Kurmavatar is 2nd incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This is continuation of Daksha Yagnam. As narrated in Birth of Gods And Demons, Kashyap got Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashyup from Diti, All Danavas from Danu and gods from Aditi. Gods were powerful than Danavas. But once gods lost their powers. the story goes on like this.
Once Indra was riding on his elephant. Sage Durvasa approached him and gave him a garland which is powerful but elephant got irritated by its smell and threw it on ground and stamp on it. Then sage got angry and cursed Indra that all gods will loose their powers. So it happened. Then all gods approached Lord Vishnu for a solution. Vishnu suggested them to churn the milky ocean (Ksheera Sagaram) to get amrutham (Nectar) by drinking which one will get eternal life. Gods alone were not sufficient to churn the ocean so they needed demon's help. They approached demons and had a deal that they will churn the ocean and distribute the nectar equally.
They used Mandaranchal as dasher (churning tool) and snake Vasuki as the churning rope. As Vasuki's poison is dangerous, gods played a trick with demons by telling that they wont hold snake's tail as it is equal to holding its legs. Then demons said they will also wont hold its tail. Then they had a deal that gods will hold its tail and demons will hold its head. They started churning and due to hot poison from the snake, demons started getting weak. Meanwhile the mountain which is working as churning tool got imbalanced and drown in ocean. Then Lord Vishnu took Kurmavatar (tortoise form) and brought the mountain up. Again they started churning.
They got so many things while churning
Once they got nectar, gods and demons started quarrelling again. Lord Vishnu took Mohini form (a beautiful lady) and attracted them. Finally they gave nectar to her to distribute among all. Mohini made them sit in two rows. One row of gods and another row of demons. She started serving nectar starting with gods. Two demons Rahu and Ketu , disguised themselves as gods 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 their throat, Mohini cut off their head with her divine discus, the Sudarshana Chakra. The heads, due to its contact with the amrita, remained immortal. To gain revenge on the sun and moon for exposing this, the immortal heads occasionally swallow the sun or the moon, causing eclipses. Then, the sun or moon passes through the opening at the neck, ending the eclipse.
They used Mandaranchal as dasher (churning tool) and snake Vasuki as the churning rope. As Vasuki's poison is dangerous, gods played a trick with demons by telling that they wont hold snake's tail as it is equal to holding its legs. Then demons said they will also wont hold its tail. Then they had a deal that gods will hold its tail and demons will hold its head. They started churning and due to hot poison from the snake, demons started getting weak. Meanwhile the mountain which is working as churning tool got imbalanced and drown in ocean. Then Lord Vishnu took Kurmavatar (tortoise form) and brought the mountain up. Again they started churning.
They got so many things while churning
- Halahala the poison swallowed by Shiva
- Varuni or Sura, goddess and creator of alcohol. As she was accepted by the gods, they are called as Suras, while the demons - Asuras.
- Uchhaishravas, the divine 7-headed horse
- Kaustubha, the most valuable jewel in the world, worn by Vishnu
- Chandra, the moon
- Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune and Wealth -Vishnu's consort
- Apsaras, various divine nymphs like Rambha, Menaka, Punjikasthala, etc.
- Kamadhenu or Surabhi, the wish-granting divine cow
- Parijat, the divine flowering tree with blossoms that never fade or wilt, identified with Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree
- Airavata, the elephant of Indra
- Dhanvantari, the doctor of the gods with Amrita the nectar of immortality.
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