Samudra manthan

Reason behind Samundra Manthana

Indra, the King of Devas (gods), while riding on the elephant Airavata, came across Sage Durvasa who offered him a special garland (only person who has no ego can wear this mala) 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 durvasa muni as the garland was to be treated as a prasada and he cursed Indra and all devas to be bereft of all strength, energy, and fortune. and all the three loka's should be in darkness without wealth.

After this incident, the Devas were defeated by  Asuras (demons) led by King Bali, gained control of the universe and they dropped amrutha into the ocean.

Then devas sought help from the Supreme God Vishnu who advised them to treat asuras in a diplomatic manner. Devas formed an alliance with asuras to jointly churn the ocean for Amrutha (the nectar of immortality) and to share it among them. However, Vishnu told the Devas that he would arrange that they alone obtain the nectar.

During Samundra Manthana

The churning of the Ocean of Milk was an elaborate process. Mount Mandara was used as the churning rod, and Vasuki, the king of serpents, who abides on Shiva's neck, became the churning rope.
When the mountain was placed on the ocean, it began to sink. Vishnu, in the form of a turtle Kurma, came to their rescue and supported the mountain on his back.

The demons demanded to hold the head of the snake, while the gods, taking advice from Vishnu, agreed to hold its tail. As a result, the demons were poisoned by fumes emitted by Vasuki. Despite this, the gods and demons pulled back and forth on the snake's body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean. 


The Samudra Manthan process released a number of things from the Ocean of Milk. One was the lethal poison known as Halahala, which in some versions of the story, escaped from the mouth of the serpent king as the demons and gods churned. This terrified the gods and demons because the poison was so powerful that it could destroy all of creation. Then the gods approached Shiva for protection. 

Shiva consumed the poison in an act to protect the universe, and his wife Parvati grabbed Shiva's throat in an effort to prevent him from swallowing the poison, which was the most deadly poison in existence, harmful even to a god. As a result, Shiva's throat turned blue. For this reason, Lord Shiva is also called Neelakanta.

14 Ratnas were produced during samudra manthana 

At first Lakshmi , the Goddess of Fortune and Wealth - who accepted Vishnu as Her eternal consort.

All kinds of herbs were cast into the ocean and fourteen Ratnas (gems or treasures) were produced from the ocean and were divided between asuras and gods. 

According to the quality of the treasures produced, they were accepted by Vishnu, the devas, and the asuras. 

There were three categories of Goddesses which emerged from the ocean;

• Apsaras, various divine nymphs like Rambha, Menaka, Punjisthala etc. - chose the demigods as their companions
• Varuni - taken - somewhat reluctantly (she appeared dishevelled and argumentative) - accepted the demons.

Likewise, three types of supernatural animals appeared;

• Kamadhenu or Surabhi (Sanskrit:kāmadhuk), the wish-granting divine cow - taken by Vishnu, and given to sages so ghee from her milk could be used for Yajna and similar rituals.
• Airavata, and several other elephants, taken by Indra, leader of the Deva.
• Uchhaishravas, the divine 7-headed horse - given to the indra.
  

There were three valuables;

• Kaustubha, the most valuable Ratna in the world, worn by lord Vishnu.
• Parijat, the divine flowering tree with blossoms that never fade or wilt - taken to Indraloka by the Devas.
• Sharanga, A powerful bow - symbolic of the demon's belligerence.

Additionally produced were;

• Chandra, the moon which adorned Shiva's head
• Dhanvantari, the Vaidya of the Deva's with Amrita the nectar of immortality. (At times, considered as two different Ratna)
• Halahala, the poison swallowed by the lord Shiva.

The nectar of immortality:

Finally, Dhanvantari, the heavenly physician, emerged with a pot containing Amrita, the heavenly nectar of immortality. Fierce fighting ensued between Devas and Asuras for the nectar. To protect the nectar from Asuras, the divine Garuda took the pot, and flew away from the battle-scene.

The Devas appealed to Vishnu, who then took the form of Mohini and as a beautiful and enchanting damsel, Mohini distracted the asuras, took the amrita, and distributed it among the Devas.

 Asura RahuKetu, disguised himself as a deva and drank some nectar. Due to their luminous nature, the sun god Surya and the moon god Chandra noticed the switching of sides. They informed Mohini. But before the nectar could pass his throat, Mohini cut off his head with her divine discus, the Sudarshana Chakra. But as the nectar had gone down his throat he did not die.

From that day, his head was called Rahu and body was called Ketu. Later Rahu and Ketu became planets. The story ends with the rejuvenated Devas defeating the asuras.