Chapter 112

“Galava said, ‘O Garuda, O slayer of foremost snakes, O thou of beautifulfeathers, O son of Vinata, carry me, O Tarkhya, to the east where the twoeyes of Dharma are first opened. O, take me to the east which thou hastfirst described, and whither, thou hast said, the gods are alwayspresent. Thou hast said that thither both truth and virtue reside. Idesire to meet all the gods. Therefore, O younger brother of Aruna, takeme thither, so that I may behold the gods.’

“Narada continued, ‘Thus addressed, the son of Vinata replied unto thatBrahmana saying, ‘Mount thou on my back.’ And thereupon, the Muni Galavarode on the back of Garuda. And Galava said, ‘Thy beauty, O devourer ofsnakes, as thou proceedest, seemeth to be like that of the sun himself inthe morning, that maker of the day endued with a thousand rays. And, Oranger of the skies, thy speed is so great that the very trees, broken bythe storm caused by the flapping of thy wings, seem to pursue thee in thecourse. Thou seemest, O tenant of the welkin, to drag by the storm causedby the wings, the very Earth with all the waters of her oceans, and withall her mountains, woods and forests. Indeed, the tempest caused by themotion of thy wings seems to continually raise into mid air the waters ofthe sea, with all their fishes and snakes and crocodiles. I see fishespossessed of similar faces, and Timis and Timingilas and snakes enduedwith human faces, all crushed by the tempest raised by thy wings. My earsare deafened by the roar of the deep. So stunned am I that I can neitherhear nor see anything. Indeed, I have forgotten my own purpose. Slackenthy speed, O ranger of the sky, remembering the risk to a Brahmana’slife. O sire, neither the sun, nor the cardinal points, nor the welkinitself, is any longer perceptible to me. I see only a thick gloom aroundme. The body is no longer visible to me. I see only thy two eyes, Ooviparous being, resembling two radiant gems. I cannot see either thybody or my own. At every step, I behold sparks of fire emitted from thyframe. Stop without delay these sparks of fire and extinguish thedazzling radiance of thy eyes. O son of Vinata, slacken this exceedingspeed of thy course. O devourer of snakes, I have no business to go withthee. Desist, O blessed one, I am unable to bear this speed of thine. Ihave promised to give my preceptor eight hundred white steeds of lunareffulgence, each having one ear black in hue. I see no way, O oviparousbeing, of fulfilling my pledge. There is but one way that I can see, andthat is to lay down my own life. I have no wealth of my own, nor anywealthy friend, nor can wealth, however immense, procure theaccomplishment of my object.’

“Narada continued, ‘Unto Galava uttering these and many other words ofentreaty and sorrow, the son of Vinata, without slackening his speed,laughingly replied, saying, ‘Thou hast little wisdom, O regenerate Rishi,since thou wishest to put an end to thy own life. Death can never bebrought about by one’s effort. Indeed, Death is God himself. Why didstthou not, before this, inform me of thy purpose? There are excellentmeans by which all this may be accomplished. Here is this mountain calledRishabha on the seaside. Resting here for some time and refreshingourselves with food, I will, O Galava, return.'”