Hinduism: Details about 'Churning Of The Ocean Of Milk'
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The Churning of the Ocean of Milk ia a Hindu story about a conflict between the Adityas and their enemies the Asuras. The most popular version is found in the Eighth Canto of the Bhagavata Purana . The story begins with Indra riding his elephant. He came upon a sage named Durvasa. The sage decided to honor Indra by giving him a scented garland. Indra took the garland, but placed it on the forehead of his elephant. The elephant was irritated by the scent and threw the garland off, trampling on it. The angry sage gave Indra a curse that he and the Adityas would begin to lose all their energy and power.
Appeal to BrahmaThe Adityas feared that the Asuras would take over the whole world. Therefore, they prayed to Brahma, who suggested a solution: churn the Ocean of Milk in order to obtain the Nectar of Immortality. However, the Adityas could not churn the Ocean themselves. They struck a temporary truce with their enemies so that all could participate in the churning. Churning the mountainThe Ocean was churned by using the mountain Mandara and the snake Vasuki wrapped around it. Each side would hold an end of the snake and pull on it alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn would cause the Ocean to be churned. However, once the mountain was put on the Ocean, it began to sink. Then, Vishnu ,in his third incarnation, the form of a turtle, Kurma, to support the mountain. HalahalaAs the ocean was churned, a deadly poison known as Halahala emerged. This poison threatened to suffocate all living things. In response to various prayers, Shiva drank the poison; his wife Parvati, alarmed, stopped it in his throat with her hands. This caused the throat to turn blue. Due to this, he is called Nīlakantha (nīla = "blue", kantha = "throat"). Then, various people, animals, and treasures emerged. These included:
The nectar of immortalityFinally, Dhanvantari, the Heavenly Physician, emerged with a pot containing amrita. As the Asuras rushed to take the nectar, the frightened Adityas appealed to Vishnu, who then took the form of Mohini. As a beautiful and enchanting damsel, Mohini distracted the Asuras, took the amrita and distributed it amongst the Adityas who drank it. One Asura, Rahu, disguised himself as an Aditya, and drank some Nectar. But before the Nectar could pass his throat, Mohini cut off his head with Her chakra. The head, due to its contact with the amrita, remained immortal. It is believed that this immortal head occasionally swallows the sun or the moon, causing eclipses. Then, the sun or moon passes through the opening at the neck, ending the eclipse. The story ends with the rejuvenated Adityas defeating the Asuras.
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