Nagas and Garuda – Why Were Two Brothers Bound by Enmity Instead of Love?

Hindu mythology has a way of turning simple relationships into cosmic dramas, where even family bonds reflect the deepest truths of creation. Nowhere is this more evident than in the story of Garuda, the king of birds, and the Nagas, the serpent race. They were not strangers or distant enemies from rival tribes. They were, in fact, brothers—sharing the same father, the great sage Kashyapa, and born of two sisters.

And yet, instead of harmony, their story became one of rivalry, trickery, and eternal hostility. To this day, they are remembered as natural enemies—the eagle swooping down upon the serpent, the serpent striking back with venom.

Why did two brothers, born under the same roof, end up as rivals across the ages? To answer this, we must travel deep into the Mahabharata, the Puranas, and the symbols encoded in Hindu temple traditions.

The Divine Family of Kashyapa

Sage Kashyapa, one of the Saptarishis (seven seers), was married to several daughters of Daksha Prajapati. Among his wives, Vinatā and Kadru are the key figures in this story.

Vinatā – She became the mother of Garuda and Aruṇa (the charioteer of the Sun God).
Kadru – She gave birth to the Nagas, the race of serpents including Vasuki, Takshaka, and Kaliya.

Thus, the mighty eagle Garuda and the serpents were brothers through their father and cousins through their mothers.

This family relationship alone is astonishing—how two beings that represent opposites in nature could be born from the same household. But in Hindu mythology, this is no accident. The cosmos thrives on duality, and Kashyapa’s family itself reflects the unity of contradictions.

The Wager That Changed Everything

The seed of conflict was sown not by the brothers but by their mothers. The Mahabharata describes how Kadru and Vinatā once saw Uchchaihshravas, the celestial white horse born during the Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean).

Kadru claimed the horse had a black tail.
Vinatā insisted it was completely white.

They placed a wager: whichever sister was wrong would become the servant of the other.

But Kadru, determined to win, plotted deception. She ordered her serpent sons to coil around the horse’s tail, making it appear black. When the horse appeared before them, Vinatā lost the bet. From then on, Vinatā became enslaved to Kadru, and by extension, Garuda was forced to serve the Nagas.

Garuda’s Devotion and the Quest for Amrit

The humiliation of his mother weighed heavily upon Garuda. Despite his immense strength, he endured the insults of the serpents for her sake. But when the Nagas demanded the impossible—fetching the nectar of immortality (Amrit) from the heavens as the price for his mother’s freedom—Garuda accepted.

This episode, narrated in detail in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, is one of the most thrilling adventures in Hindu literature.

Garuda fought through gods and obstacles, reduced entire armies with his might, and finally seized the pot of nectar. But he was not greedy. He never drank it himself. Instead, he presented it to the Nagas, as promised, so his mother could be freed.

Yet, through divine intervention, the Nagas never tasted immortality. Just as they approached the nectar, Lord Indra carried it away. In their haste, the serpents licked the ground where drops had spilled, splitting their tongues—explaining why snakes today are said to have forked tongues.

For his selflessness and courage, Lord Vishnu blessed Garuda, making him his eternal vehicle (vahana). From that moment, Garuda rose above the Nagas—not only physically, as their predator—but spiritually, as Vishnu’s chosen companion.

The Symbolism of Enmity

On the surface, the hostility between Garuda and the Nagas seems like a natural allegory: eagles prey on serpents in the real world. But Hindu mythology is rarely literal. The relationship carries multiple symbolic layers:

Freedom vs. Bondage – Garuda, the eagle, represents the soaring spirit, free from chains, devoted to the divine. The Nagas, bound to the earth and hidden in caves, symbolize attachment, desire, and the coiling traps of material life.
Light vs. Shadow – Garuda, radiant like the sun, is the enemy of darkness. Serpents, often associated with the underworld (Pātāla), represent the unseen, the secret, the mysterious powers hidden beneath the surface.
Dharma vs. Deceit – The conflict began with Kadru’s trickery and Vinatā’s slavery. Garuda’s rise shows that dharma and devotion eventually triumph over deception, even if the struggle is long.

Thus, their enmity is not personal—it is cosmic. It is the eternal struggle between liberation and entanglement, between the sky and the earth, between spirit and matter.

Scriptural References

In the Mahabharata (Adi Parva), the story of Garuda’s birth, his battles with the gods, and his enmity with the Nagas is described in detail.
The Bhagavata Purana expands upon Garuda’s devotion to Lord Vishnu, highlighting his role as a servant of dharma and protector of devotees.
In the Garuda Purana, Garuda emerges as a teacher, imparting wisdom on the afterlife, karma, and liberation. Interestingly, the same text often warns against the Nagas, associating them with karmic bondage.

Iconography in Temples

Indian temples often depict Garuda and the Nagas in sculptural form:

Garuda crushing serpents under his claws, symbolizing his eternal victory over bondage.
Naga icons placed at temple entrances or water tanks, representing protection and fertility.
In Vaishnavite temples, Garuda is always found kneeling before Vishnu, reminding devotees of selfless service, while Nagas often appear entwined around Vishnu’s couch (Ananta Shesha), reminding us of the cosmic balance between opposing forces.

The coexistence of Garuda and Nagas in temple art reveals that enmity is only one layer of their story. They both have sacred roles—one as a liberator, the other as a guardian of hidden treasures and cosmic mysteries.

Beyond Hostility – When They Cooperated

Curiously, not all stories pit them against each other. In some legends, Nagas and Garuda appear as part of the same cosmic order.

Shesha Naga, the serpent of infinity, is not Garuda’s enemy but the very couch on which Vishnu rests.
Some Nagas became revered protectors of water bodies, fields, and treasures.
Garuda himself is invoked in mantras to protect against harmful snakebites, showing that his role is not to annihilate but to balance.

Thus, while myth preserves their rivalry, it also acknowledges that both are needed—the serpent as keeper of mysteries, and the eagle as messenger of freedom.

Lessons Hidden in Their Relationship

The Dangers of Deceit – Kadru’s trick to win a wager destroyed harmony between families for eternity. A single act of dishonesty can ripple across generations.
The Power of Selflessness – Garuda’s willingness to risk everything for his mother’s freedom shows the strength of devotion and duty.
Duality in Creation – The universe thrives on opposites. Just as day and night define each other, Garuda and Nagas remind us that spirit and matter, freedom and bondage, are both parts of existence.
Rising Above Enmity – Despite his hatred for the Nagas, Garuda did not consume the nectar of immortality for himself. His restraint shows that dharma is about rising above vengeance.

Why Their Story Still Resonates

Even today, the rivalry of Garuda and the Nagas has meaning. Farmers in India invoke Garuda mantras to protect against snakes in their fields. Devotees pray to Garuda for freedom from poison—not just physical snake venom but the symbolic venom of greed, anger, and attachment.

Meanwhile, Nagas are worshipped during festivals like Nag Panchami, reminding us of their role as guardians of fertility and rain. The tension between them is not about destruction but about balance.

Epilogue – The Brothers Who Became Symbols

At its heart, the story of Garuda and the Nagas is not about two brothers who hated each other. It is about how cosmic forces, born of the same source, can diverge into opposites to maintain balance in creation.

Garuda, the eternal servant of Vishnu, represents the soul’s longing to rise to the heavens. The Nagas, rooted in the earth, represent the forces that bind us to the material world. Both are necessary. One teaches us flight; the other teaches us grounding.

Their enmity, therefore, is not a curse but a reminder—a reminder that liberation is meaningful only when we understand the forces that hold us back.