
The Guruda Purana is in the form of instructions to Garuda by Vishnu. This deals with astronomy,medicine, grammar, and with the structure and qualities of diamonds. This Puranais dear to Vaishnavites. The latter half of this Purana deals withlife after death. The Hindus of north-India generally read this Purana whilecremating the bodies of the dead. This has given great importance to the originof Garuda. The subjects dealt with include the Bhagavad Gita;reincarnation; vishnu-sahasranama; description of Tarsya Kalpa.