Lord Garuda, a divine vehicle of Lord Vishnu, is also a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. Once, Lord Garuda performed penance on Lord Shiva, after knowing about his significance from his master Lord Vishnu. He performed rigorous meditation on Lord Shiva in the holy mountain Himalayas, and since Lord Shiva was pleased with the devotion of Garuda, he has given him the title as “GARUDESWARA”, which he used to give only to a few of his devotees, like Lord Saneeswara and Lord Muneeswara.
After getting boons from Lord Shiva, Lord Garuda was very much pleased with Lord Shiva, offered prayers to him, and went to the holy Vaikunta, to serve his master Vishnu, as his Divine Vehicle. Lord Garuda contains great powers, and still now Garuda Birds are available all over the world, and they resemble similar to the eagles, but most of the Garuda Birds contain white patches on their neck. Those who feed Garuda Birds with eatables like fruits, milk and grains would be blessed by Lord Garuda, and by his master Lord Vishnu, and thereafter their life would go much stronger than ever before.
We can praise Lord Garuda by reciting the Mantra, “OM SRI GARUDESWARAYA NAMAHA”, “OM SRI GARUDA BHAGAVANE NAMAHA”, “OM SRI GARUDAZHWARE NAMAHA”. Whenever Lord Vishnu expands his size, his divine vehicle Garuda also would expand his size similar to his master Lord Vishnu, in order to gain sufficient strength to hold the weight of his master. When Lord Krishna waged a war with Demon Naragasura, along with Satyabama, Garuda also fought with Naragasura, using his nails and sharp nose, and killed many of the soldiers of Naragasura.
The great Alvar Saint Perialvar is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Garuda, and he was the foster father of Ma Andal, who is believed to be an incarnation of Ma Bhudevi. Garuda contains excellent powers, and he was mentioned in ancient Greek texts, as God Typhon, who has carried the entire earth on his shoulders very easily. Garuda is an ancient god, who exists for several millions of years, and he has got great powers, even before becoming a divine vehicle of Lord Vishnu. Garuda Seva is a popular festival which is celebrated in Tirumala, and also it is celebrated in most of the temples of Lord Vishnu.