"The Garuda Purana is one of the Vishnu Puranas. It is in the form of a dialog between Vishnu and Garuda, the King of Birds... Portions of the Garuda Purana are used by some Hindus as funeral liturgy…. The Garuda Purana starts with the details of the afterlife. The final part of this text is an appeal to self-knowledge as the key to liberation, going beyond austerities and study of the texts: "The fool, not knowing that the truth is seated in himself, is bewildered by the Shastras,--a foolish goatherd, with the young goat under his arm, peers into the well.""