Garuda Garuda "For the national airline of Indonesia, see Garuda Indonesia" The Garuda is a legendary bird or bird-like creature in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain mythology. He is variously the vehicle mount ("vahana") of the Hindu god Vishnu, a dharma-protector and Astasena in Buddhism, and the Yaksha of the Jain Tirthankara Shantinatha. Garuda is described as the king of birds and a kite-like figure. He is shown either in zoomorphic form (giant bird with partially open wings) or an anthropomorphic form (man with wings and some bird features). Garuda is generally a protector with power to swiftly go anywhere, ever watchful
National emblem of Indonesia the Garuda in Indonesia's coat-of-arms invokes the pre-colonial Hindu kingdoms that spanned across the archipelago, from which the present-day Republic of Indonesia is understood to be descended. However, unlike the traditional anthropomorphic form of Garuda as featured in ancient temples in Java, the Balinese Garuda, or the national emblem of Thailand, the design of Indonesia's "Garuda Pancasila" is rendered in modern naturalist style. The design of "Garuda Pancasila" was inspired by the "elang Jawa" or Javan hawk-eagle ("Nisaetus bartelsi"), an endangered raptor endemic to the mountainous forest regions of Java. The Javan hawk-eagle's resemblance to the "Garuda Pancasila" is most