Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Bibliography
51
Bibliography
50
49
Table of Contents
Foreword 7
1. The Sacrificial Fire 13
2. Garuda 21
3. The Snake Sacrifice 35
Afterword 47
Bibliography 51
Table of Illustrations
Garuda as vehicle of Vishnu, Kanchipuram Cover
Fragment of Arjuna’s Penance, Mahabalipuram 2
Small roadside temple with cobra (Karnataka) 6
Sandstone snake idols, Varadarajaperumal Temple 8
Cobra idol in figure-eight knot, Mannarasala 12
Votive fire, Hanuman Temple (Karnataka) 14
Shivalingam with cobra and Krishna, Kanchipuram 18
Garuda guarding Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Madras 20
Garuda as vehicle of Vishnu, Mysore 22
Krishna battling cobra, Vishnu temple, Cochin 26
Krishna seated on cobra, Kesava Temple, Mysore 27
Garuda as festival vehicle, Mysore 34
Snake at edge of fire pit, Durga Temple, Mysore 36
Vāsuki at Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple 40
Sarpa Yakshi, consort of Nagaraja 41
Snake idols, Varadarajaperumal Temple 46
Turmeric-dusted votive idol, Mannarasala Temple 48
Turmeric-dusted votive idol. Coiled snake and elephants: festival vehicle 51
Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Harippad (Kerala), India.
48
Table of Contents
Foreword 7
1. The Sacrificial Fire 13
2. Garuda 21
3. The Snake Sacrifice 35
Afterword 47
Bibliography 51
Table of Illustrations
Garuda as vehicle of Vishnu, Kanchipuram Cover
Fragment of Arjuna’s Penance, Mahabalipuram 2
Small roadside temple with cobra (Karnataka) 6
Sandstone snake idols, Varadarajaperumal Temple 8
Cobra idol in figure-eight knot, Mannarasala 12
Votive fire, Hanuman Temple (Karnataka) 14
Shivalingam with cobra and Krishna, Kanchipuram 18
Garuda guarding Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Madras 20
Garuda as vehicle of Vishnu, Mysore 22
Krishna battling cobra, Vishnu temple, Cochin 26
Krishna seated on cobra, Kesava Temple, Mysore 27
Garuda as festival vehicle, Mysore 34
Snake at edge of fire pit, Durga Temple, Mysore 36
Vāsuki at Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple 40
Sarpa Yakshi, consort of Nagaraja 41
Snake idols, Varadarajaperumal Temple 46
Turmeric-dusted votive idol, Mannarasala Temple 48
Turmeric-dusted votive idol. Coiled snake and elephants: festival vehicle 51
Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Harippad (Kerala), India.
6 47
Afterword
6 47
Afterword
Foreword
46 7
Foreword
8 45
44 9
sacred ritual – which, alas, despite religion’s lust for vengeance so far as to include even Indra
meticulous care to distinguish the good from the in its scope, shouting ([M], p. 119),
bad, can all too easily degenerate, thanks to the ‘Priests! If Takşaka the Snake is in Indra’s keeping,
mimetic mechanism Girard has uncovered, into then hurl him into the fire with Indra himself!’
“bad” violence all over again. So once again we have two Indras in opposition
Certain manifestations of mimesis or mimetic against each other, with who knows what
rivalry will already be familiar, such as ducklings disastrous calamity in the offing, two monstrous
following their mother, children imitating their doubles, not this time Garuda, the Indra of birds,
parents’ behavior, apprentices learning from their but King Janamejaya, the Indra of his earthly
masters, or again neighbors outdoing each other in subjects, facing off against the celestial Indra, who
the care of their lawns, the size of their TV’s, or had, after all, looked approvingly upon Takşaka’s
the luxury of their automobiles. The fabled blood- killing of Parikşit – for the sake not this time of the
feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys is Soma, but of Takşaka.
another example, one rather more to our point, in Poor Takşaka, meanwhile, though hidden in
that the violence involved, each act of retribution
Indra’s robe, and ostensibly under Indra’s
mimetically triggering a fresh reprisal, cannot end
protection, becomes so confused and weakened by
until the two families succeed in completely the magical incantations that he falls out of his
annihilating one another.
hiding place within Indra’s garments, raises his
René Girard, a French-American scholar now head to the skies, and, in his weakness and
Professor Emeritus at Stanford University in confusion, is nearly about to fall into the sacrificial
California, has developed a rich mimetic theory fire. This, then – so decree the priests – is the
that finds such mimetic mechanisms at work in the moment for Āstika to make known the boon he
Bible, in the works of Shakespeare, and elsewhere. wishes, and for the King to grant it. Alas for the
In his mimetic analyses of violence and the sacred, King, but not a moment too soon for Takşaka,
Girard sees the principal aim of religion as being Āstika utters his wish ([M], p. 120):
putting an end to violence, stopping all “bad” ‘I choose that your Session be stopped and no
violence by means of suitable “good” violence, more Snakes come down.’
incorporated into religious rituals in a form often
so highly sublimated or purely symbolic that the Thus would this “bad” violence be brought to an
generative violence it is based on becomes end, the unthinkable calamity averted, and the
virtually imperceptible. He reveals an endless King’s will, to have Takşaka and the remaining
cycle of mimetic desire, rivalry, revenge, and snakes all reduced to mere ashes, thwarted.
retribution, leading in a self-catalyzing cascade to Furious at such a request, the King tries by all
10 43
sacred ritual – which, alas, despite religion’s lust for vengeance so far as to include even Indra
meticulous care to distinguish the good from the in its scope, shouting ([M], p. 119),
bad, can all too easily degenerate, thanks to the ‘Priests! If Takşaka the Snake is in Indra’s keeping,
mimetic mechanism Girard has uncovered, into then hurl him into the fire with Indra himself!’
“bad” violence all over again. So once again we have two Indras in opposition
Certain manifestations of mimesis or mimetic against each other, with who knows what
rivalry will already be familiar, such as ducklings disastrous calamity in the offing, two monstrous
following their mother, children imitating their doubles, not this time Garuda, the Indra of birds,
parents’ behavior, apprentices learning from their but King Janamejaya, the Indra of his earthly
masters, or again neighbors outdoing each other in subjects, facing off against the celestial Indra, who
the care of their lawns, the size of their TV’s, or had, after all, looked approvingly upon Takşaka’s
the luxury of their automobiles. The fabled blood- killing of Parikşit – for the sake not this time of the
feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys is Soma, but of Takşaka.
another example, one rather more to our point, in Poor Takşaka, meanwhile, though hidden in
that the violence involved, each act of retribution
Indra’s robe, and ostensibly under Indra’s
mimetically triggering a fresh reprisal, cannot end
protection, becomes so confused and weakened by
until the two families succeed in completely the magical incantations that he falls out of his
annihilating one another.
hiding place within Indra’s garments, raises his
René Girard, a French-American scholar now head to the skies, and, in his weakness and
Professor Emeritus at Stanford University in confusion, is nearly about to fall into the sacrificial
California, has developed a rich mimetic theory fire. This, then – so decree the priests – is the
that finds such mimetic mechanisms at work in the moment for Āstika to make known the boon he
Bible, in the works of Shakespeare, and elsewhere. wishes, and for the King to grant it. Alas for the
In his mimetic analyses of violence and the sacred, King, but not a moment too soon for Takşaka,
Girard sees the principal aim of religion as being Āstika utters his wish ([M], p. 120):
putting an end to violence, stopping all “bad” ‘I choose that your Session be stopped and no
violence by means of suitable “good” violence, more Snakes come down.’
incorporated into religious rituals in a form often
so highly sublimated or purely symbolic that the Thus would this “bad” violence be brought to an
generative violence it is based on becomes end, the unthinkable calamity averted, and the
virtually imperceptible. He reveals an endless King’s will, to have Takşaka and the remaining
cycle of mimetic desire, rivalry, revenge, and snakes all reduced to mere ashes, thwarted.
retribution, leading in a self-catalyzing cascade to Furious at such a request, the King tries by all
42 11
these, Vāsuki by name, had the good fortune to wave upon escalating wave of mimetically inspired
raise up the hybrid sage-snake child of his own reciprocal violence, ever broadening in scope, that
sister Jaratkaru and a certain celibate ascetic, the does not end until one ultimate victim succumbs to
solitary sage likewise named Jaratkaru, who all the rest. Only then does a new order come to
accepted Vāsuki’s sister as bride only because pass, again mimetically sustained, in which the
Vāsuki had offered her in the manner one offers same mimetic imperative now compels religiously
any other alms, and because his own ancestors had approved ethical behavior.
implored him to beget a son, lest they wither away The death of this victim is what Girard
in the absence of any living progeny at Jaratkaru’s therefore calls the “founding murder” of the new
own death. order – it is somehow the “last word” of violence,
This child Āstika, raised by his uncle Vāsuki so climactic that by its example all further violence
and his sister (the celibate father having abandoned is stopped dead in its tracks. Indeed it is the death
both mother and child over some trespass by the of this solitary victim, who, though demonized
mother), has advanced to Brahmin status, with before being slain, becomes deified thereafter, that
spiritual powers so great that he is fully protected serves as model for subsequent rituals of sacrifice,
against the magical spells sweeping other snakes to being the archetype of the “good” violence that
their fiery deaths. His will be the miraculous gift to will serve as curative against the “bad” symmetric
put an end to the bad violence of this ritual violence that the mimetic mechanism of Girard’s
slaughter. Arriving at the place of the sacrifice, he theory would otherwise repeatedly engender, as it
so skillfully praises the sacrifice and so flatteringly will should ever the distinction between “good”
lauds the King and his sacrificial priests that the and “bad” violence become ambiguous.
King is moved to grant him as boon whatever wish Indeed, an implicit preoccupation with the
he will make known just as the King’s prime target distinction between “good” violence and “bad”
Takşaka is about to drop into the flames. and, for that matter, an innate awareness of the
But Takşaka has not yet been seen. Indeed, whole Girardian mechanism, underlie much of the
Takşaka had sought and obtained the protection of Mahabharata, rising most conspicuously to the
Indra, confessing and repenting of all his evil surface in the telling of the following three
deeds and ways. And Indra, meaning to visit the interconnected episodes: the curse of the sage
great sacrifice, yet not willing to leave Takşaka Bhrgu upon the sacrificial fire, the birth and early
behind and unprotected, bid Takşaka hide himself adventures of Garuda, and the Great Snake
within Indra’s robes. Only then did he make his Sacrifice of King Janamejaya.
appearance at the great ritual. King Janamejaya,
aware that Indra is protecting Takşaka, extends his
42 11
these, Vāsuki by name, had the good fortune to wave upon escalating wave of mimetically inspired
raise up the hybrid sage-snake child of his own reciprocal violence, ever broadening in scope, that
sister Jaratkaru and a certain celibate ascetic, the does not end until one ultimate victim succumbs to
solitary sage likewise named Jaratkaru, who all the rest. Only then does a new order come to
accepted Vāsuki’s sister as bride only because pass, again mimetically sustained, in which the
Vāsuki had offered her in the manner one offers same mimetic imperative now compels religiously
any other alms, and because his own ancestors had approved ethical behavior.
implored him to beget a son, lest they wither away The death of this victim is what Girard
in the absence of any living progeny at Jaratkaru’s therefore calls the “founding murder” of the new
own death. order – it is somehow the “last word” of violence,
This child Āstika, raised by his uncle Vāsuki so climactic that by its example all further violence
and his sister (the celibate father having abandoned is stopped dead in its tracks. Indeed it is the death
both mother and child over some trespass by the of this solitary victim, who, though demonized
mother), has advanced to Brahmin status, with before being slain, becomes deified thereafter, that
spiritual powers so great that he is fully protected serves as model for subsequent rituals of sacrifice,
against the magical spells sweeping other snakes to being the archetype of the “good” violence that
their fiery deaths. His will be the miraculous gift to will serve as curative against the “bad” symmetric
put an end to the bad violence of this ritual violence that the mimetic mechanism of Girard’s
slaughter. Arriving at the place of the sacrifice, he theory would otherwise repeatedly engender, as it
so skillfully praises the sacrifice and so flatteringly will should ever the distinction between “good”
lauds the King and his sacrificial priests that the and “bad” violence become ambiguous.
King is moved to grant him as boon whatever wish Indeed, an implicit preoccupation with the
he will make known just as the King’s prime target distinction between “good” violence and “bad”
Takşaka is about to drop into the flames. and, for that matter, an innate awareness of the
But Takşaka has not yet been seen. Indeed, whole Girardian mechanism, underlie much of the
Takşaka had sought and obtained the protection of Mahabharata, rising most conspicuously to the
Indra, confessing and repenting of all his evil surface in the telling of the following three
deeds and ways. And Indra, meaning to visit the interconnected episodes: the curse of the sage
great sacrifice, yet not willing to leave Takşaka Bhrgu upon the sacrificial fire, the birth and early
behind and unprotected, bid Takşaka hide himself adventures of Garuda, and the Great Snake
within Indra’s robes. Only then did he make his Sacrifice of King Janamejaya.
appearance at the great ritual. King Janamejaya,
aware that Indra is protecting Takşaka, extends his
12 41
Cobra idol in figure-eight knot. Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Sarpa Yakshi, consort of Nagaraja: main idol in other principal sanc-
Harippad – 32 km. from Alapuzha (Kerala), India. tuary at Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Harippad (Kerala), India.
12 41
Cobra idol in figure-eight knot. Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Sarpa Yakshi, consort of Nagaraja: main idol in other principal sanc-
Harippad – 32 km. from Alapuzha (Kerala), India. tuary at Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Harippad (Kerala), India.
40 13
Chapter 1
40 13
Chapter 1
14 39
38 15
16 37
36 17
Chapter 3
18 35
Chapter 3
for sacrifice, remains as a palpable indication, triangle of desire centered around Pulomā, in
within the Mahabharata, of an actual death of a complete conformity with Girard’s mimetic theory.
real scapegoat, a real victim of collective violence, Out of their concern that “the innocent three
victim the other ingredients of this tale all hint, worlds have lost their rites and lost the way” ([M],
circumstantially, might be personified by Garuda, p. 59), the seers and the Gods approach the Lord
while the bickering snakes may well represent the Brahma to appeal to him to lift Bhrgu’s curse so
violence-riddled culture that claimed this victim. that the holy sacrificial fire might once again fuel
the rituals. But a curse may never be lifted, not
even by a God. It may only be revised, modified,
amended, as it were, by a footnote, or a clarifi-
cation; Brahma’s clarification was this: that while
one of the fire’s many tongues of flame might be
condemned to consume absolutely anything, the
others would not be, but would continue to be fed
only sacrificial offerings, as before; and that even
the tongue that would consume anything would not
cause defilement of the sacrificial fire, because that
tongue would actually purify everything it came in
contact with, no matter how impure that matter
might previously have been. In this way the
benefits of the “good” violence of the sacrificial
rituals are restored again, but not in an entirely
satisfactory way, as the distinction between “good”
violence and “bad” has become blurred: it becomes
impossible to be sure which is the “good” violence
and which the “bad.” Nonetheless, thus reassured,
the fire consents once again to take up its role as
devourer of sacrificial offerings, as perpetrator of
“good” violence, and to accept without further
complaint the “bad” violence it must also
perpetrate because of Bhrgu’s curse.
Garuda as festival vehicle, Sri Ranganatha Swamy Gods and seers alike rejoice at this diplomatic
Temple, Mysore (Karnataka), India. compromise, as do all the creatures of the earth;
34 19
for sacrifice, remains as a palpable indication, triangle of desire centered around Pulomā, in
within the Mahabharata, of an actual death of a complete conformity with Girard’s mimetic theory.
real scapegoat, a real victim of collective violence, Out of their concern that “the innocent three
victim the other ingredients of this tale all hint, worlds have lost their rites and lost the way” ([M],
circumstantially, might be personified by Garuda, p. 59), the seers and the Gods approach the Lord
while the bickering snakes may well represent the Brahma to appeal to him to lift Bhrgu’s curse so
violence-riddled culture that claimed this victim. that the holy sacrificial fire might once again fuel
the rituals. But a curse may never be lifted, not
even by a God. It may only be revised, modified,
amended, as it were, by a footnote, or a clarifi-
cation; Brahma’s clarification was this: that while
one of the fire’s many tongues of flame might be
condemned to consume absolutely anything, the
others would not be, but would continue to be fed
only sacrificial offerings, as before; and that even
the tongue that would consume anything would not
cause defilement of the sacrificial fire, because that
tongue would actually purify everything it came in
contact with, no matter how impure that matter
might previously have been. In this way the
benefits of the “good” violence of the sacrificial
rituals are restored again, but not in an entirely
satisfactory way, as the distinction between “good”
violence and “bad” has become blurred: it becomes
impossible to be sure which is the “good” violence
and which the “bad.” Nonetheless, thus reassured,
the fire consents once again to take up its role as
devourer of sacrificial offerings, as perpetrator of
“good” violence, and to accept without further
complaint the “bad” violence it must also
perpetrate because of Bhrgu’s curse.
Garuda as festival vehicle, Sri Ranganatha Swamy Gods and seers alike rejoice at this diplomatic
Temple, Mysore (Karnataka), India. compromise, as do all the creatures of the earth;
20 33
even the fire, “his guilt wiped out,” is content. following ([M], p. 90):
Still, things are no longer as they were. For the fire ‘It was with some purpose in mind that I stole this
is no longer the purveyor of “good” violence Soma. I shall not give it to anyone to partake of.
unalloyed, but of unpredictable, uncontrollable But, God of the thousand eyes, when I myself shall
“bad” violence as well. In fact by the time Garuda put it down anywhere, you can take it at once and
is born, the fire will be more feared for his carry it off.’
unpredictable violent appetite than revered for his Accordingly, and true to his word to the snakes,
role in sacrificial ritual, as we are about to see, and Garuda then bears the Soma back to the snakes,
still later a sacrificial ritual will be undertaken – who now therefore revere him as a god, and,
King Janamejaya’s Sacrifice – that will be revealed before allowing them to partake of it, urges them
to be so full of “bad” violence and so devoid of all to cleanse themselves appropriately in a nearby
“good” – not sacrificial offering but extirpatory river. Next, true to his word to Indra, and while the
massacre – that it must be stopped before it can snakes are still engaged in their ablutions, Garuda
fully run its course. sets the Soma down upon the ground, so that Indra
can come reclaim it for the good of the Gods.
When the snakes return, of course, they must set
Garuda and Vinata free, even though the Soma is
no longer theirs, while Indra, out of gratitude for
the Soma, with which he can restore to life all the
slain Gods, rewards Garuda with the right to feed
upon snakes; and Garuda, free now, and Indra’s
best friend, occupies a position higher not only
than Indra, but higher even than Vishnu himself, to
preside, as in his battle against the Gods, over the
tumultuous processes of destruction at the end of
an Eon and creation in the beginning of a new.
And only perhaps the feather Garuda yielded to
Indra’s thunderbolt, the feather whose ends he
predicted Indra would never fully explore, that
feather whose incomparable beauty caused all the
creatures seeing it to exclaim, “He must be the
Garuda, guarding Sri Parthasarathy Temple (dedicated Fair-winged Bird,” only this feather, this
to Krishna as charioteer of Arjuna), Madras, India. scapegoat-like offering, chosen quite haphazardly
20 33
even the fire, “his guilt wiped out,” is content. following ([M], p. 90):
Still, things are no longer as they were. For the fire ‘It was with some purpose in mind that I stole this
is no longer the purveyor of “good” violence Soma. I shall not give it to anyone to partake of.
unalloyed, but of unpredictable, uncontrollable But, God of the thousand eyes, when I myself shall
“bad” violence as well. In fact by the time Garuda put it down anywhere, you can take it at once and
is born, the fire will be more feared for his carry it off.’
unpredictable violent appetite than revered for his Accordingly, and true to his word to the snakes,
role in sacrificial ritual, as we are about to see, and Garuda then bears the Soma back to the snakes,
still later a sacrificial ritual will be undertaken – who now therefore revere him as a god, and,
King Janamejaya’s Sacrifice – that will be revealed before allowing them to partake of it, urges them
to be so full of “bad” violence and so devoid of all to cleanse themselves appropriately in a nearby
“good” – not sacrificial offering but extirpatory river. Next, true to his word to Indra, and while the
massacre – that it must be stopped before it can snakes are still engaged in their ablutions, Garuda
fully run its course. sets the Soma down upon the ground, so that Indra
can come reclaim it for the good of the Gods.
When the snakes return, of course, they must set
Garuda and Vinata free, even though the Soma is
no longer theirs, while Indra, out of gratitude for
the Soma, with which he can restore to life all the
slain Gods, rewards Garuda with the right to feed
upon snakes; and Garuda, free now, and Indra’s
best friend, occupies a position higher not only
than Indra, but higher even than Vishnu himself, to
preside, as in his battle against the Gods, over the
tumultuous processes of destruction at the end of
an Eon and creation in the beginning of a new.
And only perhaps the feather Garuda yielded to
Indra’s thunderbolt, the feather whose ends he
predicted Indra would never fully explore, that
feather whose incomparable beauty caused all the
creatures seeing it to exclaim, “He must be the
Garuda, guarding Sri Parthasarathy Temple (dedicated Fair-winged Bird,” only this feather, this
to Krishna as charioteer of Arjuna), Madras, India. scapegoat-like offering, chosen quite haphazardly
32 21
32 21
22 31
30 23
gradual fulfillment proceeds from the moment their intertwined bodies. In anger at her sons’
Garuda is born until he has become even more initial reluctance to obey, Kadru lays a curse upon
than the equal of Indra himself, he is to be “an them all, condemning them and their eventual
Indra of birds.” Indeed, Garuda hatches from an progeny to total annihilation in a future Great
egg, emerging fully grown, a great bird, utterly Snake Sacrifice. And even Brahma finds these
splendid in mass and coloration, and immediately snakes so “harsh,” so excessively numerous, so
takes wing into the heavens where, “ablaze like a given to violent bickering amongst themselves, so
kindled mass of fire,” he so dazzles and transfixes unconcerned with their own spiritual development,
the Gods that, cowering before him, fearing him as and so frequently killing innocent creatures with
they have come to fear the sacrificial fire, they their venom, that apart from contemplating a
plead with him not to burn them. It is finally the possible exception for such snakes, if any, as might
Fire, not Garuda, who laughingly explains ([M], p. be striving for greater spirituality, he takes no real
78), “The case is not as you deem it, Gods and action, as he sometimes does, to have Kadru
Dānavas. This is the powerful Garuda, who is my somehow temper this curse, but simply thinks,
equal in fieriness.” At this the assembled Gods with a certain relief, the Mahabharatan equivalent
hail Garuda with the acclamation already cited of “Good riddance.” Now accursed, they accede to
above. their mother’s wish, and on the morrow, when both
Back at home, on the other hand, Garuda begins sisters witness this white horse with its
as little more than slave to his thousand unexpectedly black tail, Vinata must concede she
contemptuous siblings, or more accurately, has lost the wager and is now her sister’s slave.
cousins, or perhaps still more accurately, step- This, then, is the rivalry-ridden, violence-torn
brothers, born earlier, as snakes, to his mother’s world into which Garuda is born.
sister. Or again, at one particularly critical For Garuda is born just while his mother is
juncture, he must momentarily contract his body away learning the sad outcome of her wager.
into a very diminutive form so as to pass unscathed Returning to his mother after his first fledgling
through a particularly fiendish celestial obstacle, a flight into the heavens, he learns he has inherited
whirling razor-studded wheel that would have his mother’s status of slave to Kadru and to her
sliced him to ribbons had he not been able so to snake-sons. So now we have all the snakes, and
diminish his size and to synchronize his flight with their mother, aligned against Garuda, and his
its motion as to merge into a space between its mother, to keep them both in bondage. And yet, in
blades and emerge unharmed in the space beyond. time, the snakes’ hopes for a remedy against their
As tiny creature before this death-dealing own mother’s curse become aligned with Garuda’s
obstacle, and as slave to his snake-siblings, Garuda hopes for liberation from his condition of slavery,
24 29
gradual fulfillment proceeds from the moment their intertwined bodies. In anger at her sons’
Garuda is born until he has become even more initial reluctance to obey, Kadru lays a curse upon
than the equal of Indra himself, he is to be “an them all, condemning them and their eventual
Indra of birds.” Indeed, Garuda hatches from an progeny to total annihilation in a future Great
egg, emerging fully grown, a great bird, utterly Snake Sacrifice. And even Brahma finds these
splendid in mass and coloration, and immediately snakes so “harsh,” so excessively numerous, so
takes wing into the heavens where, “ablaze like a given to violent bickering amongst themselves, so
kindled mass of fire,” he so dazzles and transfixes unconcerned with their own spiritual development,
the Gods that, cowering before him, fearing him as and so frequently killing innocent creatures with
they have come to fear the sacrificial fire, they their venom, that apart from contemplating a
plead with him not to burn them. It is finally the possible exception for such snakes, if any, as might
Fire, not Garuda, who laughingly explains ([M], p. be striving for greater spirituality, he takes no real
78), “The case is not as you deem it, Gods and action, as he sometimes does, to have Kadru
Dānavas. This is the powerful Garuda, who is my somehow temper this curse, but simply thinks,
equal in fieriness.” At this the assembled Gods with a certain relief, the Mahabharatan equivalent
hail Garuda with the acclamation already cited of “Good riddance.” Now accursed, they accede to
above. their mother’s wish, and on the morrow, when both
Back at home, on the other hand, Garuda begins sisters witness this white horse with its
as little more than slave to his thousand unexpectedly black tail, Vinata must concede she
contemptuous siblings, or more accurately, has lost the wager and is now her sister’s slave.
cousins, or perhaps still more accurately, step- This, then, is the rivalry-ridden, violence-torn
brothers, born earlier, as snakes, to his mother’s world into which Garuda is born.
sister. Or again, at one particularly critical For Garuda is born just while his mother is
juncture, he must momentarily contract his body away learning the sad outcome of her wager.
into a very diminutive form so as to pass unscathed Returning to his mother after his first fledgling
through a particularly fiendish celestial obstacle, a flight into the heavens, he learns he has inherited
whirling razor-studded wheel that would have his mother’s status of slave to Kadru and to her
sliced him to ribbons had he not been able so to snake-sons. So now we have all the snakes, and
diminish his size and to synchronize his flight with their mother, aligned against Garuda, and his
its motion as to merge into a space between its mother, to keep them both in bondage. And yet, in
blades and emerge unharmed in the space beyond. time, the snakes’ hopes for a remedy against their
As tiny creature before this death-dealing own mother’s curse become aligned with Garuda’s
obstacle, and as slave to his snake-siblings, Garuda hopes for liberation from his condition of slavery,
28 25
paltry contribution (a single dry leaf) to the stock is an insignificant nothing. As great brilliant bird,
of fuel for the ritual Kaśyapa has organized that, terror to the Gods in his fieriness, and challenger to
despite their piety, they avenge their honor by Indra, he is powerful deity. At other moments we
cursing Indra, prophesying his loss of ascendancy. will see him feeding upon “bad” violence,
The two sisters Kadru and Vinata, daughters of engaging ferociously in “bad” violence, inciting
Prajapati, vie, as wives of Kaśyapa, over which others to “bad” violence amongst themselves, and
will have more or better sons, Kadru wishing for a finally, with one gesture, stopping all the violence
thousand sons, Vinata for just two, but each at once.
superior to her sister’s. Impatient to see how her These conflicting images begin to suggest that
sons (who have not hatched yet) will compare with behind the figure of Garuda there lies hidden an
her sister’s (who have, all thousand of them oblique reference to a now-forgotten scapegoating
snakes), Vinata helps crack her first egg’s shell, victim, first belittled, then demonized, later
causing her first son, Aruna, to hatch only half- “sacrificed,” and finally deified; certainly, they
formed, before his time. This son, so piqued at his quite explicitly reveal the first and last stages, and
mother for interfering with his full development, they at least hint provocatively at the intermediate
abandons her to become the rosy dawn, but not ones, hints reinforced by the nature of the further
before laying a curse upon her, condemning her to events he is involved in, which we view as a
become her sister’s slave. And the rival sisters classic illustration of the Girardian mechanism by
Kadru and Vinata themselves, each eager to which “bad” violence progress from the rudi-
dominate the other, enter into a wager whose mentary violence of ill will, through the violence
outcome will determine which of them is to of all against one, beyond even the cataclysmic
become the slave of the other. paroxysm of violence in which all battle all, to the
The wager, incidentally, is whether, once they ultimate “good” violence, the symbolic violence of
go to see him in his distant land across the ocean restrained self-mortification or self-sacrifice, that
the next day, a certain fabled horse, famous among finally puts an end to all “bad” violence.
other things for his pure-white coat, will prove in How can this be? Consider, to begin with, the
fact to be the color one of them is now to predict. world into which Garuda was born. In social
Vinata, naive, and eager to dispel Aruna’s curse, relations of all sorts, ethical standards of behavior
predicts he is white. Kadru, equally bent on have been displaced by “bad” violence – by a
winning, but more duplicitous, and ready to stand readiness to take offence, by vengeful retaliations,
truth on its head, instructs her snake sons to swim by rivalry, by duplicitous manipulation of the
overnight to land of this horse and so intricately to truth. The Valakhilyas, though ascetic sages, take
braid themselves into its tail as to blacken it with such deep affront at Indra’s jesting ridicule of their
28 25
paltry contribution (a single dry leaf) to the stock is an insignificant nothing. As great brilliant bird,
of fuel for the ritual Kaśyapa has organized that, terror to the Gods in his fieriness, and challenger to
despite their piety, they avenge their honor by Indra, he is powerful deity. At other moments we
cursing Indra, prophesying his loss of ascendancy. will see him feeding upon “bad” violence,
The two sisters Kadru and Vinata, daughters of engaging ferociously in “bad” violence, inciting
Prajapati, vie, as wives of Kaśyapa, over which others to “bad” violence amongst themselves, and
will have more or better sons, Kadru wishing for a finally, with one gesture, stopping all the violence
thousand sons, Vinata for just two, but each at once.
superior to her sister’s. Impatient to see how her These conflicting images begin to suggest that
sons (who have not hatched yet) will compare with behind the figure of Garuda there lies hidden an
her sister’s (who have, all thousand of them oblique reference to a now-forgotten scapegoating
snakes), Vinata helps crack her first egg’s shell, victim, first belittled, then demonized, later
causing her first son, Aruna, to hatch only half- “sacrificed,” and finally deified; certainly, they
formed, before his time. This son, so piqued at his quite explicitly reveal the first and last stages, and
mother for interfering with his full development, they at least hint provocatively at the intermediate
abandons her to become the rosy dawn, but not ones, hints reinforced by the nature of the further
before laying a curse upon her, condemning her to events he is involved in, which we view as a
become her sister’s slave. And the rival sisters classic illustration of the Girardian mechanism by
Kadru and Vinata themselves, each eager to which “bad” violence progress from the rudi-
dominate the other, enter into a wager whose mentary violence of ill will, through the violence
outcome will determine which of them is to of all against one, beyond even the cataclysmic
become the slave of the other. paroxysm of violence in which all battle all, to the
The wager, incidentally, is whether, once they ultimate “good” violence, the symbolic violence of
go to see him in his distant land across the ocean restrained self-mortification or self-sacrifice, that
the next day, a certain fabled horse, famous among finally puts an end to all “bad” violence.
other things for his pure-white coat, will prove in How can this be? Consider, to begin with, the
fact to be the color one of them is now to predict. world into which Garuda was born. In social
Vinata, naive, and eager to dispel Aruna’s curse, relations of all sorts, ethical standards of behavior
predicts he is white. Kadru, equally bent on have been displaced by “bad” violence – by a
winning, but more duplicitous, and ready to stand readiness to take offence, by vengeful retaliations,
truth on its head, instructs her snake sons to swim by rivalry, by duplicitous manipulation of the
overnight to land of this horse and so intricately to truth. The Valakhilyas, though ascetic sages, take
braid themselves into its tail as to blacken it with such deep affront at Indra’s jesting ridicule of their
26 27
Krishna doing battle with many-headed cobra. Krishna seated on protective many-headed cobra.
Vishnu temple, outskirts of Cochin (Kerala), India. Kesava Temple, outskirts of Mysore (Karnataka), India.
26 27
Krishna doing battle with many-headed cobra. Krishna seated on protective many-headed cobra.
Vishnu temple, outskirts of Cochin (Kerala), India. Kesava Temple, outskirts of Mysore (Karnataka), India.
26 27
Krishna doing battle with many-headed cobra. Krishna seated on protective many-headed cobra.
Vishnu temple, outskirts of Cochin (Kerala), India. Kesava Temple, outskirts of Mysore (Karnataka), India.
26 27
Krishna doing battle with many-headed cobra. Krishna seated on protective many-headed cobra.
Vishnu temple, outskirts of Cochin (Kerala), India. Kesava Temple, outskirts of Mysore (Karnataka), India.
28 25
paltry contribution (a single dry leaf) to the stock is an insignificant nothing. As great brilliant bird,
of fuel for the ritual Kaśyapa has organized that, terror to the Gods in his fieriness, and challenger to
despite their piety, they avenge their honor by Indra, he is powerful deity. At other moments we
cursing Indra, prophesying his loss of ascendancy. will see him feeding upon “bad” violence,
The two sisters Kadru and Vinata, daughters of engaging ferociously in “bad” violence, inciting
Prajapati, vie, as wives of Kaśyapa, over which others to “bad” violence amongst themselves, and
will have more or better sons, Kadru wishing for a finally, with one gesture, stopping all the violence
thousand sons, Vinata for just two, but each at once.
superior to her sister’s. Impatient to see how her These conflicting images begin to suggest that
sons (who have not hatched yet) will compare with behind the figure of Garuda there lies hidden an
her sister’s (who have, all thousand of them oblique reference to a now-forgotten scapegoating
snakes), Vinata helps crack her first egg’s shell, victim, first belittled, then demonized, later
causing her first son, Aruna, to hatch only half- “sacrificed,” and finally deified; certainly, they
formed, before his time. This son, so piqued at his quite explicitly reveal the first and last stages, and
mother for interfering with his full development, they at least hint provocatively at the intermediate
abandons her to become the rosy dawn, but not ones, hints reinforced by the nature of the further
before laying a curse upon her, condemning her to events he is involved in, which we view as a
become her sister’s slave. And the rival sisters classic illustration of the Girardian mechanism by
Kadru and Vinata themselves, each eager to which “bad” violence progress from the rudi-
dominate the other, enter into a wager whose mentary violence of ill will, through the violence
outcome will determine which of them is to of all against one, beyond even the cataclysmic
become the slave of the other. paroxysm of violence in which all battle all, to the
The wager, incidentally, is whether, once they ultimate “good” violence, the symbolic violence of
go to see him in his distant land across the ocean restrained self-mortification or self-sacrifice, that
the next day, a certain fabled horse, famous among finally puts an end to all “bad” violence.
other things for his pure-white coat, will prove in How can this be? Consider, to begin with, the
fact to be the color one of them is now to predict. world into which Garuda was born. In social
Vinata, naive, and eager to dispel Aruna’s curse, relations of all sorts, ethical standards of behavior
predicts he is white. Kadru, equally bent on have been displaced by “bad” violence – by a
winning, but more duplicitous, and ready to stand readiness to take offence, by vengeful retaliations,
truth on its head, instructs her snake sons to swim by rivalry, by duplicitous manipulation of the
overnight to land of this horse and so intricately to truth. The Valakhilyas, though ascetic sages, take
braid themselves into its tail as to blacken it with such deep affront at Indra’s jesting ridicule of their
28 25
paltry contribution (a single dry leaf) to the stock is an insignificant nothing. As great brilliant bird,
of fuel for the ritual Kaśyapa has organized that, terror to the Gods in his fieriness, and challenger to
despite their piety, they avenge their honor by Indra, he is powerful deity. At other moments we
cursing Indra, prophesying his loss of ascendancy. will see him feeding upon “bad” violence,
The two sisters Kadru and Vinata, daughters of engaging ferociously in “bad” violence, inciting
Prajapati, vie, as wives of Kaśyapa, over which others to “bad” violence amongst themselves, and
will have more or better sons, Kadru wishing for a finally, with one gesture, stopping all the violence
thousand sons, Vinata for just two, but each at once.
superior to her sister’s. Impatient to see how her These conflicting images begin to suggest that
sons (who have not hatched yet) will compare with behind the figure of Garuda there lies hidden an
her sister’s (who have, all thousand of them oblique reference to a now-forgotten scapegoating
snakes), Vinata helps crack her first egg’s shell, victim, first belittled, then demonized, later
causing her first son, Aruna, to hatch only half- “sacrificed,” and finally deified; certainly, they
formed, before his time. This son, so piqued at his quite explicitly reveal the first and last stages, and
mother for interfering with his full development, they at least hint provocatively at the intermediate
abandons her to become the rosy dawn, but not ones, hints reinforced by the nature of the further
before laying a curse upon her, condemning her to events he is involved in, which we view as a
become her sister’s slave. And the rival sisters classic illustration of the Girardian mechanism by
Kadru and Vinata themselves, each eager to which “bad” violence progress from the rudi-
dominate the other, enter into a wager whose mentary violence of ill will, through the violence
outcome will determine which of them is to of all against one, beyond even the cataclysmic
become the slave of the other. paroxysm of violence in which all battle all, to the
The wager, incidentally, is whether, once they ultimate “good” violence, the symbolic violence of
go to see him in his distant land across the ocean restrained self-mortification or self-sacrifice, that
the next day, a certain fabled horse, famous among finally puts an end to all “bad” violence.
other things for his pure-white coat, will prove in How can this be? Consider, to begin with, the
fact to be the color one of them is now to predict. world into which Garuda was born. In social
Vinata, naive, and eager to dispel Aruna’s curse, relations of all sorts, ethical standards of behavior
predicts he is white. Kadru, equally bent on have been displaced by “bad” violence – by a
winning, but more duplicitous, and ready to stand readiness to take offence, by vengeful retaliations,
truth on its head, instructs her snake sons to swim by rivalry, by duplicitous manipulation of the
overnight to land of this horse and so intricately to truth. The Valakhilyas, though ascetic sages, take
braid themselves into its tail as to blacken it with such deep affront at Indra’s jesting ridicule of their
24 29
gradual fulfillment proceeds from the moment their intertwined bodies. In anger at her sons’
Garuda is born until he has become even more initial reluctance to obey, Kadru lays a curse upon
than the equal of Indra himself, he is to be “an them all, condemning them and their eventual
Indra of birds.” Indeed, Garuda hatches from an progeny to total annihilation in a future Great
egg, emerging fully grown, a great bird, utterly Snake Sacrifice. And even Brahma finds these
splendid in mass and coloration, and immediately snakes so “harsh,” so excessively numerous, so
takes wing into the heavens where, “ablaze like a given to violent bickering amongst themselves, so
kindled mass of fire,” he so dazzles and transfixes unconcerned with their own spiritual development,
the Gods that, cowering before him, fearing him as and so frequently killing innocent creatures with
they have come to fear the sacrificial fire, they their venom, that apart from contemplating a
plead with him not to burn them. It is finally the possible exception for such snakes, if any, as might
Fire, not Garuda, who laughingly explains ([M], p. be striving for greater spirituality, he takes no real
78), “The case is not as you deem it, Gods and action, as he sometimes does, to have Kadru
Dānavas. This is the powerful Garuda, who is my somehow temper this curse, but simply thinks,
equal in fieriness.” At this the assembled Gods with a certain relief, the Mahabharatan equivalent
hail Garuda with the acclamation already cited of “Good riddance.” Now accursed, they accede to
above. their mother’s wish, and on the morrow, when both
Back at home, on the other hand, Garuda begins sisters witness this white horse with its
as little more than slave to his thousand unexpectedly black tail, Vinata must concede she
contemptuous siblings, or more accurately, has lost the wager and is now her sister’s slave.
cousins, or perhaps still more accurately, step- This, then, is the rivalry-ridden, violence-torn
brothers, born earlier, as snakes, to his mother’s world into which Garuda is born.
sister. Or again, at one particularly critical For Garuda is born just while his mother is
juncture, he must momentarily contract his body away learning the sad outcome of her wager.
into a very diminutive form so as to pass unscathed Returning to his mother after his first fledgling
through a particularly fiendish celestial obstacle, a flight into the heavens, he learns he has inherited
whirling razor-studded wheel that would have his mother’s status of slave to Kadru and to her
sliced him to ribbons had he not been able so to snake-sons. So now we have all the snakes, and
diminish his size and to synchronize his flight with their mother, aligned against Garuda, and his
its motion as to merge into a space between its mother, to keep them both in bondage. And yet, in
blades and emerge unharmed in the space beyond. time, the snakes’ hopes for a remedy against their
As tiny creature before this death-dealing own mother’s curse become aligned with Garuda’s
obstacle, and as slave to his snake-siblings, Garuda hopes for liberation from his condition of slavery,
24 29
gradual fulfillment proceeds from the moment their intertwined bodies. In anger at her sons’
Garuda is born until he has become even more initial reluctance to obey, Kadru lays a curse upon
than the equal of Indra himself, he is to be “an them all, condemning them and their eventual
Indra of birds.” Indeed, Garuda hatches from an progeny to total annihilation in a future Great
egg, emerging fully grown, a great bird, utterly Snake Sacrifice. And even Brahma finds these
splendid in mass and coloration, and immediately snakes so “harsh,” so excessively numerous, so
takes wing into the heavens where, “ablaze like a given to violent bickering amongst themselves, so
kindled mass of fire,” he so dazzles and transfixes unconcerned with their own spiritual development,
the Gods that, cowering before him, fearing him as and so frequently killing innocent creatures with
they have come to fear the sacrificial fire, they their venom, that apart from contemplating a
plead with him not to burn them. It is finally the possible exception for such snakes, if any, as might
Fire, not Garuda, who laughingly explains ([M], p. be striving for greater spirituality, he takes no real
78), “The case is not as you deem it, Gods and action, as he sometimes does, to have Kadru
Dānavas. This is the powerful Garuda, who is my somehow temper this curse, but simply thinks,
equal in fieriness.” At this the assembled Gods with a certain relief, the Mahabharatan equivalent
hail Garuda with the acclamation already cited of “Good riddance.” Now accursed, they accede to
above. their mother’s wish, and on the morrow, when both
Back at home, on the other hand, Garuda begins sisters witness this white horse with its
as little more than slave to his thousand unexpectedly black tail, Vinata must concede she
contemptuous siblings, or more accurately, has lost the wager and is now her sister’s slave.
cousins, or perhaps still more accurately, step- This, then, is the rivalry-ridden, violence-torn
brothers, born earlier, as snakes, to his mother’s world into which Garuda is born.
sister. Or again, at one particularly critical For Garuda is born just while his mother is
juncture, he must momentarily contract his body away learning the sad outcome of her wager.
into a very diminutive form so as to pass unscathed Returning to his mother after his first fledgling
through a particularly fiendish celestial obstacle, a flight into the heavens, he learns he has inherited
whirling razor-studded wheel that would have his mother’s status of slave to Kadru and to her
sliced him to ribbons had he not been able so to snake-sons. So now we have all the snakes, and
diminish his size and to synchronize his flight with their mother, aligned against Garuda, and his
its motion as to merge into a space between its mother, to keep them both in bondage. And yet, in
blades and emerge unharmed in the space beyond. time, the snakes’ hopes for a remedy against their
As tiny creature before this death-dealing own mother’s curse become aligned with Garuda’s
obstacle, and as slave to his snake-siblings, Garuda hopes for liberation from his condition of slavery,
30 23
30 23
22 31
32 21
even the fire, “his guilt wiped out,” is content. following ([M], p. 90):
Still, things are no longer as they were. For the fire ‘It was with some purpose in mind that I stole this
is no longer the purveyor of “good” violence Soma. I shall not give it to anyone to partake of.
unalloyed, but of unpredictable, uncontrollable But, God of the thousand eyes, when I myself shall
“bad” violence as well. In fact by the time Garuda put it down anywhere, you can take it at once and
is born, the fire will be more feared for his carry it off.’
unpredictable violent appetite than revered for his Accordingly, and true to his word to the snakes,
role in sacrificial ritual, as we are about to see, and Garuda then bears the Soma back to the snakes,
still later a sacrificial ritual will be undertaken – who now therefore revere him as a god, and,
King Janamejaya’s Sacrifice – that will be revealed before allowing them to partake of it, urges them
to be so full of “bad” violence and so devoid of all to cleanse themselves appropriately in a nearby
“good” – not sacrificial offering but extirpatory river. Next, true to his word to Indra, and while the
massacre – that it must be stopped before it can snakes are still engaged in their ablutions, Garuda
fully run its course. sets the Soma down upon the ground, so that Indra
can come reclaim it for the good of the Gods.
When the snakes return, of course, they must set
Garuda and Vinata free, even though the Soma is
no longer theirs, while Indra, out of gratitude for
the Soma, with which he can restore to life all the
slain Gods, rewards Garuda with the right to feed
upon snakes; and Garuda, free now, and Indra’s
best friend, occupies a position higher not only
than Indra, but higher even than Vishnu himself, to
preside, as in his battle against the Gods, over the
tumultuous processes of destruction at the end of
an Eon and creation in the beginning of a new.
And only perhaps the feather Garuda yielded to
Indra’s thunderbolt, the feather whose ends he
predicted Indra would never fully explore, that
feather whose incomparable beauty caused all the
creatures seeing it to exclaim, “He must be the
Garuda, guarding Sri Parthasarathy Temple (dedicated Fair-winged Bird,” only this feather, this
to Krishna as charioteer of Arjuna), Madras, India. scapegoat-like offering, chosen quite haphazardly
20 33
even the fire, “his guilt wiped out,” is content. following ([M], p. 90):
Still, things are no longer as they were. For the fire ‘It was with some purpose in mind that I stole this
is no longer the purveyor of “good” violence Soma. I shall not give it to anyone to partake of.
unalloyed, but of unpredictable, uncontrollable But, God of the thousand eyes, when I myself shall
“bad” violence as well. In fact by the time Garuda put it down anywhere, you can take it at once and
is born, the fire will be more feared for his carry it off.’
unpredictable violent appetite than revered for his Accordingly, and true to his word to the snakes,
role in sacrificial ritual, as we are about to see, and Garuda then bears the Soma back to the snakes,
still later a sacrificial ritual will be undertaken – who now therefore revere him as a god, and,
King Janamejaya’s Sacrifice – that will be revealed before allowing them to partake of it, urges them
to be so full of “bad” violence and so devoid of all to cleanse themselves appropriately in a nearby
“good” – not sacrificial offering but extirpatory river. Next, true to his word to Indra, and while the
massacre – that it must be stopped before it can snakes are still engaged in their ablutions, Garuda
fully run its course. sets the Soma down upon the ground, so that Indra
can come reclaim it for the good of the Gods.
When the snakes return, of course, they must set
Garuda and Vinata free, even though the Soma is
no longer theirs, while Indra, out of gratitude for
the Soma, with which he can restore to life all the
slain Gods, rewards Garuda with the right to feed
upon snakes; and Garuda, free now, and Indra’s
best friend, occupies a position higher not only
than Indra, but higher even than Vishnu himself, to
preside, as in his battle against the Gods, over the
tumultuous processes of destruction at the end of
an Eon and creation in the beginning of a new.
And only perhaps the feather Garuda yielded to
Indra’s thunderbolt, the feather whose ends he
predicted Indra would never fully explore, that
feather whose incomparable beauty caused all the
creatures seeing it to exclaim, “He must be the
Garuda, guarding Sri Parthasarathy Temple (dedicated Fair-winged Bird,” only this feather, this
to Krishna as charioteer of Arjuna), Madras, India. scapegoat-like offering, chosen quite haphazardly
34 19
for sacrifice, remains as a palpable indication, triangle of desire centered around Pulomā, in
within the Mahabharata, of an actual death of a complete conformity with Girard’s mimetic theory.
real scapegoat, a real victim of collective violence, Out of their concern that “the innocent three
victim the other ingredients of this tale all hint, worlds have lost their rites and lost the way” ([M],
circumstantially, might be personified by Garuda, p. 59), the seers and the Gods approach the Lord
while the bickering snakes may well represent the Brahma to appeal to him to lift Bhrgu’s curse so
violence-riddled culture that claimed this victim. that the holy sacrificial fire might once again fuel
the rituals. But a curse may never be lifted, not
even by a God. It may only be revised, modified,
amended, as it were, by a footnote, or a clarifi-
cation; Brahma’s clarification was this: that while
one of the fire’s many tongues of flame might be
condemned to consume absolutely anything, the
others would not be, but would continue to be fed
only sacrificial offerings, as before; and that even
the tongue that would consume anything would not
cause defilement of the sacrificial fire, because that
tongue would actually purify everything it came in
contact with, no matter how impure that matter
might previously have been. In this way the
benefits of the “good” violence of the sacrificial
rituals are restored again, but not in an entirely
satisfactory way, as the distinction between “good”
violence and “bad” has become blurred: it becomes
impossible to be sure which is the “good” violence
and which the “bad.” Nonetheless, thus reassured,
the fire consents once again to take up its role as
devourer of sacrificial offerings, as perpetrator of
“good” violence, and to accept without further
complaint the “bad” violence it must also
perpetrate because of Bhrgu’s curse.
Garuda as festival vehicle, Sri Ranganatha Swamy Gods and seers alike rejoice at this diplomatic
Temple, Mysore (Karnataka), India. compromise, as do all the creatures of the earth;
34 19
for sacrifice, remains as a palpable indication, triangle of desire centered around Pulomā, in
within the Mahabharata, of an actual death of a complete conformity with Girard’s mimetic theory.
real scapegoat, a real victim of collective violence, Out of their concern that “the innocent three
victim the other ingredients of this tale all hint, worlds have lost their rites and lost the way” ([M],
circumstantially, might be personified by Garuda, p. 59), the seers and the Gods approach the Lord
while the bickering snakes may well represent the Brahma to appeal to him to lift Bhrgu’s curse so
violence-riddled culture that claimed this victim. that the holy sacrificial fire might once again fuel
the rituals. But a curse may never be lifted, not
even by a God. It may only be revised, modified,
amended, as it were, by a footnote, or a clarifi-
cation; Brahma’s clarification was this: that while
one of the fire’s many tongues of flame might be
condemned to consume absolutely anything, the
others would not be, but would continue to be fed
only sacrificial offerings, as before; and that even
the tongue that would consume anything would not
cause defilement of the sacrificial fire, because that
tongue would actually purify everything it came in
contact with, no matter how impure that matter
might previously have been. In this way the
benefits of the “good” violence of the sacrificial
rituals are restored again, but not in an entirely
satisfactory way, as the distinction between “good”
violence and “bad” has become blurred: it becomes
impossible to be sure which is the “good” violence
and which the “bad.” Nonetheless, thus reassured,
the fire consents once again to take up its role as
devourer of sacrificial offerings, as perpetrator of
“good” violence, and to accept without further
complaint the “bad” violence it must also
perpetrate because of Bhrgu’s curse.
Garuda as festival vehicle, Sri Ranganatha Swamy Gods and seers alike rejoice at this diplomatic
Temple, Mysore (Karnataka), India. compromise, as do all the creatures of the earth;
18 35
Chapter 3
18 35
Chapter 3
36 17
16 37
38 15
14 39
Chapter 1
40 13
Chapter 1
Cobra idol in figure-eight knot. Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Sarpa Yakshi, consort of Nagaraja: main idol in other principal sanc-
Harippad – 32 km. from Alapuzha (Kerala), India. tuary at Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Harippad (Kerala), India.
12 41
Cobra idol in figure-eight knot. Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Sarpa Yakshi, consort of Nagaraja: main idol in other principal sanc-
Harippad – 32 km. from Alapuzha (Kerala), India. tuary at Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Harippad (Kerala), India.
42 11
these, Vāsuki by name, had the good fortune to wave upon escalating wave of mimetically inspired
raise up the hybrid sage-snake child of his own reciprocal violence, ever broadening in scope, that
sister Jaratkaru and a certain celibate ascetic, the does not end until one ultimate victim succumbs to
solitary sage likewise named Jaratkaru, who all the rest. Only then does a new order come to
accepted Vāsuki’s sister as bride only because pass, again mimetically sustained, in which the
Vāsuki had offered her in the manner one offers same mimetic imperative now compels religiously
any other alms, and because his own ancestors had approved ethical behavior.
implored him to beget a son, lest they wither away The death of this victim is what Girard
in the absence of any living progeny at Jaratkaru’s therefore calls the “founding murder” of the new
own death. order – it is somehow the “last word” of violence,
This child Āstika, raised by his uncle Vāsuki so climactic that by its example all further violence
and his sister (the celibate father having abandoned is stopped dead in its tracks. Indeed it is the death
both mother and child over some trespass by the of this solitary victim, who, though demonized
mother), has advanced to Brahmin status, with before being slain, becomes deified thereafter, that
spiritual powers so great that he is fully protected serves as model for subsequent rituals of sacrifice,
against the magical spells sweeping other snakes to being the archetype of the “good” violence that
their fiery deaths. His will be the miraculous gift to will serve as curative against the “bad” symmetric
put an end to the bad violence of this ritual violence that the mimetic mechanism of Girard’s
slaughter. Arriving at the place of the sacrifice, he theory would otherwise repeatedly engender, as it
so skillfully praises the sacrifice and so flatteringly will should ever the distinction between “good”
lauds the King and his sacrificial priests that the and “bad” violence become ambiguous.
King is moved to grant him as boon whatever wish Indeed, an implicit preoccupation with the
he will make known just as the King’s prime target distinction between “good” violence and “bad”
Takşaka is about to drop into the flames. and, for that matter, an innate awareness of the
But Takşaka has not yet been seen. Indeed, whole Girardian mechanism, underlie much of the
Takşaka had sought and obtained the protection of Mahabharata, rising most conspicuously to the
Indra, confessing and repenting of all his evil surface in the telling of the following three
deeds and ways. And Indra, meaning to visit the interconnected episodes: the curse of the sage
great sacrifice, yet not willing to leave Takşaka Bhrgu upon the sacrificial fire, the birth and early
behind and unprotected, bid Takşaka hide himself adventures of Garuda, and the Great Snake
within Indra’s robes. Only then did he make his Sacrifice of King Janamejaya.
appearance at the great ritual. King Janamejaya,
aware that Indra is protecting Takşaka, extends his
42 11
these, Vāsuki by name, had the good fortune to wave upon escalating wave of mimetically inspired
raise up the hybrid sage-snake child of his own reciprocal violence, ever broadening in scope, that
sister Jaratkaru and a certain celibate ascetic, the does not end until one ultimate victim succumbs to
solitary sage likewise named Jaratkaru, who all the rest. Only then does a new order come to
accepted Vāsuki’s sister as bride only because pass, again mimetically sustained, in which the
Vāsuki had offered her in the manner one offers same mimetic imperative now compels religiously
any other alms, and because his own ancestors had approved ethical behavior.
implored him to beget a son, lest they wither away The death of this victim is what Girard
in the absence of any living progeny at Jaratkaru’s therefore calls the “founding murder” of the new
own death. order – it is somehow the “last word” of violence,
This child Āstika, raised by his uncle Vāsuki so climactic that by its example all further violence
and his sister (the celibate father having abandoned is stopped dead in its tracks. Indeed it is the death
both mother and child over some trespass by the of this solitary victim, who, though demonized
mother), has advanced to Brahmin status, with before being slain, becomes deified thereafter, that
spiritual powers so great that he is fully protected serves as model for subsequent rituals of sacrifice,
against the magical spells sweeping other snakes to being the archetype of the “good” violence that
their fiery deaths. His will be the miraculous gift to will serve as curative against the “bad” symmetric
put an end to the bad violence of this ritual violence that the mimetic mechanism of Girard’s
slaughter. Arriving at the place of the sacrifice, he theory would otherwise repeatedly engender, as it
so skillfully praises the sacrifice and so flatteringly will should ever the distinction between “good”
lauds the King and his sacrificial priests that the and “bad” violence become ambiguous.
King is moved to grant him as boon whatever wish Indeed, an implicit preoccupation with the
he will make known just as the King’s prime target distinction between “good” violence and “bad”
Takşaka is about to drop into the flames. and, for that matter, an innate awareness of the
But Takşaka has not yet been seen. Indeed, whole Girardian mechanism, underlie much of the
Takşaka had sought and obtained the protection of Mahabharata, rising most conspicuously to the
Indra, confessing and repenting of all his evil surface in the telling of the following three
deeds and ways. And Indra, meaning to visit the interconnected episodes: the curse of the sage
great sacrifice, yet not willing to leave Takşaka Bhrgu upon the sacrificial fire, the birth and early
behind and unprotected, bid Takşaka hide himself adventures of Garuda, and the Great Snake
within Indra’s robes. Only then did he make his Sacrifice of King Janamejaya.
appearance at the great ritual. King Janamejaya,
aware that Indra is protecting Takşaka, extends his
10 43
sacred ritual – which, alas, despite religion’s lust for vengeance so far as to include even Indra
meticulous care to distinguish the good from the in its scope, shouting ([M], p. 119),
bad, can all too easily degenerate, thanks to the ‘Priests! If Takşaka the Snake is in Indra’s keeping,
mimetic mechanism Girard has uncovered, into then hurl him into the fire with Indra himself!’
“bad” violence all over again. So once again we have two Indras in opposition
Certain manifestations of mimesis or mimetic against each other, with who knows what
rivalry will already be familiar, such as ducklings disastrous calamity in the offing, two monstrous
following their mother, children imitating their doubles, not this time Garuda, the Indra of birds,
parents’ behavior, apprentices learning from their but King Janamejaya, the Indra of his earthly
masters, or again neighbors outdoing each other in subjects, facing off against the celestial Indra, who
the care of their lawns, the size of their TV’s, or had, after all, looked approvingly upon Takşaka’s
the luxury of their automobiles. The fabled blood- killing of Parikşit – for the sake not this time of the
feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys is Soma, but of Takşaka.
another example, one rather more to our point, in Poor Takşaka, meanwhile, though hidden in
that the violence involved, each act of retribution
Indra’s robe, and ostensibly under Indra’s
mimetically triggering a fresh reprisal, cannot end
protection, becomes so confused and weakened by
until the two families succeed in completely the magical incantations that he falls out of his
annihilating one another.
hiding place within Indra’s garments, raises his
René Girard, a French-American scholar now head to the skies, and, in his weakness and
Professor Emeritus at Stanford University in confusion, is nearly about to fall into the sacrificial
California, has developed a rich mimetic theory fire. This, then – so decree the priests – is the
that finds such mimetic mechanisms at work in the moment for Āstika to make known the boon he
Bible, in the works of Shakespeare, and elsewhere. wishes, and for the King to grant it. Alas for the
In his mimetic analyses of violence and the sacred, King, but not a moment too soon for Takşaka,
Girard sees the principal aim of religion as being Āstika utters his wish ([M], p. 120):
putting an end to violence, stopping all “bad” ‘I choose that your Session be stopped and no
violence by means of suitable “good” violence, more Snakes come down.’
incorporated into religious rituals in a form often
so highly sublimated or purely symbolic that the Thus would this “bad” violence be brought to an
generative violence it is based on becomes end, the unthinkable calamity averted, and the
virtually imperceptible. He reveals an endless King’s will, to have Takşaka and the remaining
cycle of mimetic desire, rivalry, revenge, and snakes all reduced to mere ashes, thwarted.
retribution, leading in a self-catalyzing cascade to Furious at such a request, the King tries by all
10 43
sacred ritual – which, alas, despite religion’s lust for vengeance so far as to include even Indra
meticulous care to distinguish the good from the in its scope, shouting ([M], p. 119),
bad, can all too easily degenerate, thanks to the ‘Priests! If Takşaka the Snake is in Indra’s keeping,
mimetic mechanism Girard has uncovered, into then hurl him into the fire with Indra himself!’
“bad” violence all over again. So once again we have two Indras in opposition
Certain manifestations of mimesis or mimetic against each other, with who knows what
rivalry will already be familiar, such as ducklings disastrous calamity in the offing, two monstrous
following their mother, children imitating their doubles, not this time Garuda, the Indra of birds,
parents’ behavior, apprentices learning from their but King Janamejaya, the Indra of his earthly
masters, or again neighbors outdoing each other in subjects, facing off against the celestial Indra, who
the care of their lawns, the size of their TV’s, or had, after all, looked approvingly upon Takşaka’s
the luxury of their automobiles. The fabled blood- killing of Parikşit – for the sake not this time of the
feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys is Soma, but of Takşaka.
another example, one rather more to our point, in Poor Takşaka, meanwhile, though hidden in
that the violence involved, each act of retribution
Indra’s robe, and ostensibly under Indra’s
mimetically triggering a fresh reprisal, cannot end
protection, becomes so confused and weakened by
until the two families succeed in completely the magical incantations that he falls out of his
annihilating one another.
hiding place within Indra’s garments, raises his
René Girard, a French-American scholar now head to the skies, and, in his weakness and
Professor Emeritus at Stanford University in confusion, is nearly about to fall into the sacrificial
California, has developed a rich mimetic theory fire. This, then – so decree the priests – is the
that finds such mimetic mechanisms at work in the moment for Āstika to make known the boon he
Bible, in the works of Shakespeare, and elsewhere. wishes, and for the King to grant it. Alas for the
In his mimetic analyses of violence and the sacred, King, but not a moment too soon for Takşaka,
Girard sees the principal aim of religion as being Āstika utters his wish ([M], p. 120):
putting an end to violence, stopping all “bad” ‘I choose that your Session be stopped and no
violence by means of suitable “good” violence, more Snakes come down.’
incorporated into religious rituals in a form often
so highly sublimated or purely symbolic that the Thus would this “bad” violence be brought to an
generative violence it is based on becomes end, the unthinkable calamity averted, and the
virtually imperceptible. He reveals an endless King’s will, to have Takşaka and the remaining
cycle of mimetic desire, rivalry, revenge, and snakes all reduced to mere ashes, thwarted.
retribution, leading in a self-catalyzing cascade to Furious at such a request, the King tries by all
44 9
44 9
8 45
Foreword
46 7
Foreword
Afterword
6 47
Afterword
Table of Contents
Foreword 7
1. The Sacrificial Fire 13
2. Garuda 21
3. The Snake Sacrifice 35
Afterword 47
Bibliography 51
Table of Illustrations
Garuda as vehicle of Vishnu, Kanchipuram Cover
Fragment of Arjuna’s Penance, Mahabalipuram 2
Small roadside temple with cobra (Karnataka) 6
Sandstone snake idols, Varadarajaperumal Temple 8
Cobra idol in figure-eight knot, Mannarasala 12
Votive fire, Hanuman Temple (Karnataka) 14
Shivalingam with cobra and Krishna, Kanchipuram 18
Garuda guarding Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Madras 20
Garuda as vehicle of Vishnu, Mysore 22
Krishna battling cobra, Vishnu temple, Cochin 26
Krishna seated on cobra, Kesava Temple, Mysore 27
Garuda as festival vehicle, Mysore 34
Snake at edge of fire pit, Durga Temple, Mysore 36
Vāsuki at Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple 40
Sarpa Yakshi, consort of Nagaraja 41
Snake idols, Varadarajaperumal Temple 46
Turmeric-dusted votive idol, Mannarasala Temple 48
Turmeric-dusted votive idol. Coiled snake and elephants: festival vehicle 51
Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Harippad (Kerala), India.
48
Table of Contents
Foreword 7
1. The Sacrificial Fire 13
2. Garuda 21
3. The Snake Sacrifice 35
Afterword 47
Bibliography 51
Table of Illustrations
Garuda as vehicle of Vishnu, Kanchipuram Cover
Fragment of Arjuna’s Penance, Mahabalipuram 2
Small roadside temple with cobra (Karnataka) 6
Sandstone snake idols, Varadarajaperumal Temple 8
Cobra idol in figure-eight knot, Mannarasala 12
Votive fire, Hanuman Temple (Karnataka) 14
Shivalingam with cobra and Krishna, Kanchipuram 18
Garuda guarding Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Madras 20
Garuda as vehicle of Vishnu, Mysore 22
Krishna battling cobra, Vishnu temple, Cochin 26
Krishna seated on cobra, Kesava Temple, Mysore 27
Garuda as festival vehicle, Mysore 34
Snake at edge of fire pit, Durga Temple, Mysore 36
Vāsuki at Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple 40
Sarpa Yakshi, consort of Nagaraja 41
Snake idols, Varadarajaperumal Temple 46
Turmeric-dusted votive idol, Mannarasala Temple 48
Turmeric-dusted votive idol. Coiled snake and elephants: festival vehicle 51
Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Harippad (Kerala), India.
49
49
50
Bibliography
51
Bibliography