Churning of Ocean
Being repeatedly defeated by the Asuras,
Devas (Gods) were concerned and anxious to obtain immortality which would
enable them to fight and outweigh the Asuras of superior strength. When
they approached Lord Vishnu with their concern, the Lord advised them
to obtain nectar or Amritam by churning the ocean. But Devas
alone would not have enough strength to churn the ocean and therefore the
Asuras were also called and it was decided that the nectar so obtained
would be divided between Devas and Asuras. However both sides
planned to deceive others after obtaining the Amritam.
In order to churn the ocean a huge rod of
immeasurable strength was needed. Mandar mountain was selected to be
the fit churning rod. It was a huge mountain with abundance of flaura and fauna
and to uprrot it to serve as a churning rod was an impossibility. Lord
Vishnu therefore asked Ananta, the great serpent on which He
rested, to uproot Mandar. Ananta did the same and
Mandar was placed on the sea bed. Then the problem arose as to what
will be the rope for moving the churning rod. The king of serpents,
Vasuki agreed to become the rope. The Devas caught the tail of
Vasuki and Asuras caught his head and the churning began in
right earnest. But soon they faced a practical problem, as the mountain slipped
and could not be moved properly from its position on the ocean bed. It would
need a huge receptacle to hold the mountain firmly in its proper position. Lord
Vishnu again came to the rescue. He assumed the form of a huge tortoise
and on His back Mandar was held firmly. Now the churning could proceed
with great precision and speed. Soon clouds of smoke appeared from the mouth of
Vasuki which resulted in rain showers upon the Gods who were thus
refreshed. Because of the force of churning huge noise was heard and all the
aninals and plants on the mountain and the aquatic animals living in the ocean
began to die because of the tremendous heat produced. Soon the forests in the
mountain caught fire and then Indra, the king of Gods, who also
controlled the rain, began to shower, which extinguished the fire.
The churning went on for sometime without any
effect and Devas became tired because of the effort involved. All the
gems, plants and other vegetation on the mountain and their juices, because of
the force of churning, mixed with the ocean water which became medicianl as a
result. The Devas drank that water and were refreshed and the churning
process began with more enthusiasm. Many jewels came up from the ocean bed and
Devas and Asuras claimed them duly. Then a white steed called
Ucchaisrava came up which was owned by the king of the Asuras.
After some more churning an elephant name Airavata rose which was
claimed by Indra. The celestial tree Parijata came up and so also
Surabhi, the Kamadhenu or wish fulfilling divine cow. Then came up a beautiful
jewel called Kaustubh, which immediately went and adorned the chest of
Lord Vishnu. Then came up the moon with its
splendour. However after this there arose the great poison called
Kalkuta which was capable of destroying the entire universe. Everybody
was afraid by seeing its great destructive potential. Upon request from Gods,
Shiva or Mahadeva drank that poison as He was the only capable
one for performing that feat. He, however, did not let the poison affect His
vitals, by arresting it in His throat. As a result of the effect of the poison
His throat became blue in colour and hence He came to be known as
Neelkantha, one with blue throat. He thus saved the world from imminent
destruction and the churning activity could resume.
After some more churning came up goddess Lakshmi
who dazzled everybody with her incomparable beauty and brilliance. She carefully
and deliberately chose Lord Vishnu as her husband. Then finally
Dhanwantari came up with the pot containing the nectar. When they saw
the nectar both Asuras and Devas claimed it for themselves.
The Devas did not want the Asuras to become immortal as they
were already more powerful. If they had consumed the Amritam they would
have become invincible, thereby giving rise to all kinds of troubles in the
world by their misdeeds and evil ways. Therefore Lord Vishnu conceived
an idea. He assumed the form of a beautiful woman, called Mohini and
requested both Devas and Asuras to sit in separate rows while
she would distribute the nectar to both. The Asuras were so enchanted
with her beauty that they forgot all about the nectar and she, like a perfect
enchantress, kept them engaged in conversation while the Devas ate and
drank their full. However one Asura called Rahu, had seen
through the scheme and sat incognito in the same row where the Devas
were sitting. He had taken some of the nectar which had reached his throat, when
sun and moon identified him and Vishnu, with the aid of His disc called
Sudarshan, slit his throat. As the nectar had reached his throat he did
not die but remained as an enormous head. From that time onwards the giant head
had terrible enmity with both sun and moon who had exposed him. Therefore
periodically he gobbles them up during the time of eclipse, but since he has no
stomach to digest them, they get released.
In the meanwhile Asuras came to know
about the deception and being outraged they started to fight. By drinking the
Amritam the Devas had become very powerful and therefore the
battle became very intense. Narayana then himself took part in the
battle and calling his great discuss called Sudarshan, wreaked havoc
among the Asuras, many of whom were killed. The remaining
Asuras fled and hid beneath the oceans and there they continued to
grow, being ever hostile and inimical to the Gods.
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