Once Lord Vishnu reached Mount Kailash riding on Garuda. Leaving Garuda at the door, he himself went inside to meet Mahadev. Garuda was standing outside admiring the supernatural natural beauty of Kailash. The divinity of the snow peaks, gentle breeze and divine peace were mesmerizing him. Then his eyes fell on a very beautiful, small bird. She was so gentle and attractive that Garuda’s mind involuntarily got entangled in her. At that very moment Yamraj came to Kailash. Before going inside, he looked at the bird with a deep and surprised gaze.
Garuda understood this signal. They realized that the death of that bird was near and Yamraj would take it with him while returning from Kailash. Garuda’s heart was filled with compassion. They could not see such a small and beautiful bird dying. He saved him in his paws and left him safe on a high rock in a deserted forest, thousands of kilometers away from Kailash. After this he again returned to Kailash. When Yamraj came out, Garuda humbly asked – “Lord, why did you look at that small bird with such a surprised look?”
Yamraj said – “Garuda, when I saw that bird, I came to know that after a few moments it would be swallowed by a snake thousands of miles away from here. I was thinking that how would it reach so far in such a short period of time? But now that it is not here, it would definitely be its end.” Hearing this, Garuda realized the truth. They understood that death cannot be avoided, no matter how cleverly one does. That is why God says – “You do what you want, but only what I want happens. You do what I want – then what you want will happen.”
