Double headed bird
Post No. 15,199
Date uploaded in London – 19 November 2025
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
xxxx
Part 34
Item 202
Akananuru (naanuuru)verse 10 composed by Ammuuvan gives us some interesting details:
அகநானூறு 10, அம்மூவனார், நெய்தற் திணை – தோழி தலைவனிடம் சொன்னது
வான் கடல் பரப்பில் தூவற்கு எதிரிய,
…………………………………………….
பழந்திமில் கொன்ற புது வலைப் பரதவர் 10
மோட்டு மணல் அடைகரைக் கோட்டு மீன் கொண்டி,
மணங்கமழ் பாக்கத்துப் பகுக்கும்
வளங்கெழு தொண்டி அன்ன இவள் நலனே. 13
The waves from the sea broke the boats and so they did not go for fishing. Luckily one shark came to the shore, and they caught it and shared it with the community of fishermen.
Kottu meen is the word used for the shark.
***
203
The beauty of the woman is compared to the port of Thondi. This port is mentioned by the Greeks as well.
The message of the poet conveyed is ‘the man should marry this woman quickly because there is much gossip in the town’.
The name of the poet Am Muuvan is Lord Shiva’s name according to my research. Muuvan- ‘Three in One’ is used for Shiva who has Three Eyes; another meaning is one who never becomes old/aged. It is in Tevaram verses.
***
அகநானுறு பாடல் 11 .
பாடல்:11
வானம் ஊர்ந்த வயங்கொளி மண்டிலம்
நெருப்பெனச் சிவந்த உருப்பவிர் அங்காட்டு,
இலையில மலர்ந்த முகையில் இலவம்
கலிகொள் ஆயம் மலிபுதொகுபு எடுத்த
அஞ்சுடர் நெடுங்கொடி பொற்பத் தோன்றி, 5
கயந்துகள் ஆகிய பயம்தபு கானம்
எம்மொடு கழிந்தனர் ஆயின், கம்மென,
வம்புவிரித் தன்ன பொங்குமணற் கானயாற்றுப்,
படுசினை தாழ்ந்த பயிலிணர் எக்கர்,
மெய்புகுவு அன்ன கைகவர் முயக்கம் 10
அவரும் பெறுகுவர் மன்னே! ………………
204
Kartikai Deepam
Akananuru verse 11 sung by Avvaiyar (avvaiyaar) gives us important detail about the famous Kartikai Deepa/Lamp festival. If one visits Tamil Nadu on Kartikai Full Moon day (Purnima) one can see millions of Mud lamps are lighted at the sun set in every nook and corner of the town. This is practised even today. North Indians practise such lighting during Deepavali, but Tamils light the lamps inside and outside the houses on Kartikai full moon day/Purnima day.
Poetess Avvaiyaar gives this as a simile which means it is widely practised. She says the flowers of the silk cotton trees in a row looked like Kartikai lamps that were lighted by the women shouting happily.
205
Another simile used by the poetess is also interesting. The sand dunes in the waterless river looked like an open brazier and the branches of the trees hugging them is like humans. My man will also get it, says a house woman, who is suffering from temporary separation. She is addressing her friend.
Kartikai festival is mentioned in Kalittokai also.
***
பாடல்:12 (யாயேகண்ணினும்)
யாயே, கண்ணினும் கடுங் காதலளே
எந்தையும், நிலன்உரப் பொறாஅன்; ‘சீறுடி சிவப்ப,
எவன், இல! குறுமகள்! இயங்குதி! என்னும்;’
யாமே, பிரிவு இன்று இயைந்த துவரா நட்பின்,
இருதலைப் புள்ளின் ஓர் உயிரம்மே; 5
ஏனல்அம் காவலர் ஆனாது ஆர்த்தொறும்
கிளிவிளி பயிற்றும் வெளில்ஆடு பெருஞ்சினை
206
Keladi Temple, Karnataka
Mythical Bharanda bird- one body two heads
Akananuru verse 12 by poet Kapilar is the most interesting one because it mentioned the Ganda Bharanda pakshi – the bird with two heads but one body. This bird is still used in the stamps, currencies, coins, flags and emblems. The oldest image of the bird is in Sumeria; later Vijayanagara kings used this bird as an royal emblem; even now we see it in Karnataka royal emblems.
Companion /friend of the lady love used this bird as a simile. She said I and she are like a bird with two heads with a single body. She told the lover, ‘If you don’t get married quickly she will die. That means when she dies, I will also die’.
***
207
The poem is full of beautiful natural sceneries:
Venkai tree flowers on the ground looked like a Venkai (tiger).
Mother of the girl protects her like her eye. Father of the girl says, ‘my darling don’t walk on the ground; your feet will become red’.
***
208
Another simile is about the parrots. Guardian girls of the millet fields are singing to drive away the foraging parrots. But the parrots mistake it for their companions’ voice and rush to the fields to eat the grains. Parrots’ sweet voice= girls’ sweet songs!
***
209
MY OLD ARTICLE POSTED HERE IN YEAR 2011
Double Headed Eagle: Sumerian-Indian Connection
By S Swaminathan, Posted on 18th December 2011.
There are striking similarities between the Indian and Sumerian civilizations. One of them is the use of the Double Headed Eagle as a royal symbol. From 3800 BC until today this mythical bird is used as a symbol of royalty. Russia and other Eastern European countries use it on their currency notes and national flags. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh praise the mighty strength of this bird in coins, sculptures and literature.
The Panchatantra used the story of double headed bird, also known as Ganda Berunda bird, to emphasize unity.
Ancient Cankam (Sangam) Tamil literature used this bird in their love poetry. Devotional poets of India like Ekanath also used this bird as a simile.
Sumerians considered this bird the symbol of God Ninurta of Lagash. They thought it had divine power. We can trace the history of this mythical bird from the Sumerian days. A cylindrical seal shows the double headed eagle from 3800 BC. Later, the Hittite empire which had its capital in Bogazkoy (in Modern Turkey) used it in several monuments. Even today we can see the monuments displaying this symbol in huge sculptures in Hattusa and Yazilikaya. Bogazkoy was the place where a tablet with the names of the Vedic Gods Indra, Mitra, Nasatya and Varuna was discovered. The tablet was dated 1380 BC. This establishes the Indian connection of the region.
Even the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire used this symbol. This Hindu symbol was used by the Christians.
In Sanskrit literature – the Panchatantra (book of fables) has a story about Ganda Berunda bird. It says that the bird had two heads but one stomach. In the story, one head wanted to drink Amrita (ambrosia) but the other head went for poison. Ultimately, the head that drank the poison made the bird die. The moral of the story is that disunity is dangerous.
Tamil literature, dated two thousand years old, mentions it in three places. In Akananuru, poet Kapilar (verse 12) compares this double-headed, single-bellied bird to two people in love. Though there were two physical bodies, they have one life. Nallanthuvanar also used this simile in Paripatal (Verse 8-72). But another Tamil poet Maruthan Ilanagan in Kalithokai (verse 89) used this bird in the form of two fighting heads, like the Panchatantra story. It shows that Indians from one end of the land to the other knew this bird very well. Thakadur Yaththirai is a lost Tamil book, but excerpts are available as quotes in other works. These quotes compared the fight between two kings Athiyaman and Peruncheral Irumporai to the double headed bird fighting with itself. (Ref. Purath thirattu verse 785).
The Bird that lifts elephants
The most imaginative story of the bird comes from the Vijayanagar Empire. Gold Coins issued by Achyuta Raya (1530-1542) show the Ganda Berunda bird lifting an elephant in each of its beaks. Its power is legendary. Other coins show each head holding a snake. Before Achyuta Raya Devaraya II (1422-1446) issued coins with the bird’s name in Deva Nagari script.
Jain Stupa at Sirkap, Taxila is the most ancient Ganda Berunda monument in India. We can see this mythical bird sculptures in Srisailam, Keladi, Koramangala, Belur and the medieval art of Sri Lanka.
Recently even dances were choreographed showing the magical strength of the bird. Dasara Flower Show in Mysore had a 10-foot flower decoration of the bird to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the bird symbol in Karnataka.
The Wodeyar family of Mysore use this as their royal emblem. Later the Government of Karnataka used it as the emblem of the state. There are stories connecting this bird with the Narasimha (Man-Lion) avatara of Vishnu.
Eastern European country Albania has this bird in its national flag. Several countries issued stamps and coins as well. Russian Roubles and Kopeks had this bird.
In the Eastern Province Erzurum of Turkey, a huge double headed eagle is being erected in 2011 which is visible from space. Turkey gives so much importance to this legendary bird.
An ancient monument of Turkey shows this bird lifting two hares on its beaks. But the imagination of Indians made it a dinosaur lifting two elephants on its beaks!
Double Headed Bird in Hinduism
Here is the full detail of the twin headed bird:
Post No. 13,071
Date uploaded in London – – 7 March 2024
Double headed bird is called Bharanda, Gaṇḍabheruṇḍa, Bhāraṇḍa (भारण्ड) in Hinduism. It is a Sanskrit word. From Sumerian Civilization to Vijayanagara Samrajya of 14th century we see this bird in art and architecture. The strange thing about this bird is still the East European countries and Russia use this bird in their national emblems or Flags or coins.
The Gaṇḍabheruṇḍa (गण्डभेरुण्ड), a double-headed eagle, has been the State symbol of many royal dynasties especially in South India. According to the archaeologists and historians, the bird signifies peace, progress and power. The Purāṇas indicate that Viṣṇu as Gaṇḍabheruṇḍa subdued Śiva as Śarabha after Narasiṃha was conquered by Śarabha.
Hindus used it in many places. A rishi was named Bharanda in Yoga Vasistha. It is not unusual to see a bird name for a seer. Many of our Rishis/ Seers have bird names such as Kausika, Bharadwaja, Chandilya etc.
Bharaṇḍa (भरण्ड) is another name for Bheruṇḍa or Garuḍa, as mentioned in the foreword to volume 7 of the translation of the Kathāsaritsāgara.
Probably Panchatantra which is 2000 year old is the earliest Sanskrit book that used this bird .
Bhāraṇḍa (भारण्ड).—A kind of fabulous bird. (Also bhāruṇḍa); एकोदराः पृथग्ग्रीवा अन्योन्यफलभक्षिणः । असंहता विनश्यन्ति भारण्डा इव पक्षिणः (ekodarāḥ pṛthaggrīvā anyonyaphalabhakṣiṇaḥ | asaṃhatā vinaśyanti bhāraṇḍā iva pakṣiṇaḥ) Pañcatantra (Bombay) 5.11.
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In Jainism
Bhāraṇḍa (भारण्ड) refers to “fabulous three-legged birds”, as mentioned in chapter 1.5 [ādīśvara-caritra] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra: an ancient Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three illustrious persons in Jainism
Wikipedia adds more details,
Gandaberunda (Sanskrit: गण्डभेरुण्ड, lit. ’the powerful-necked one’, IAST: Gaṇḍabheruṇḍa) is a two-headed bird and he is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu as Narasimha and he has enormous powers in Hindu mythology. In Hinduism, Gandaberunda is a form of Vishnu as Narasimha who fought and disemboweled and killed Sharabha, a form of Shiva and Hiranyakashipu at the same time in Hindu mythology.
The two headed eagle is holding two elephants in his claws and beaks, revealing his enormous powers. In a coin found in Madurai, he is holding a snake in his beak.
All 2-dimensional depictions show a symmetrical image in which he is a double-headed eagle while other images show his long tail feathers like a peafowl. In the Chennakeshava Temple, Beluru, Karnataka, Gandaberunda as a two headed eagle is carved in a scene of chain of destruction, which results in the destruction of the universe.
Gandaberunda is a form of Narasimha, the fourth incarnation of Vishnu in the Dashavatara of Vishnu and he disemboweled and killed both Sharabha and Hiranyakashipu at the same time. He is present in many Hindu scriptures.
—subham—-
Tags- Double headed bird, Ganda Bheranda bird, Akananuru, Kartikai Deepam, Ancient Tamil Encyclopaedia -Part 34; One Thousand Interesting Facts -Part 34
Tamil and Vedas 
