Long ago Kadru, the mother of the serpents, made a wager with
her rival Vinata, the mother of the great bird Garuda. She won the
wager and enslaved her rival. Now Garuda's anger continued even
after he had freed his mother from slavery. He kept going into the
underworld where Kadru's offspring, the serpents, live, to eat
them. Some he killed, others he crushed.

Then Vasuki, king of the serpents, feared that in time all would be
lost if the serpents were all to be slain thus. So he made an
agreement with Garuda. He said: "O king of birds, I will send one
serpent every day to the shore of the southern sea for you to eat.
But you are never to enter the underworld again. What advantage
would it be to you if all the serpents were slain at once?" And
Garuda agreed, with an eye to his own advantage.

Since that time Garuda every day eats the snake sent by Vasuki
here on the seashore. And these heaps of bones from the serpents
that have been eaten, have in time formed a regular mountain.

When Cloud-chariot heard this story from the lips of
Friend-wealth, he was deeply grieved and said: "My friend,
wretched indeed is that king Vasuki who deliberately sacrifices his
own subjects to their enemy. He is a coward. He has a thousand
heads, yet could not find a single mouth to say: O Garuda, eat me
first.' How could he be so mean as to beg Garuda to destroy his
own race? Or how can Garuda, the heavenly bird, do such a crime?
Oh, insolent madness!"

So the noble Cloud-chariot made up his mind that he would use his