Editing Garuda (section)

===Symbolism===
[[File:Gilt bronze Garuda.jpg|thumb|150px|19th century gilt bronze Garuda.]]
Garuda's links to Vishnu – the Hindu god who fights injustice and destroys evil in his various [[avatar]]s to preserve [[dharma]] – have made him an iconic symbol of kings' duty and power, an insignia of royalty or dharma. His eagle-like form is shown either alone or with Vishnu, signifying divine approval of the power of the state.<ref name="Williams2008p138"/> He is found on the faces of many early Hindu kingdom coins with this symbolism, either as a single-headed bird or a three-headed bird that watches all sides.<ref name="Bajpai2004p19">{{cite book|author=K. D. Bajpai|title=Indian Numismatic Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chGrJUMarHoC|date=October 2004|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-035-8|pages=19–24, 84–85, 120–124, 148–149|access-date=7 January 2018|archive-date=6 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706210945/https://books.google.com/books?id=chGrJUMarHoC|url-status=live}}</ref>

Throughout the Mahabharata, Garuda is invoked as a symbol of impetuous violent force, speed, and martial prowess. Powerful warriors advancing rapidly on doomed foes are likened to Garuda swooping down on a serpent. Defeated warriors are like snakes beaten down by Garuda. The Mahabharata character [[Drona]] uses a military formation named after Garuda. [[Krishna]] carries the image of Garuda on his banner.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VW6fDwAAQBAJ&dq=Krishna+Garuda+banner&pg=PA338 |title=Krishna's Lineage: The Harivamsha of Vyasa's Mahabharata |date=2 July 2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-027920-2 |pages=338 |language=en}}</ref>