Feather And Fang – 5th December 2025

~ shaun tenzenmen

The Garuda flashes wings on high,
in the hunt for its eternal foe;
Born from a mother’s binding sigh,
from bitter chains of long ago.

Dazzled by the sun-god’s splintered light,
the Naga bows again, brought low;
One tastes the freedom earned in flight,
one tastes the curse its mothers sow.

In peaceful skies, the hunter prevails
and thus, in this unending chase;
matched by trembling serpent tails,
a cosmic balance finds its place.

Based on this tale:
According to Hindu and Buddhist stories, the giant birdlike Garuda spends all of eternity killing the snake-like Nagas. The feud started when the Garuda’s mother and the Nagas’ mother married the same husband. The husband granted each wife one wish. The Nagas’ mother asked for a thousand Naga sons. Garuda’s mother wished for just two children but that each child would be equal to 1,000 Naga sons. Their rivalry continued until Garuda’s mother lost a bet and became the servant and prisoner of the Nagas’ mother. The Garuda was able to free his mother by stealing the nectar of immortality from the gods. But he swore vengeance for his mother’s treatment and has been fighting Nagas ever since.
Shared with dVerse – Tuesday Poetics – creature feature

from thaizer.com

11 thoughts on “Feather And Fang – 5th December 2025”

  1. If this isn’t a parable against gambling, I don’t know what one is. I understand the thirst for revenge, but wasting your whole life seeking it seems a waste of it.

    Thanks for fleshing out the story of Garuda, Shaun.

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    1. Thanks Lisa 🙏

      Here’s a little bit of extra info:

      The Bet: One day, the sisters saw the divine white horse Uchchaihshravas, which emerged from the churning of the ocean. They argued over its color. Kadru claimed the horse had a black tail, while Vinata (Garuda’s mother) insisted it was purely white. They made a high-stakes wager: whoever lost would become the other’s slave.

      The Deceit: Knowing she was wrong, Kadru ordered her Naga children to cling to the horse’s tail, making it appear black from a distance. The Nagas obeyed their mother. When Vinata saw the seemingly black tail, she accepted defeat and, along with her future offspring, was enslaved by Kadru and the Nagas.

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