Editing Garuda (section)

===Iconography===
[[File:Bharhut portable Garuda pillar.jpg|thumb|upright|Relief depicting a portable Garuda pillar, one of the oldest images of Garuda, [[Bharhut]], 100 BCE.<ref>Gupta, The Roots of Indian Art, 1980, p.29</ref>]]
The Hindu texts on Garuda iconography vary in their details. If in the bird form, he is eagle-like, typically with the wings slightly open as if ready and willing to fly wherever he needs to.<ref name=rao285/> In part human-form, he may have an eagle-like nose, beak or legs, his eyes are open and big, his body is the color of emerald, and his wings are golden-yellow. He may be shown with either two or four hands.<ref name=rao285/> If he is not carrying Vishnu, he holds a jar of ''amrita'' (immortality nectar) in one hand in the rear and an umbrella in the other, while the front pair of hands are in ''anjali'' ([[namaste]]) posture. If he is carrying Vishnu, the rear hands provide the support for Vishnu's feet.<ref name=rao285/><ref name="Donaldson2001p253">{{cite book|author=Thomas E. Donaldson|title=The iconography of Vaiṣṇava images in Orissa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2BvqAAAAMAAJ|year=2001|publisher=DK Printworld|pages=253–259|isbn=978-81-246-0173-0|access-date=7 January 2018|archive-date=6 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706210432/https://books.google.com/books?id=2BvqAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the text ''Silparatna'', states Rao, Garuda is best depicted with only two hands and with four bands of colours: "golden yellow colour from feet to knees, white from knees to the navel, scarlet from navel to neck, and black above the neck". His hands, recommends the text, should be in ''abhaya'' (nothing to fear) posture.<ref name=rao285/> In ''Sritatvanidhi'' text, the recommended iconography for Garuda is a kneeling figure, who wears one or more serpents, pointed bird-beak like nose, his two hands in ''namaste'' posture. This style is commonly found in Hindu temples dedicated to Vishnu.<ref name=rao285/>

In some iconography, Garuda carries Vishnu and his two consorts by his side: [[Lakshmi|Sridevi]] and [[Bhumi (goddess)|Bhudevi]].<ref name="Dalal2010p123">{{cite book |author=Roshen Dalal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC |title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-14-341517-6 |page=123 |access-date=8 January 2018 |archive-date=6 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706210439/https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC |url-status=live }}</ref>

Garuda iconography is found in early temples of India, such as on the underside of the [[eave]] at Cave 3 entrance of the [[Badami cave temples]] (6th-century).<ref name=rao285/><ref>{{cite book|author=George Michell|title=Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzTcoQEACAAJ| year=2015|publisher= Jaico Publishing|isbn=978-81-8495-600-9|pages=49–52}}</ref>