Lord Garuda is the vahana (the mount) of Lord Vishnu.
He is honoured and worshipped as a powerful deity, saviour to Gajendra the devotee elephant, and known as a destroyer of deadly serpents. We are honoured to have him take his place in our temple, next to Lord Hanuman.
The sacred murthi was recently commissioned by Mohanji who came to assist with the consecration. Celebrations began with a yagam fire ceremony at the samadhi of Guru Sri Subramanium.
All of the major murthis (statues) at Skanda Vale have been consecrated using a yagam ceremony. Before the yagam, special containers of water are connected to the fire pit with silver threads.
The energy produced by the fire, the offering of sacred ingredients, the single-pointed focus of the chanting and the collective devotion is transmitted to the water via these threads. The containers were then taken in procession to the Sri Ranganatha temple, where the water was poured carefully over the murthi of Lord Garuda to bless the image.
Lord Garuda Gayatri
Om Thathpurushaya Vidhmahe
Suvarna Pakshaya Dheemahe
Thanno Garuda Prachodayath
Om Garudaya NamahaOm, Let me meditate on that great living being,
Oh, Bird with golden wings, give me higher intellect,
And let the God Garuda illuminate my mind.
