And the elephant is six yojanas in height
and twice that measure in circumference. And the height of the tortoise
also is three yojanas and his circumference ten. Eat thou up both of them
that are madly engaged in the encounter and bent upon slaying each other,
and then accomplish the task that thou desirest. Eating that fierce
elephant which looketh like a huge mountain and resembleth a mass of dark
clouds, bring thou amrita.'
"Sauti continued, 'Having said so unto Garuda, he (Kasyapa) blessed him,
saying, 'Blest be thou when thou art in combat with the gods. Let water
pitchers filled to the brim, Brahmanas, kine, and other auspicious objects,
bless thee, thou oviparous one. And, O thou of great strength, when thou
art engaged with the gods in combat, let the Riks, the Yajus, the Samas,
the sacred sacrificial butter, all the mysteries (Upanishads), constitute
thy strength.'
"Garuda, thus addressed by his father, wended to the side of that lake. He
saw that expanse of clear water with birds of various kinds all around.
And remembering the words of his father, that ranger of the skies
possessed of great swiftness of motion, seized the elephant and the
tortoise, one in each claw. And that bird then soared high into the air.
And he came upon a sacred place called Alamva and saw many divine trees.
And struck by the wind raised by his wings, those trees began to shake
with fear. And those divine trees having golden boughs feared that they
would break.
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