Narratives from the Garuḍa Purāṇa
The Garuḍa Purāṇa holds many narratives. The pages below retell them one by one in simple English, each with the chapters it comes from.
King Babhruvahaṇa meets a hundred pretas at a tīrtha and frees them all with the Nārāyaṇa Bali rite, as Bhagavān Vishṇu instructs.
Balāsura and the GemsHow the body of the asura Balāsura gave rise to diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other gems, as told in the Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa.
Bhadrā and MitravindāTwo wives of Kṛshṇa, Bhadrā and Mitravindā, lived lives of devotion to Vishṇu in an earlier birth and then married Kṛshṇa.
Gayāsura and the Origin of GayāThe Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa tells how Bhagavān Vishṇu slew the asura Gaya, and how his body became the holy kshetra of Gayā.
Jāmbāvatī and KṛshṇaThe longest of the wife-accounts in the Brahma Khaṇḍa: Jāmbāvatī's tapas at Veṅkaṭādri and her marriage to Kṛshṇa.
Kālindī Kṛshṇa VivāhaKālindī, daughter of Sūrya, did tapas on the Yamunā to win Bhagavān Vishṇu, and Bhagavān Kṛshṇa came and married her.
Lakshaṇā Kṛshṇa VivāhaLakshaṇā, born with every auspicious sign, chose Bhagavān Kṛshṇa as her husband and in her next birth he won her at a fish-target svayaṃvara.
Nāgnajitī Kṛshṇa VivāhaNīlā, also called Nāgnajitī, did tapas at Śeshācala to win Bhagavān Vishṇu and was later married to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa after the contest of the seven bulls.
Ruci Pitṛ SaṃvādaThe Pitṛ-devatās urge the unmarried brahmarshi Ruci to become a householder, and he later marries Mālinī and fathers Raucya Manu.
Saṃtaptaka and the Five PretasThe brāhmaṇa Saṃtaptaka meets five pretas at a cremation ground and frees them with śrāddha and the name of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
Sundarasena and ŚivarātriThe hunter-king Sundarasena kept Śivarātri without knowing it and was taken to Kailāsa, as Parameśvara tells Pārvatī.
Vīravāhana and Nārada's Past LifeKing Vīravāhana meets suffering pretas at Pushkara and learns that Nārada, in a past life, failed in his duty to their family.
Viśāla and Gayā Piṇḍa-DānaA merchant named Viśāla frees a preta, his ancestors and himself through piṇḍa-dāna at Gayāśīrsha.