Sri Garuda Puranam : Garuda Purana - Garuda Charithra - Garuda Kshetras & Slokas

Brahma arpanam brahma havi:
brahmaagnow brahmanaahitham|
Brahmaiva tena ganthavyam brahma-karma samaadinaall
Aapaada mouliparyantham gurunaamaakrutim smareth|
Tenavignaa: pranasyanthi sidhyanthicha manoratha: ll
It is not an easy job to write about the auspicious qualities of the Lord. To bring out the voluminous Garuda Purana in a small book in a condensed form is very difficult. To claim that I have brought it out is not sensible. When the great saints like Sri Madhwa, Sd Raghavendra etc are disclaiming authorship for their wonderful works and say with all humility that it is Sri Had on whose motivation everything is done, is it not childish to say that it is I who has brought out this book?
Of the eighteen Puranas authored by Lord Sri Vedavyasa, Garuda Purana is the one which is classified as Satvika Purana. It is not a mere Purana in the spiritual sense of the word but it serves also as a guidebook enumerating the code of conduct for a righteous living. If it is carefully read and understood errors in life may be guarded against.
The object of Sri Garuda Purana is to reform wrong-doers and to lead them In the right direction for better worlds.
Kunti prayed Lord Krishna to give her always sufferings. The reason given by her for such a prayer is if one is always in the state of happiness he totally forgets God. If he is always in the midst of miseries he will never forget Him. The miseries faced by great persons have become the source for many scriptural and moral texts to come out for the benefit of mankind. The curse of Srungi impelled King Parikshit to undertake fast unto death and during his last seven days Srimad Bhagavata came out through Sukacharya. Likewise we got Mahabharata during Sarpa yaga of King Janamejaya. During the Vanavasa of Yudhishtira the stories of Harischandra and Nala have come out. To alleviate the sufferings of humanity Sri Garuda Parana has emerged.
Garuda's mother was toiling as a slave under his step mother and he rescued her by his efforts. With a view that such sufferings undergone by his mother should not be experienced by others in future, Garuda asked Lord Narayana many questions and the Lord answered them all. Sri Garuda Purana consists of those questions and answers. The Lord's answers guide us as to what ought to be done and what ought not to be done to cross the ocean of miseries.
In addition to what is told In the Purana, this book has the special feature of giving Garuda's history and some interesting details about him. Further, important slokas relating to him useful for daily parayana are also given. Valid reasons are also given in this book to clear the baseless doubt of some people whether Garuda Purana may be read in the house. Generally only portions from Karmakanda of Garuda Purana will be taken for narration. But in this book portions from Brahmakanda also are given.
In the monthly issues of Tamil magazine, ' Sri Gurusarvabouma ', published by Sri Raghavendra Swami Mutt these articles on Garuda Purana were published continuously for two years. At that time Sri Amman Sathyanathan suggested to bring out those in book form. He readily offered to publish it through his Arulmigu Amman Pathippagam and the book thus brought out is very nice and more than my expectations. The titles given by him to the anecdotes are appropriate and the picturesque illustrations afforded by him enhance the get up of this book. My special thanks are due to him in this regard.
I am also thankful to Sri C.R. Krishnaswami Rao, Manager, Sri Raghavendraswamy Mutt, Srirangam and Srimati Lakshmibal for their kind patronage to publish this serially in the monthly magazine, Sri Gurusarvabouma.
With a deep sense of profound respect I dedicate this book to my parents (Late) Srimati Kamalabai and Sri C.Ramachandra Rao (C.R. Rao) who inducted me in right path telling me daily Puranas, moral stories and Kuladharmas.