https://www.boloji.com/articles/55021/the-legendary-churning-of-ocean

 

 

The Legendary Churning of Ocean

P C K Prem

A Page from the Ancient Literature

 

                                                   Samudra Manthan at Shri Viswa Vinayaka Mandir
                                    Rhenock Rungdung, East Sikkim ll Ganesha Temple Sikkim India

To eliminate an evil one must devise suitable plans. It is perfect if a man stamps out devils but if he continues efforts for personal benefits and greed, the plans turn out unethical and fraudulent. A contemporary man suffers from a tragic flaw at whatever state of life he is whether a worldly man or a man of god. A living being who does not seek refuge in the lord is fated to live a miserable life.

“You are the lord, who destroys sins, and until then, a living being lives with weakness, frailty, desire, love, infatuation, sufferings and miseries. O happy soul, be happy with the shelter-seekers. O lord, please empower gods with the divine grace and strength so that they recuperate lost glory and celestial magnificence, and thus, enhance innate exalted brilliance.”

          The gods looked at the Supreme lord with expectant eyes. It was essential that the gods of heavens obtain effective assistance of daityas so that churning of the great ocean helps them as desired.

The Supreme lord advised the gods eloquently and clearly and after serious consideration, the gods appeared before the arrogant and audacious demons, the mighty daityas. However, it was difficult to gratify immediately after the awful defeat demons had inflicted on gods. To doubt integrity of gods in this situation was quite sensible. After genuine efforts and apparent expression of true intent, daityas agreed to work in co-operation with the gods for a common cause because they also wanted to become immortal and mighty forever and wished to live in eternal joy, peace and harmony. After they entered into negotiation, the gods and the daityas thought deep and planned cautiously, and thereafter, made concerted efforts to secure nectar.

Afterward, in order to attain the objective, the gods and the daityas collected various herbal medicines and poured loads of herbs and aromatic plants in the ocean of milk that appeared a clear, brilliant and deep sky during winter. They brought Mandrachal Mountain and made it a great churning post. After that, they went to the land of Snakes and requested the king of snakes Vasuki to become a churning cord so that they achieve the great objective. At last, they gathered forces and material necessary for the tough churning and were now, geared up for the arduous and terrible stirring up of the ocean of milk. The gods held Vasuki from the tail probably on Vishnu’s signal. The daityas held the position firmly from the side of the Vasuki’s head. 

~*~

Awful churning began. Naturally, Vasuki felt the impact of the awesome churning as it held the mountain in tight grip and so it suffered excruciating and ferocious rubbing against the churning pole -the Mandrachal Mountain, and therefore, it suffered scorching heat, breathed heavily but the haling and inhaling upset the daityas. With the fire of dreadful breathings of Vasuki, daityas felt seared and experienced loss of energy and power. On the other hand, the breathing of the snake gave troubles to clouds and it rained from the tail’s side enhancing the power and energy of gods. The daityas were unable to comprehend the situation in proper perspective while the gods hoodwinked them the daityas wisely, intelligently and shrewdly.        

In the frightful churning, transformed into Kurma, the great god stood tall, surprised everyone and became a solid foundation so that Mandrachal Mountain could stand firmly and steadily. Again, the supreme god adorned with discus and mace, took another shape to support gods. Thus, directly or indirectly, another strong figure to help the demons took form while the mighty gods and demons pulled the cord -Vasuki from respective sides and churned the ocean. The gods and the daityas did not witness another miracle. The lord kept the mountain hard-pressed under feet and kept the foundation strong, and it facilitated uninterrupted churning. The lord infused and instilled incredible energy and vigour in Vasuki so the process did not suffer but amazingly, in these serious efforts, Vasuki sustained no injuries.  To visualize mysterious act of the great lord was difficult. The lord continued to enhance the capacity and power of the king of snakes and improved the strength of gods.

After intense churning, Kamadhenu, the divine cow appeared as a gift out of the turmoil-engulfed ocean whereas churning continued with the joint efforts of gods and demons. After sometime, sacrificial material of yajna surfaced even as the provider of shelter cow stood calm.

Sage Parasara description of the event appeared astutely guarded. 

He told, “O monks, as the divine cow emerged out of the ocean of milk, the gods and the daityas were extremely delighted to see a miracle. They looked fixedly at the cow capable of fulfilling desires.  They began to say and ask from one another ‘what is this…what is this?” as surprise stirred.

The question continued to raise doubts and hopes.

~*~

Afterward, as the worries pestered the gods and the demons, a goddess -Varuni appeared who wandered frantically before the siddhas. The churning began again and to the astonishment of everyone Kalpa Tree emerged, which filled the three worlds with divine aroma and gave extreme pleasure and joy to beautiful women. Nectar did not yet come out. Swift and powerful churning continued. Later on, apasaras – the celestial women of fantastic beauty, fascinating and generous in figure and qualities appeared. After the nymphs, moon emerged and astonished all. The churning continued, and later, to bless all lord Mahadeva appeared before the daityas and the gods as a celestial souvenir.  When poison surfaced, the great nagas drank it. Later, attired in white clothes, lord Dhanvantri, a dazzling figure with a huge vessel of nectar in hands stood before them.

          All the sages, the gods and the demons- the daityas looked very happy and delighted at the fulfillment of a great objective when they saw lord Dhanvantri with a container of nectar. 

Immediately after the lord, immensely radiant and brilliant goddess Laksmi came out of the ocean with a lotus flower in hand. All the sages were happy and began to sing hymns of glory and praise in cheering spirits before the beautiful goddess.  Visvasu and gandharavas began the celestial songs, and at the same time, charming Dhritachi and other celestial women started a divine dance. Holy Ganges appeared and flowed as the sacred and celestial elderly souls helped the goddess with golden bowls kamandals -full of water to take holy bath and thus, the divine beings facilitated the sacred bath of the great goddess.

The sacred ocean of milk also appeared and handed over a rosary of full blossoming lotus flowers and the great artisan Visvakarma bejeweled each part of body of holy goddess with several ornaments. Thus, the goddess, the consort of lord Vishnu, took bath with the angelic water of Ganges and many rivers, dressed up in beautiful divine clothes adorned with celestial ornaments, came out and then, looked intimately at the gods and the goddesses, moved to sit at the holy seat situated in the breast of lord Vishnu.

~*~

Interestingly, one learns about the blessings of goddess Laksmi on lord Indra and one knows about the story of Laksmi’s birth.

Goddess Laksmi sanctified the gods with divine darshana, and thereafter, ensconced comfortably in the heart of beloved consort lord Vishnu. The scenario filled gods with feelings of ecstasy. The demons -daityas did not enjoy glimpses of Laksmi walking elegantly to the divine seat. They felt jealous and enraged, as the goddess did not give proper darshana, and so, negative feelings, languor and apathy irritated demons.

Therefore, the opponents of Vishnu like Viprichiti and other daityas were quite disturbed and exasperated. An indifferent and casual attitude of Laksmi infuriated the mighty daityas, and therefore, they snatched the container of holy nectar from Dhanvantri. In fact, lord Vishnu disguised as the most beautiful woman cast a magic spell on the daityas and as he spread of maya - the delusory potency, he snatched kamadalu of nectar from the daityas.

An appropriate divinely offered opportunity arrived to bless the gods. Lord Indra and other gods drank nectar and deprived the daityas of the agreed share as settled before the churning of ocean. The daityas were very angry and so, they picked up weapons, attacked the army of gods and in a very hasty resolve, committed a blunder. They perhaps ignored the truth and fact that the gods were immortal after they had taken nectar, and thus, when a fierce war broke out, the gods easily killed and defeated the powerful army of daityas, who lost many lives in a dreadful war. Now, it was a question of life. The army of daityas ran for protection of life and some of them ran away to the underground land - patala loka. After conquering the mighty demons, the gods appeared before lord Vishnu generally adorned with conch, discus and mace, paid respects and began to govern heavenly lands as they used to do earlier.

~*~

Now, the movement of the three worlds turned back to the original status, for nobody strong enough lived to disturb the equilibrium. Therefore, under the influence of brilliance and power of time, the sun god, the planets and the stars took the route as the great Power had assigned. The lord of fire emitted divine illumination and from that time onward, all created beings were solemnly inclined toward life of dharma. All the three worlds were now happy and prosperous, and the victory over demons adorned lord Indra with the original magnificence and slender, and thus, he regained lost status. Later on, lord Indra went to heaven, occupied the kingdom of gods praised movingly goddess Laksmi with divine lotus flower in hand and sang hymns of glory to please the holy goddess, for she had blessed the gods with victory.

Now, lord Indra got back original glory and grandeur and so, greatly delighted he felt obliged to the celestial souls, who had rescued him from an imminent ignominy. In euphoric moments, he said, “I salute you O holy goddess, who is the mother of three worlds with lotus like eyes and is always seated in heart of lord Vishnu. I offer deep salutation to goddess Laksmi again whose living place is lotus that adorns her hands. She loves lotus flowers and her eyes appear like a bunch of holy lotus flowers. I bow before the holy goddess.  O goddess, you are siddhi incarnate. You are swadha, swaha, sudha, and you sanctify the three lokas -the three worlds. You are sandhya, the evening and the evening prayer and you are the night, the morning, vibhuti, medha, shradha and the holy Sarswati, the holy wisdom.”

Lord Indra generously praised the virtues of goddess Laksmi.   After a pause, he said, “O goddess, you are an embodiment of knowledge of yajna, karma kanda, mahavidya or upasana -meditation and tapa and the secret knowledge –the treasure of illusory and delusory potency one can never comprehend easily.  You are the image of the knowledge of soul and bestow fruit of moksa.”

Lord Indra finds in goddess Laksmi the fortune of the obvious and the secret knowledge. Nothing is unknown and one finds nothing not known to goddess. Every particle of knowledge springs forth from the goddess he says. In anger and calmness, she holds the world and no other woman in the three worlds can have the benign shelter of Vishnu.

“Without you O goddess, the three worlds look almost devastated and in truth, you give life to the worlds again.” He praised in eloquent words.

“O goddess, living beings get women, sons, homes, wealth, prosperity and benevolent people because of the generous glances you spread around.” Grace and divine glances of the goddess bestow healthy body, luxuries and material comforts on men, and the skill to wipe out the enemy the lord tells.  He calls goddess the mother of the worlds and tells that Sri Hari is the father. The entire cosmos breathes because of Vishnu and Laksmi.

Thereafter, he prayed before the goddess, “O goddess, the most sacred mother, kindly ensure that you do not discard indispensable fortunes and wealth, cowsheds, houses, joys and delight, bodies and women.”

In other words, he wants that she provides luxuries and pleasures of life and keeps the created beings evermore happy.

Later on, Indra told, “O goddess, if you leave hearts of people, then the unfortunate men are devoid of the power of virtues, truth, clean conduct and graciousness.”

Generous nature of the goddess provides qualities of sattva -truth and righteousness, wealth and various luxuries and even if a man is bereft of these qualities, the goddess endows if she showers mercy. Goddess’s grace and magnanimity are essential for making life meaningful but Indra also wants that a man requiring mercy, ought to be a pure man.

The goddess is the storehouse of wisdom, niceties of life and if generous and merciful, she lavishes might and glory. The holy goddess is the patron of generosity on human beings if she finds them true and dedicated. Evils do not enter the aura of goddess Indra exhorts and so indirectly wants all to lead a life of purity and grace, truth and devotion.

“O goddess, if people get acclaim and eulogies and are also full of virtues, they also possess wealth and enjoy prosperity because you are kind and benevolent.”

“If the goddess is angry with anyone, it is the end of a life of prosperity and health.”

 He spoke at last indulgently, “O goddess, you are a storehouse of virtues and grandeur, an embodiment of dharma, beauty of body and soul. Even Supreme Creator cannot fully describe your nature and virtuous qualities. Where do I stand? O lotus eyed goddess, please be happy and kindly bless with a boon that you would never abandon me.” Thus, Indra bowed before the goddess, the consort of Vishnu.

Goddess Laksmi was immensely pleased with the hymns of glory, sublime and holy praise of lord Indra. She, after sometime, looked at the gods and then, said to Indra, “O lord of gods, Indra, I am very much happy with the tributes. Whatever appears most appropriate to you, you ask as a boon. I came to bless.”

Indra bowed in reverence and said, “O goddess, if you wish to bless and think that I am eligible to get a boon then, I implore you not to desert the three worlds. That is what I want. O daughter of the samundra-sambhave -the Ocean, you should never discard a devotee, who sings hymns of glory and praises, and it is the second boon that I beseech.” Extremely polite and humble Indra deeply enchanted the goddess of plenty and grace.

She blessed Indra and said, “O the greatest among the gods Indra, I shall never abandon the three worlds -Trilokas. Greatly pleased with expressions of tributes I bless you. O lord Indra, I shall forever bless people and spray blissful glances, who sing hymns of glory devotedly.”

In ancient times, goddess Laksmi was immensely pleased with the devotion, hymns and words of praise of lord Indra and after fully satisfied, she blessed with the boons he so earnestly desired.

Goddess Laksmi related an interesting history of birth. Earlier, she was born to Khyati through sage Bhrigu, and thus, was daughter of a sage, who put to test the greatness and might of Trinity. Ages after, during the time of churning of milk of ocean in which the gods and the daityas struggled to procure nectar, she appeared on the surface of Ocean. Therefore, whenever, lord Vishnu descends on earth in different incarnations, goddess Laksmi also takes birth to grant relief to the suffering. When Sri Hari was born as Aditya, she took birth as Padma from Padam, and later on, when he was born as Parusrama, she took birth as Prithvi.

Sage Prasara narrated the tale of Sri Hari and Laksmi, after the curse of sage Durvasa, the defeat of Indra and churning of the ocean and consequent victory of lord Indra …and Indra’s persuasive and endearing praise of Laksmi.

After a pause, he looks benignly at the gathering of monks and said, “O great souls, goddess Laksmi is eternal and omniscient. Later on, she took birth as Sita when Vishnu descended on earth as Rama in the house of Dasratha. She was Rukmani, the consort of Krishna. In all incarnations of lord Vishnu, she accompanied the lord and rendered divine assistance to the great lord in the realization of objectives.  In fact, the presence of Laksmi eradicates diseases and poverty, and thus, brings peace and harmony to homes where people worship the great goddess.

11-Oct-2025

More by:  P C K Prem