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Vinata

Also called: Suparni

Mother of Aruna and Garuda in the Mahabharata, wife of Kashyapa, enslaved to her sister Kadru after a wager about the tail of the horse Uchchaihshravas and freed when Garuda brings the amrita. Her Vedic counterpart is Suparni, mother of the metres, equated with speech or the sky.

Sources: The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer; The Satapatha-Brahmana, tr. Julius Eggeling (Sacred Books of the East 12, 41); The Veda of the Black Yajus School (Taittiriya Sanhita), tr. A. B. Keith (1914) · see Vinata's web

Relations 4

Vinata parent of

Garuda (Vahana / animal) · The falcon brings Soma from heaven
Garuda hatches from Vinata's second egg and frees her by fetching the amrita.
Aruna (God) · Svarbhanu darkens the Sun; Rahu and the Sun's anger
Aruna is the elder son of Vinata and Kashyapa.

Vinata cursed by

Aruna (God) · Svarbhanu darkens the Sun; Rahu and the Sun's anger
Aruna curses his mother to slavery for breaking his egg too soon.

Vinata sibling of

Kadru (God) · The falcon brings Soma from heaven
Sisters and co-wives of Kashyapa in the Mahabharata; rivals Kadru and Suparni in the Brahmanas.

Stories 2

The falcon brings Soma from heaven
Legend · as the enslaved mother (later tellings) · 3 tellings
Svarbhanu darkens the Sun; Rahu and the Sun's anger
Legend · as mother who broke Aruna's egg · 5 tellings

Cited

The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer § adi.16 Primary text (translation)
The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer § adi.23 Primary text (translation)
The Satapatha-Brahmana, tr. Julius Eggeling (Sacred Books of the East 12, 41) § 3.6.2 Primary text (translation)
The Veda of the Black Yajus School (Taittiriya Sanhita), tr. A. B. Keith (1914) § 6.1.6 Primary text (translation)