Thread by @DefiledGod

I had earlier posted about garuDa's leelas concerning Sumukha, comparisons with mahAdeva and him being the leader of upAsakAs.

Here is one more important leela of his, demonstrating the seriousness of bhAgavata-apachAra, described in Udyoga Parva+

Galava surrendered to bhagavAn for repaying a debt to vishvAmitra. So, bhagavAn sent garuDa & the two reached a hill in the course of their travels.

ऋषभस्य ततः शृङ्गं निपत्य द्विजपक्षिणौ । शाण्डिलीं ब्राह्मणीं तत्र ददृशो तपोन्विताम् । अभिवाद्य सुपर्णस्तु गालवश्चाभिपूज्य ताम् ।+

[Descending on the peak of the R^ishabha mountain, the two – galava and garuDa, saw the brAhmaNa woman shANDiIi living there, endowed with knowledge of Brahman. They respectfully honored her.]

shANDili was a great bhAgavatA residing there and she gave them shelter+

मुहूर्तात्प्रतिबुद्धस्तु सुपर्णो गमनेप्सया । ताम् दृष्ट्वा चारुसर्वाङ्गी तापसीं ब्रह्मचारिणीम् ।

[Upon waking up from sleep next day, suparNa wished to leave the place, seeing that lady of lovely limbs, with bhakti (तापसीं), with adherence to her duties (ब्रह्मचारिणीम्).]+

garuDa bhagavAn thought that the lady was a great bhAgavatA and did not deserve to live in a harsh place as this mountain.

Hence, he wanted to leave with her to a place he felt was equal to her greatness+

अथ भ्रष्टतनूजाङ्गमात्मानं ददृशे खगः मांसपिण्डोपमोऽभूत्स मुखपादान्वितः खगः
 
[Then, the bird beheld himself deprived of wings. He resembled a clump of flesh, with just his face and legs]
 
garuDa, who is powerful, is called a mere bird here to show how helpless he had become+

किं नु ते मनसा ध्यातमशुभं धर्मदूषणम् । न ह्ययं भवतः स्वल्पो व्यभिचारो भविष्यति

[Galava inquired of garuDa, “Did you think of anything inauspicious by mind, which is not conducive to dharma? You are a nitya-sUri, you can never have even a speck of fault!]+

The fault of garuDa was thinking that the home of a bhAgavatA was lowly. He explains his mistake,

प्रध्यातं वै मया द्विज । इमां सिद्धामितो नेतुं तत्र यत्र प्रजापतिः । यत्र देवो महादेवो यत्र विष्णुः सनातनः । यत्र धर्मश्च यज्ञश्च तत्रेयं निवसेदिति+

[I indeed thought of guiding this lady to the abode of brahmA the Lord of all Creatures, rudra who is great on account of his penances or vishNu who has an eternally enjoyable form, or a place like shvetadvIpa where dharma (bhagavAn) and yaj~na (worship by bhAgavatAs) co-exist.]+

garuDa was feeling that this harsh mountain was not suited for someone of her status as a devotee and wanted to bear her away to more exalted places.

By this, he committed bhAgavata apachAra - finding fault with devotees. This is mentioned by shANDili as below+

निन्दितास्मि त्वया वत्स न च निन्दां क्षमाम्यहम् । 
[Child! I (my innerself) was indeed defamed by you. I (bhagavAn who is my self) never tolerate such censure of devotees such as myself]+

“निन्दितास्मि”, “क्षमाम्यहम्” – Here, the “I” refers to bhagavAn, her innerself, by sharIrAtma bhAva.

J~nAnIs never get angry even if some hurt them – ambarISha had no enmity to durvAsa. It is bhagavAn, who is their innerself and protects them as his bodies, who feels offended+

“वत्स” means child. It can mean, “You were ignorant like a child.”

Or, “वत्स” is a name for nitya sUrIs who are protected by bhagavAn like children, so it can mean, “I know you are a nitya-sUri. This is a leela to demonstrate my greatness, as you are blameless by nature”+

Where a bhAgavata stays, that place itself becomes more exalted than the abodes of the gods. When Yama and Mudgala started talking about bhagavAn in naraka, it became svarga.

If one faults the dwelling of a bhAgavata, it is like casting a doubt on bhagavAn’s greatness+

लोकेभ्यः सपदि भ्रश्येद्यो मां निन्देत पापकृत्

[The sinner who belittles me will quickly fall down in the worlds (to the lowest species) -- since bhagavAn considers me as dear to him]+

shANDili, out of compassion for others, is warning them not to speak badly of her. She knows that otherwise, bhagavAn will punish them. 

“पापकृत्” – In the eyes of bhagavAn, one who finds fault with his devotees is a sinner. shANDili herself actually has no hatred for anybody+

हीनयाऽलक्षणैः सर्वैस्तथाऽनिन्दितया मया । आचारं प्रतिगृह्णन्त्या सिद्धिः प्राप्तेयमुत्तमा

[I am devoid of any sins due to my bhakti, and am irreproachable in conduct, ie, always agreeable to bhagavAn. By agreeable conduct to bhagavAn, I have obtained his anugraha.]+

न च ते गर्हणीयाऽहं गर्हितव्याः स्त्रियः क्वचित्

[Do not ever find fault with me, as it is like finding fault with bhagavAn. Do not at any time ever find fault with other devotees, who may even possess faults.]

Even if bhaktAs possess faults, they shouldn't be pointed out+

"स्त्रियः क्वचित्" - This term does not mean "other women", but means, "other devotees, who are like chaste women following their husband (bhagavAn).

bhAgavatam 9.4.66 compares devotees to "सत्स्त्रिय:"+

shANDili personally had no anger at garuDa thinking of her abode as lowly.

She out of her compassion, now removed the curse on garuDa and warned him to be careful of how bhagavAn is overprotective of his devotees+

For his part, garuDa only wanted to bear her to an exalted place. Though he acted out of compassion, his thinking imputed a fault in the abode that shANDili considers dear as it has been sanctified by her bhakti. This was garuDa's fault+

This is all a mere leela of garuDa, who is himself omniscient, the very self of the Veda and ever knowledgeable of the status of bhAgavatAs.

He mercifully enacted it for our sake, for thinking such thoughts about bhAgavatAs is sometimes too easy for us!//