In that dimmer light, the horse looked dark, just as Kadru had claimed. Vinata saw it and told Kadru she had won. She added that fate rules over victory and defeat, and that sometimes the cruel win and the gentle lose.

They reached Kadru’s home, and Vinata became her slave.

How did Garuda free his mother from slavery?

Garuda found her weeping and asked what had happened. She told him everything. He told her to ask Kadru’s sons what price would free her.

The serpents named the price: the nectar of immortality.

Garuda went after it. He blinded the sky with dust from his wings and scattered the gods and their weapons. At the vault he found a blade-lined wheel spinning faster than thought. He shrank to a thousandth of an atom and slipped through it. Before that, he prayed. His effort was for his mother, he said, not for himself, and Shiva knew it.

Vishnu fought him for sixty-four ghatikas (ghatika is a astrological day-and-night cycle). Garuda held his own, and Vishnu offered him a boon. Garuda laughed and offered one back. Vishnu asked him to be his vehicle, and to show the serpents the nectar without letting them drink it.

Garuda placed the pot on kusha grass and told the serpents to bathe first. While they bathed, Vishnu took the nectar back. The serpents licked the grass and split their tongues. Vinata was free.

Why did Vinata want to go to Kashi after she was freed?

Freedom did not settle it for her. She told Garuda she wanted to go to Kashi to wash away the sin of slavery. She spoke of Kashi at length. Sins pile up across many births, she said, but they shrink when Kashi is held in the heart. Where Vishnu’s name for Shiva, Vishweshwar, is directly present, he carries devotees across by the Taraka mantra.

Garuda bowed and said he would come too. They reached Varanasi at once.

How did Garuda install the Garudeshwar Shivling?

Mother and son both performed severe austerities. Garuda installed a Shivling. Vinata installed the Sun as Khakholka Aditya, named for the word Kadru gasped in the sky.

What did Shiva promise Garuda at Kashi?

Shiva emerged from the Shivling Garuda had installed. He called Garuda his devotee and promised him knowledge, including secrets unknown even to the gods. He named the Shivling Garudeshwar. Anyone who sees, touches and worships it receives perfect knowledge.

Then he added one more thing. Garuda should not see him and Vishnu as different. As Vishnu’s vehicle, Garuda would be worthy of worship himself. Shiva vanished. Garuda went to Vishnu.

Vinata’s blessing came from the other shrine. Khakholka Aditya saw her at her penance and granted her the destruction of sins and the knowledge of Shiva. He stayed in Kashi and is also called Vinataditya.

Where is Garudeshwar in Varanasi?

Garudeshwar is in the Jangambadi area of Teliana, beside Purana Durga Badi. Khakholka Aditya is now housed in the Kameshwar temple. 

How does the Skanda Purana version differ from the Mahabharata?

The Mahabharata ties the wager to the tail of Uchchaihshravas and has serpents cling to it. The Skanda Purana covers the whole horse and adds the Khakholka naming. In the Mahabharata, Vishnu’s boon makes Garuda deathless without the nectar and gives him a place above Vishnu, on his banner. The Kashi Khanda records the vahana request but not the banner. It also adds the Kashi pilgrimage, which the Mahabharata does not have.

FAQ

Who installed the Garudeshwar Shivling?
Garuda, the son of Kashyapa and Vinata, installed it at Kashi after freeing his mother from slavery.

Which Purana mentions Garudeshwar?
The Skanda Purana, Kashi Khanda, Purvardha, Chapter 50.

Why did Garuda go to Kashi?
His mother Vinata wanted to go to Kashi to wash away the sin of slavery. Garuda took her.

What is the benefit of worshipping Garudeshwar?
In the text, Shiva promises that seeing, touching and worshipping the Shivling bestows perfect knowledge.

Did Shiva make Garuda Vishnu’s vehicle?
No. In the Kashi Khanda, Vishnu asks for this earlier, during their fight over the nectar. Shiva confirms it at Kashi and says that Garuda will be worthy of worship in that role.

Who is Khakholka Aditya?
A Sun deity in Kashi. Vinata installed him, and he is named for the word Kadru gasped in the heat of the sky. He is also called Vinataditya.