With mighty, surging waves aglow with flames rising from the netherworld, an ocean deep and wide lay before them, shining like the open sky and roaring with power. Swiftly, Vinatā and Kadrū approached the shore, their hearts set on the outcome of their wager. Together, the two sisters crossed that formidable ocean, moving with astonishing speed. Kadrū, eager and determined, descended swiftly near the divine horse, while Vinatā followed, anxious and uncertain. There before them stood Uccaiḥśravas, the best of horses—swift as the wind, radiant like the rays of the moon, his two manes dark as time itself. As they examined the horse, Kadrū pointed out the many black hairs at the root of its tail. With this, she made Vinatā despondent, for the wager was lost. Bound by her own words, Vinatā entered into servitude to her sister, her heart heavy with sorrow. Meanwhile, when the destined time arrived, a great event took place. From the egg that had long been awaited, Garuḍa, resplendent and powerful, burst forth. He emerged on his own, without the aid of his mother, his strength and energy illuminating all directions. Garuḍa, the bird of immense might, could assume any form, travel anywhere, and act as he willed. He shone like a mass of blazing fire, fearsome to behold, his eyes flashing like lightning, his radiance rivaling the fire that appears at the end of an age. Suddenly grown to enormous size, Garuḍa soared into the sky with a terrible, thunderous roar, fierce and awe-inspiring, like another submarine fire rising from the ocean’s depths. At the sight of this mighty being, all the gods were seized with fear. They rushed to Agni, the fire god, and bowed before him, addressing him in his universal form: “O Agni, do not blaze forth further! Surely you do not wish to burn us all? That great mass of energy, fully kindled, seems to rush forth from you.” Agni replied, “It is not as you think, O destroyers of Asuras. This is Garuḍa, powerful and equal to me in energy. Born with supreme brilliance, the joy of Vinatā, he has appeared, and upon seeing this mass of energy, confusion has overtaken you all. He is the destroyer of serpents, the mighty son of Kaśyapa, devoted to the welfare of the gods and the destruction of Daityas and Rākṣasas. There is no need for fear here; behold him together with me.” The gods and sages, realizing Garuḍa’s greatness, praised him: “You are a sage, greatly fortunate, a god, the lord of birds. You are the illuminator, the sun, the supreme creator, the progenitor; you are Indra, lord of horses, Śarva, master of the world. You are the face of the lotus-born, the priest; you are Agni and also the wind; you are the sustainer and arranger, Viṣṇu, best among the gods. You are great, unconquered, eternal, immortal; you are great fame and radiance, the desired one, our supreme protection. All that is yet to come and all that has arrived—you are the highest; all this, movable and immovable, shines by your rays as the sun by its beams. Repeatedly withdrawing the light from the luminous, you are the ender of all, both stable and unstable. Just as the enraged sun would burn the creatures, so you burn with the brilliance of fire; terrifying as the fire of dissolution, you bring about the end of the age. “We have come to you, lord of birds, for refuge—mighty, equal in brilliance to fire, radiant like lightning, dispelling darkness, moving among clouds, great in strength, Garuḍa who moves in the sky. You are the giver of boons, lord of both the distant and near, unconquerable in valor; by your energy all this is heated, O lord of the world, with the brilliance of refined gold. Protect all the gods, O great-souled one. Filled with fear, those who travel in the sky in flying vehicles go astray because of you; you are the son of the sage, compassionate lord, best of birds, Kaśyapa’s son. Do not be angry with us; show supreme compassion to the world. You are the lord; attain calm and protect us. With your thunderous, resounding voice, the directions, the sky, heaven, and earth tremble. O blessed one, be auspicious to us, bringer of happiness.” Thus praised by the gods and the hosts of sages, Suparṇa—Garuḍa—gently withdrew his blazing energy, restoring peace to the heavens. Soon after, Garuḍa, able to go wherever he wished and endowed with great strength, approached his mother Vinatā at the far shore of the great ocean. There he found her still afflicted by sorrow, bound to servitude because of her lost wager. One day, as Vinatā bowed before her mighty son, Kadrū summoned her. “O gentle one,” Kadrū commanded, “take me to the abode of the nāgas, delightful and beautiful, at the edge of the ocean’s depths.” Obedient to her sister, Vinatā, the mother of Suparṇa, carried Kadrū, the mother of serpents, as she requested. Garuḍa, prompted by his mother’s words, carried the serpents as well. As Garuḍa flew near the sun, the serpents were scorched by its blazing rays and became faint. Seeing her sons in distress, Kadrū prayed to Indra: “Salutation to you, Lord of all the gods; salutation to you, slayer of strong foes, destroyer of Namuci, thousand-eyed lord of Śacī. For the serpents scorched by the sun, become a raft with water. You alone are our supreme protector, O best of immortals; you are the lord, the mighty one, the creator, O Purandara. You are the cloud, the wind, the fire, and the lightning in the sky; you are the disperser of clouds, and you alone are called the great cloud. You are the unmatched, dreadful thunderbolt, resounding; you are the rain-bringer; you alone are the creator of worlds and the unconquered destroyer. You are the light of all beings, you are the sun, the blazing fire; you are the great and wondrous being, you are the king, you are the best of gods.” Thus, the tale of Garuḍa’s birth, his splendor, the gods’ awe, and the journey of Vinatā and Kadrū unfolded, woven with prayers, praises, and the eternal play of fate.