Karura
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Karura (迦楼羅) is an enormous, fire-breathing creature from Japanese Hindu-Buddhist mythology. It has the body of a human and the face or beak of an eagle. It is based on the original Hindu mythical divinity Garuda;[1] and brought to Japan via Buddhism. Karura is a Japanese transliteration of the Sanskrit Garuḍa गरुड or the Pāli Garuḷa.
The Karura is said to be the enemy of snakes and dragons, just as Garuda is the enemy of the Nāgas. Only a dragon who possesses a Buddhist talisman, or one who has converted to the Buddhist teaching, can escape from the Karura.
The Karura is often mistaken for the Hōō (鳳凰), or Phoenix.
See also
References
- ^ Hindu Gods and Goddesses in Japan By Saroj Kumar Chaudhuri p.151
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Khyung Garuda ཁྲོཾ 
I visited Sanjusangendo in Kyoto last November and saw this Karura figure
(I see there is a copyright note attached to the image. Here is the source URL: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/karura.shtml).
In the same temple this figure (a thunder god, “Raijin”, occupies an awesome central guardian position (at least that’s how I remember the setting). I know they are different deities, but might they be related?
Forgot the link. Scroll down — Raijin appears on the left
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/28-bushu-kannon.shtml
Karura and Raijin are two of the twenty-eight deities depicted as protecting Kannon (Guanyin).
I think there is every chance that there may be a link. Certainly Garuda is sometimes depicted as a Thunder bringer with a vajra (thunderbolt weapon) in each hand. Raijin wields a similar device. I haven’t got to grips with the Japanese iconography as yet, but there seems to be an overlap betwween the devilsome Tengu and the helpful Kami deities. In one story the long noses of the Tengu were derived from the beaks of the Garudas. It doesn’t help that Tengu are ‘devil dogs’ and sometimes have an avian form! LOL 🙂
‘onmarkprductions’ has done an excellent job in describing the iconography. maybe when I’ve compiled all that I can on Garudas, I’ll branch out into something even more esoteric. There is of course an inherent problem with choosing a deity which is not well known – a lack of data. 🙂