Garuda Quenches the Fire Surrounding the Amrita
Having scattered the gods, Garuda finds the amrita protected not by more guards, but by a raging, sky-covering ring of fire. To overcome this final obstacle, he performs a feat of impossible consumption, assuming countless mouths to drink rivers dry and douse the flames.
The path to the amrita was clear of gods, but not of danger. Garuda went to where the elixir was and found it surrounded on all sides by a raging fire. The flames of that great fire covered the entire sky. Fanned by violent winds, they seemed hot and sharp enough to burn up the very rays of the sun.
This was a barrier that could not be scattered or torn apart.
The great-souled Garuda did not attempt to fly through it. Instead, he assumed a new form. He took on ninety times ninety mouths — eight thousand one hundred gaping maws. With these many mouths, he flew to the rivers and drank. He consumed water on a scale that matched the fire he faced.
Returning with great speed, using his own wings as a chariot, he quenched the blazing fires with the rivers he carried within him. He doused the celestial flames with terrestrial waters.
With the fires put out, the final obstacle was gone. Garuda then adopted a very small form, wishing to enter the place where the amrita was kept.