Kal Garuḍan of Nāchiyār Kōvil

Another wondrous procession of Garuḍa is that of the Kal Garuḍan at Nāchiyār Kōvil, which continues to astonish devotees with its divine mystery. Carved entirely from sāḷagrāma stone, this Garuḍa stands ten and a half feet tall and is enshrined in a sannidhi of his own. Garuḍa is revered as the eternal bearer of Perumāl in temples throughout Bhāratam, but the Kal Garuḍan of Nāchiyār Kōvil stands apart, not only for his great size but for the inexplicable wonder that takes place during his procession.

According to tradition, when the sculptor completed the wings, something astonishing happened: the stone Garuḍa began to rise, as though about to take flight. In shock, and desperate to stop him from soaring away, the sculptor threw a stone that struck Garuḍa's nose. At once the divine bird ceased to rise and remained on the ground. Ever since, the Kal Garuḍan has stayed in the temple, blessing the devotees who come to seek his grace, and a small mark on his nose still bears silent witness to that day.

The Kal Garuḍa Sevai, held each year in the months of Mārgazhi and Panguni, brings forth a mystery that has been witnessed for generations. As Garuḍa is brought out of his sannidhi, adorned in a silk vēshti, dazzling ornaments and a great garland of flowers befitting the vāhanam of Perumāl, only four devotees are needed to carry him.

But as he moves through the prākārams, the temple corridors, his weight grows. With each successive prākāram the number of bearers needed doubles, from four to eight, then sixteen, then thirty-two and sixty-four, until, by the time the Kal Garuḍan reaches the vāhana maṇḍapam, one hundred and twenty-eight devotees are needed to carry him.

Then, before the eyes of all, beads of sweat form on the Kal Garuḍan's body, visibly soaking his silk garments, and drops of sweat appear on his nose, as though he were alive and bearing the strain of carrying Perumāl. Devotees regard this not as an illusion but as a sacred sign of Garuḍa's living presence.

More astonishing still is the return. As the Kal Garuḍan is carried back to his sannidhi, his weight diminishes in the same order, and the one hundred and twenty-eight bearers step away one group at a time, until only four are needed to set him back in his shrine. This wonder remains one of the great marvels of the temples of Sriman Nārāyaṇa, a living testimony to Garuḍa's devotion to Perumāl.