SAMUDRA MANTHANAM (OCEAN-CHURNING)

(Based on C.A.Kincaid, Tales from the Indian Epics, Bombay, 1918).

In very ancient times, there was a mighty mountain called Mount Meru. Sun’s rays struck the shining summit of this mountain, shivered and fell. One day, the gods gathered in council on the summit. They wished to obtain the ambrosia which would make them immortal like the three supreme deities, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The jar in which the ambrosia was kept lay at the bottom of the ocean and the gods could not agree upon a plan by which they could get possession of the jar. The gods asked Vishnu for advice. Vishnu answered, "Call the demons to your aid and churn the ocean. You will not only get the ambrosia, but also a wealth of jewels and other precious objects."

Following Vishnu’s counsel, the gods retired to another mountain named Mount Mandara. This mountain was covered with forests and full of wild elephants, lions, tigers and leopards. The gods tried to uproot this mountain to use it as the churning rod to churn the ocean. Despite all their efforts, they could not move the Mount Mandara even a hair’s breadth. The celestial gods turned to both Vishnu and Brahma for help, "O Great Gods! Tell us how we may uproot Mount Mandara with which we can churn the ocean to get the ambrosia." Lord Vishnu called Vasuki, the king of snakes and said, "O Snake King Vasuki! I give you this commad. Go with the gods and help them uproot the Mount Mandara." Vasuki obeyed Vishnu’s instructions. Vasuki fastened himself around the mountain with his endless coils. Pressing the coils against the base of the mountain, Vasuki tore up Mount Mandara by the roots. The gods, led by Vasuki, rolled the mountain to the shores of the ocean. "Lord Ocean!" they said, "we desire the ambrosia which lies fathoms deep below your surface. To win this, we shall churn your water with the Mount Mandara." The ocean agreed, "As you wish! Give me but a draught of the ambrosia and I will gladly allow you to churn my waters."

The gods were happy with the Lord Ocean’s response. They invited the demons to join them. Together, the gods and the demons went to the king of the tortoises. Finding him in his palace, they said to him, "O Tortoise King! Come to our aid, we pray to you. We want to win the ambrosia. If we place the Mount Mandara on the bottom of the ocean, it will sink into the sands. We need you, O King of the Tortoises, to lie at the bottom of the ocean. If you bear the mountain on your mighty back, we shall be able to pull Mount Mandara to and fro and so churn the ocean." The Tortoise King consented and walked with the gods and the demons to the shore of the ocean.

When they reached the edge of the waters, the god Indra, the king of gods, placed Mount Mandara upon the back of the Tortoise King. Bearing the burden of the mountain, the Tortoise King entered the ocean and walked along its bottom until he reached the deepest part. Then, Vasuki the Snake King swam out across the surface of the water until he reached the spot where the top of Mount Mandara stood high above he waves. Coiling himself round the mountain, he bade the gods to hold him by the tail and the demons hold his head. The demons and gods seized Vasuki, as he bade them, and pulling him forwards and backwards, they began to churn the ocean, together. Great masses of foam rose upon the waters. Clouds of vapour issued frm the mouth of the Snake King Vasuki and scorched the faces of the demons who pulled the Snake King’s head. Then rising higher the vapour descended in cooling rain to refresh the gods. The forest flowers torn from the sides of Mount Mandara by the coils of the Snake King were wafted abroad by the winds and fell softly upon their faces. The gods and the demons kept on churning so swiftly that the forests upon the mountain caught fire. The god Indra opened the windows of heaven and the rain fell in torrents on the fire and extinguised it. Despite the valient and sustained efforts of the gods and the demons, nothing rose from the surface of the ocean.

The gods and the demons appealed to the court of Brahma, "O father of the gods! We are exhausted with labour and can work no more, yet the ambrosia has not been won."

Brahma requested Lord Vishnu to give the gods and the demons greater strength, that they might continue the churning. This the Lord Vishnu did. They swung the mountain to and fro until the foam of the churned ocean rose almost higher than the great mountain itself.

At last, a pale yellow disk began slowly to rise from the ocean. It rose right out of the waters high into the sky, and, ever since, as he moon, has at night time shed its pale light over te earth. Next there rose from the waters an elephant larger than mortal mind could have imagined. Two enormous white tusks stretched many yards in front of the elephant, whose eyes were like red ponds and whose trunk seemed to rival in length the coils of the Snake King. Indra called the mighty elephant and caressing it, said, "You shall be known hereafter as Airavat and shall be my servant always." Still, the churning continued and there rose from the sea the prettiest damsel who had ever been seen in the three worlds. Her long black lashes drooped upon a pair of rosy cheeks. Her hair curled in golden rings over an ivory forehead. Heer eyes were bluer than the sky above. Indra called heer to hi, "You shall hereafter be called Rambha. You shall be the chief among my dancing girls."

The gods and the demons kept on churning, until there rose from the waters the most awful vision of beauty that eyes human or divine had ever seen. From a perfect face two eyes of deepest grey looked out. They glazed unblinking into space. So grave was their expression and so full of wisdom, that neither demon nor god, except Vishnu alone, dared meet their look. A moment later, amid an awed hush, Vishnu stepped forward and took the lovely lady by the hand, "You shall be called Lakshmi and you shall be my queen."

The continued churning kept the Mount Mandara swinging to and fro. From a distance, the gods and demons saw a fair woman coming towards them. In each hand, she carried a jar, but when she came close, they saw that her expression was evil and that great lines marred her features and that black pits lay under her eyes. They let the strange woman pass, and she made her way to the dry earth. There, known as Sura or the Wine Goddess, se has dwelt ever since.

Again they churned until there rose above the waves a white horse. It was the most beautifully shaped horse that has ever lived on earth before or since. It swam through the billows until it reached the shore, when it thundered out of sight at full gallop. "Let it be called Uchaisrava," said Indra.

The churning continued. Then, there rose above the foam the most marvellous jewel that eyes have every beheld. Set in a vast plate of gold were emeralds like the green pools of an Indian village and sapphires like the blue lakes in the Himalaya mountains. Vast rubies shone out of masses of diamonds huge as rocks of crystal. Lord Vishnu stepped forward and fastened the sea jewel round his neck. There, known as Kaustuba, it has hung ever since.

Still, they churned, the gods and demons, until a strange ripple spread over the waters and a terrible stench rose from it. The head and tail of the giant snake dropped gradually out of the hands of the fainting churners. Even Vasuki’s eyes became dull and his coils began to slip inertly off Mount Mandara’s sides. Suddenly, God Shiva placed his mouth on the waves near the ripple, and sucking it in, saved the three worlds. For this was the terrible visha—the poisonous fluid which overlaid the ambrosia to guard it. If Lord Shiva had not drunk this visha, it would have destroyed the gods, demons and men. As Lord Shiva swallowed it, it burnt a deep blue mark on his hroat. He has ever since been known as Nilakantha or Blue-throat.

When the foams of the visha had passed away, the gods and demons churned again. At last, an aged man rose slowly through the masses of the ocean foam. In his right hand he carried a gold jar of exquisite workmanship from which issued a perfume of delicious fragrance. At the sight of the aged man, whom they knew to be Dhanwantari, the demons snatched the ambrosia from his hands, trying to rob the gods of their share. Lord Vishnu intervened and took it back from tem. To punish them for their greed, he poured out the ambrosia to the gods only, ho drank it and at once became immortal, while the demons, who drank none of it, have remained mortal to this day.

But, one of the demons, Rahu by name, took the form of a celestial, and deceiving Lord Vishnu received a draught of the ambrosia. As the demon drank, the sun-god pierced his disguise and told Lord Vishnu of Rahu’s deceit. Vishnu, lifted his discus, sheared off the head of Rahu with it before the ambrosia had passed his throat. Rahu’s body fell to the ground, and, being mortal, soon rotted. But his head, having taken the ambrosia, is immortal and still endures on the universe as a planet.

But because the sun-god detected him as he drank the divine liquid and told Vishnu, Rahu’s head bears to the sun-god, an undying hatred. Sometimes, he steals up unperceived close to the bright sun-god and with a single bite swallows him. But because Rahu has no body, the sun-god in due course reappears through his enemy’s throat and once again begns to shine upon the earth in all his former splendour. And then men gather together and say that there has been an eclipse of the sun.