Garuda rescues the Valakhilyas and seeks Kashyapa's advice
Garuda's powerful flight snaps a tree branch, and he discovers the tiny Valakhilya sages hanging from it, in danger of being killed. Fearing their wrath, he carries the entire branch—along with an elephant and a tortoise—across the sky, seeking a safe place to put it down. He finally finds his father, Kashyapa, who must pacify the sages before Garuda can complete his grim meal.
The branch snapped the moment Garuda’s feet touched it. He caught it as it fell. Looking at the broken limb, he saw them: the Valakhilyas, thumb-sized sages who sustained themselves on nothing but sunlight, hanging upside-down from the twigs. They were in immediate danger of being crushed.
The lord of birds was terrified. To kill such accomplished ascetics through carelessness would bring a curse of unimaginable power. So he carefully took the massive branch in his beak. He was already carrying an elephant and a giant tortoise in his talons. Now, bearing all three, he ascended again.
He flew slowly, shaking the mountains with the beat of his wings, circling the sky for a place to land. In his compassion for the Valakhilyas, he could find no spot that was safe for them. At last, he went to the indestructible mountain, Gandhamadana.
There, he found his father, the great sage Kashyapa, deep in austerities. Kashyapa looked up and saw his son—a bird of divine form, swift as the mind, large as a mountain, terrible to behold, radiant as fire itself.
Knowing Garuda’s wish, Kashyapa spoke first. “My son, do not act rashly. Rash acts bring sudden pain. These Valakhilyas live on the sun’s rays. If angered, they can scorch you.”
For his son’s sake, Kashyapa turned and propitiated the tiny sages. He explained the situation: Garuda’s endeavour was for the welfare of all creatures. He was attempting a great act. Therefore, they should give him permission.
Addressed thus by the illustrious Kashyapa, the Valakhilyas released their hold on the branch and departed for the sacred Himalayas to pursue more austerities.
With the sages gone but the branch still stretching his beak, Garuda asked his father, “Lord, where can I discard this? Tell me of a land where there are no Brahmanas.”
Kashyapa directed him to a remote, uninhabited mountain, inaccessible and impossible for others to even think of penetrating, a place covered with snow and full of caves. The great bird, Tarkshya, carried the branch, the elephant, and the tortoise and, with the speed of his mind, flew to the mountain’s wide base. He flew over a hundred thousand yojanas in the briefest possible time.
He reached the desolate peak and released the branch. It fell with a roar that shook the king of mountains. The wind from Garuda’s wings made the peaks tremble. Trees collapsed in showers of flowers. The peaks, adorned with gold and gems, shattered. The falling golden trees mixed with the mountain’s minerals and glowed like clouds lit by lightning.
Finally, the best of birds sat on the mountain peak and ate both the elephant and the tortoise.