Deutscher and Hackett

The first part of the epic Mahabharata is known as the Adiparwa and contains stories about the origins of the world and the great kings of the mythological past. This painting depicts the story of the mystical bird Garuda,who hatched from an egg laid by his mother Winata. Upon crawling from the egg the massive bird was immediately hungry and his mother sent him to ask his father, the sage Kasyapa, to feed him. Garuda can be seen eating the serpents (naga) who are the sons of Winata's sister Kadru, going to the ocean and devouring the evil race of people living there. He also appears with the elephant and the tortoise after Kasyapa has told the hungry Garuda that if he eats the elephant and tortoise from a lake he will be strong enough to obtain the water of immortality (amerta) from the gods.