khyung

1) [deity in the form of a] garuda; 2) large bird; 3) sacred lord; 4) a clan; 5) herd, multitude [IW]

garuda. 1) chief of the feathered race, garuda, deity in the form of a garuda sacred lord. Syn mkha' lding, nam mkha' lding. 2) n. of a family clan. 3) herd, multitude; a garuda [RY]

• Garuḍa [GD]

garuda, enemy of klu, roc, mythical bird of great size, eagle, herd, multitude, mythical chief of the feathered race, golden eagle, corresponds to zhung in the ancient language of zhang zhung [JV]

1) garuḍa; 2) the deity named Garuḍa, who takes the form of a garuḍa; 3) the Khyung clan (ancient Tibetan family); 4) herd. From the New World Encyclopedia': Garuḍa (from the Sanskrit: Garuḍa गरुड or "devourer") is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology. In Hindu myth, Garuḍa is a lesser divinity, usually the vehicle (or vahana) of Vishnu, the supreme preserver deity. Hindus have bestowed various names of veneration upon him, including Amritaharana ("stealer of ambrosial nectar") Gaganeshvara ("lord of the sky"), and Suparna ("having beautiful wings"), among others. Although considered a minor deity, Garuḍa has an independent Upanishad, the Garudopanidad, and a Purana, the Garuḍa Purana, devoted specifically to him. In Buddhism, meanwhile, the garuḍas are an entire race of winged beings who exist in rivalry with the nāgas, serpentine sea creatures... In Buddhist mythology, the garuḍa-s (Pāli: garuḷā) are a race of enormous predatory birds of great intelligence and social organization. Another name for the garuḍa is suparṇa (Pāli: supaṇṇa), meaning "well-winged" or "having good wings." Garuḍa is occasionally depicted as the vehicle of Amoghasiddhi, one of the five Dhyani or "self-born" Buddhas [and lord of the Karma Family]. The term 'Garuḍa' is sometimes even used as an epithet for the Buddha himself. Like the nāgas, garuḍas combine the characteristics of animals and divine beings, and so they are considered to be among the lowest devas or gods in Buddhism. Just as in Hinduism, the garuḍas are enemies to the nāgas, whom they hunt. The garuḍas at one time caught the nāgas by seizing them by their heads, although the nāgas quickly learned that by swallowing large stones, they could make themselves too heavy to be carried in the garuḍas talons, wearing them out and eventually killing them from exhaustion. According to the Pandara Jātaka (J.518), this secret was divulged to one of the garuḍas by the ascetic Karambiya, who subsequently taught him how to seize a nāga by the tail and force him to vomit up the stone he had swallowed. In the Mahasamyatta Sutta, the Buddha is shown making temporary peace between the nāgas and the garuḍas. The exact size of a garuḍa is uncertain, but its wings are said to have a span of many miles. Buddhist mythology claims that when a garuḍas wings flap, they create hurricane-like winds that blow down houses and darken the sky. According to the Kākātī Jātaka, J.327, a human being is so tiny in comparison to a garuḍa that a man can hide inside the plumage of a garuḍas wings without being noticed. Garuḍas are also capable of tearing up entire banyan trees from their roots and carrying them off. The garuḍas are ruled by kings and live together in large cities. Their dwellings are in groves of the simbalī, or silk-cotton trees. They are apt protectors of wherever it is they reside, and garuḍas were among the beings appointed by Śakra to guard Mount Sumeru and the Trayastrimsa heaven from the attacks of the asuras. At least some of them have the magical power of changing into human form when they wish to have dealings with people. On some occasions garuḍa kings have had romances with human women in this form. [Erick Tsiknopoulos]