CHAP. XI - THE WORSHIP OF BIRDS

Summary

SECT. I.—Gŭroorŭ

This god, with the head and wings of a bird, and the rest of his body like that of a man, is called the king of the birds, and the carrier of Vishnoo. Vinŭta, the wife of Kŭshyŭpŭ, the progenitor of gods and men, laid an egg, and became the mother of this bird-god. As soon as Gŭroorŭ was born, his body expanded till it touched the sky; all the other animals were terrified at him; his eyes were like lightning; the mountains fled with the wind of his wings, and the rays which issued from his body set the four quarters of the world on fire. The affrighted gods sought the help of Ŭgnee, conceiving that Gŭroorŭ must be an incarnation of the god of fire.

In consequence of a dispute betwixt Vinŭta, the mother of Gŭroorŭ, and Kŭdroo, the mother of the serpents, respecting the colour of the horse procured at the churning of the sea, a continual enmity has subsisted betwixt the descendants of these females; and Gŭroorŭ once obtained permission from one of the gods to devour all the serpents he could find.

The story of Gŭroorŭ's becoming the carrier of Vishnoo is thus related in the Mŭhabharŭtŭ:—His mother in the above dispute having laid a wager, and being the loser, was reduced to a state of servitude to her sister; and the serpents, wishing to become immortal, promised to liberate his mother on condition that Gŭroorŭ should bring Chŭndrŭ, (the moon;) whose bright parts, the Hindoos say, are filled with the water of immortality.