Samudra manthan

Samudra manthan (Sanskrit: समुद्रमन्थन, lit. churning of the ocean) is one of the best known episodes in Hindu mythology. The story appears in the Bhagavata Purana, the Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana, and explains the origin of amrita, the drink of immortality.

Different names

Legend

Indra, the King of Devas (gods), while riding on the elephant Airavata, came across Sage Durvasa who offered him a special garland given to him by the God Shiva. Indra accepted the garland and placed it on the trunk of the elephant as a test to prove that he was not an egoistic god. The elephant, knowing that Indra had no control over his own ego, threw the garland to the ground. This enraged the sage as the garland was a dwelling of Sri (fortune) and was to be treated as a prasada or religious offering. Durvasa cursed Indra and all devas to be bereft of all strength, energy, and fortune.

Kurma

In Hinduism, Kurma (Sanskrit: कूर्म; Kūrma, lit. turtle) was the second Avatar of Vishnu, succeeding Matsya and preceding Varaha. Like Matsya, this incarnation also occurred in Satya Yuga. The temples dedicated to Kurma are located in Kurmai, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, and Srikurmam, Andhra Pradesh.

Samudramanthan (The Churning of The Ocean)

Purana scripture indicates that the sage Durvasa had given a garland to Indra, the king of Gods. Indra placed the garland around his elephant, but the animal trampled it, insulting the sage. Durvasa then cursed the gods to lose their immortality, strength, and divine powers. After losing the kingdom of heaven, they approached Vishnu for help.

He advised that they had to drink the nectar of immortality to regain their glory. To obtain it, they needed to churn the ocean of milk, a body of water so large they needed Mount Mandara as the churning staff, and the serpent Vasuki as the churning rope. The Devas were not strong enough to churn on their own, and declared peace with their foes, the Asuras, to enlist their help.