Indra, the King of
Svarga, was riding on his divine elephant when he came across the sage
Durvasa, who offered him a special garland given to him by an
apsara. The deity accepted the garland and placed it on the trunk (sometimes the tusks or the head of the elephant in some scriptures) of
Airavata (his mount) as a testament to his humility. The flowers had a strong scent that attracted some bees. Annoyed by the bees, the elephant threw the garland on the ground. This enraged the sage, as the garland was a dwelling of
Sri (fortune) and was to be treated as a
prasada or a religious offering. The goddess Lakshmi vanished into the oceans. Durvasa cursed Indra and all the
devas to be bereft of all strength, energy, and fortune. In the battles following the incident, the devas were defeated, and the
asuras, led by
Bali, gained control over
the three worlds. The devas sought
Vishnu's wisdom, who advised them to treat the asuras in a diplomatic manner. The devas formed an alliance with the asuras to jointly churn the ocean for the
nectar of immortality, and to share it among themselves. However, Vishnu assured the devas that he would arrange for them alone to obtain the nectar. The churning of the
Ocean of Milk was an extensive process.
Mount Mandara was uprooted and used as the churning rod and
Vasuki, a
naga who resided on Shiva's neck, became the churning rope after being promised that he would get his share. While carrying the massive mountain, several devas and asuras fell to their deaths and some perished due to sheer exhaustion. Vishnu flew upon his mount
Garuda and revived them all, and placed Mandara on his mount and carried it towards its destination, the midst of the ocean. Reaching their destination, Vasuki coiled himself around Mandara. Vishnu counseled the devas to tug from the head of the serpent and the asuras the tail, but perceiving it as inauspicious the asuras refused. The devas relented and held the tail henceforth and the churning commenced. However, Mandara was too enormous and sank to the bottom of the ocean. Vishnu, in the form of his
Kurma avatara (lit.
turtle), came to the rescue and supported the mountain on his shell. The
Samudra Manthana bequeathed a panoply of substances from the Ocean of Milk. One of them was the lethal poison known as
halahala. In some variations of the story, the poison escaped from the mouth of
Vasuki as the asuras and devas churned. This terrified the devas and the asuras because the poison was so powerful that it could destroy all of creation. The asuras were poisoned by fumes emitted by Vasuki. Despite this, the devas and the asuras pulled back and forth on the snake's body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean.
Shiva consumed the poison to protect the three worlds, the consumption of which gave a blue hue to his throat, offering him the epithet
Neelakantha (the blue-throated one; "neela" = "blue", "kantha" = "throat" in
Sanskrit).
Ratnas All kinds of herbs were cast into the ocean and fourteen
ratnas (gems) were produced from it and were divided between the asuras and the devas. Though the ratnas are usually enumerated as 14, the list in the scriptures ranges from 9 to 14. According to the quality of the treasures produced, they were claimed by Shiva, Vishnu, Maharishis, the devas, and the asuras. There were three categories of goddesses who emerged from the ocean; most lists include: •
Lakshmi: the goddess of prosperity and wealth, who chose Vishnu as her eternal consort. •
Apsaras: divine damsels like
Rambha,
Menaka, Punjisthala, and others, who chose the
Gandharvas as their companions. •
Varuni: the goddess of wine (sura) and the virgin daughter of
Varuna, accepted by the devas. (Some interpretations believe her acceptance to be the etymology of devas being termed as suras and the
daityas as asuras.) Likewise, three types of supernatural animals appeared: •
Kamadhenu or Surabhi: the wish-granting cow, taken by
Brahma and given to the sages so that the ghee from her milk could be used for
yajnas and similar rituals. •
Airavata and several other elephants, taken by Indra. •
Uchhaishravas: the divine seven-headed horse, given to Bali. Three valuables were also produced: •
Kaustubha: the most valuable ratnam (divine jewel) in the universe, claimed by Vishnu. •
Kalpavriksha: a divine wish-fulfilling and flowering tree with blossoms that never fade or wilt, taken to
Indraloka by the devas. Additionally produced were: •
Chandra: a crescent, claimed by Shiva. •
Dhanvantari: the "
vaidya of the devas" with
amrita, the nectar of immortality. (Sometimes considered as two separate
Ratnas) •
Halahala: the poison swallowed by Shiva. This list varies among the different Puranas and it is also slightly different in the
Ramayana and
Mahabharata. Lists are completed by adding the following
ratnas:
Origin of the Kumbha Mela Medieval
Hindu theology extends this legend to state that while the asuras were carrying the amṛta away from the devas, some drops of the nectar fell at four different places on the Earth:
Haridwar,
Prayaga (Prayagraj),
Trimbak (
Nashik), and
Ujjain. According to the legend, these places acquired a certain mystical power and spiritual value. A
Kumbha Mela is celebrated at these four places every twelve years for this reason. People believe that after bathing there during the Kumbha mela, one can attain
moksha. While several ancient texts, including the various
Puranas, mention the
Samudra Manthana legend, none of them mentions the spilling of the amṛta at four places. Neither do these texts mention the Kumbha Mela. Therefore, multiple scholars, including R. B. Bhattacharya, D. P. Dubey and Kama Maclean believe that the
Samudra Manthana legend has been applied to the Kumbha Mela relatively recently, in order to show scriptural authority for the mela.
Association with Mandar Parvat Mandar Parvat, located in
Banka district of
Bihar, is believed by locals to be the actual site of Samudra Manthana. According to regional legends, the hill served as Mount Mandara used in the churning of the ocean. A nearby pond, Paapharni, is associated with the nectar (amrita) that emerged. Devotees believe all 14 divine treasures (ratnas) appeared here. ==Comparative study==