Samudra Manthana (Skanda Purāṇa)

Samudra Manthana is the churning of the Kshīra Sāgara, the ocean of milk. The devas and asuras churned it together to win back the treasures lost in the sea and to gain amṛta (the drink of deathlessness). The Kālakūṭa poison rose first and burned the three worlds, and Bhagavān Śiva swallowed it. Then came the gifts of the ocean, the Mohinī form of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the war between devas and asuras, and the story of Vāmana and Bali. This account is from the Kedāra Khaṇḍa, in the Māheśvara Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa.

Indra’s pride and Bṛhaspati’s leaving

It began with the pride of Indra at the height of his rule. He sat in his court, while Gandharvas, Apsarās, Siddhas and Vidyādharas sang his praise. Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas, arrived with his students. The devas stood up out of respect. Indra was drunk with his wealth. He did not stand, did not greet Bṛhaspati, and did not offer him a seat. Bṛhaspati was deeply insulted. He turned without a word and vanished.

Nārada warned Indra, “You have insulted your guru. Your kingdom is finished.”

Indra went to Bṛhaspati’s house to make amends. Tārā, the wife of Bṛhaspati, told him she did not know where her husband had gone. Meanwhile Bali heard the news and marched with the armies of the daityas from Pātāla to Amarāvatī. The devas were beaten, and Bali took svarga. In the confusion the divine treasures, Airāvata, Uccaiḥśravas and countless jewels, fell into the ocean.

Indra, shamed and robbed of his rule, went with Brahmā to Bhagavān Vishṇu. Brahmā agreed that the crisis was grave. Bhagavān Vishṇu advised patience. Bali was a righteous person, and it was not wise to fight him directly. When Indra went to Bali himself to ask for peace, Bali received him with generosity. Nārada stood between them, and Bali and Indra agreed to live side by side.

The plan to churn the ocean

Seasons passed. Then Indra said to Bali, “The jewels that fell into the ocean, Airāvata, Uccaiḥśravas and the others, should be brought back. Let us churn the Kshīra Sāgara together.” A voice from the sky agreed: “Churn the Kshīra Sāgara. Use Mandara as the churning rod and Vāsuki as the rope. Your strength will grow through the amṛta that comes out.”

The devas and asuras, one crore of each, gathered at the great mountain Mandara. They praised the mountain and asked it to be their churning rod, and Mandara agreed. But when they tried to carry it to the ocean, it fell on them. It broke arms and legs, killed many, and spread fear everywhere. The survivors prayed to Bhagavān Vishṇu. He came on Garuḍa, lifted Mandara easily with one arm, set it down in the Kshīra Sāgara, and left.

Then Vāsuki, the king of serpents, was tied round the mountain as the rope. The devas took the tail end and the asuras took the head end, and the churning began.

The Kūrma avatāra

As the churning went on, Mandara began to sink towards Pātāla. Bhagavān Vishṇu at once became the great kūrma (tortoise) and held the mountain up on his back. He also entered the mountain and took its weight in his four arms. The churning began again, with Bhagavān Vishṇu holding up the mountain, filling all the parties, and guiding the outcome.

Kālakūṭa rises

The hard churning made great friction between the body of the great serpent and the surface of Mandara. From it came first the bāḍabāgni (the fire under the sea), and then Kālakūṭa, the poison of the dissolution of the world. Nārada saw it and warned the devas not to go on churning before they had pleased Bhagavān Śiva. But the devas were driven by desire and haste. They ignored his advice and pressed on.

Kālakūṭa burst out with terrible force. It could destroy the three worlds, and it did. It burned svarga and Vaikuṇṭha. It destroyed the brahmāṇḍa (the egg of the universe) with its eight āvaraṇas (coverings), including Brahmā and Vishṇu themselves. All creation was turned to ash.

Gaṇeśa pleads and Bhagavān Śiva swallows the poison

In this total dissolution only Gaṇeśa remained, because he was born of Māyā, who is Prakṛti and is beyond the world that shows itself. He went to the Liṅga form of Bhagavān Śiva and pleaded with him. The Parāśakti pleaded as well. Bhagavān Śiva, in the Liṅga form that nothing can destroy, accepted the devotion of Gaṇeśa. He taught that all creation is ahaṃkāra-svarūpa (made of the sense of “I”): it rises, stays and dissolves within the Liṅga.

Then Bhagavān Śiva made the universe again by his will and took in the Kālakūṭa. He swallowed the dreadful poison and held it in his throat, so that it did not go down to destroy him and was not thrown out to destroy the world. His throat turned deep blue-black from the power of Kālakūṭa. For this reason he is called Nīlakaṇṭha, the Blue-throated. The world was restored and the churning could go on.

The gifts of the ocean

With the poison dealt with, the churning started again. From the Kshīra Sāgara there came out, one after another:

• Candra, the moon, whom Bhagavān Śiva then placed on his head.
• Surabhi, the divine cow.
• Uccaiḥśravas, the great white horse.
• Airāvata, the white elephant.
• Lakshmī, the devī of śrī (fortune) and plenty, who chose Bhagavān Vishṇu as her husband for ever.
• Dhanvantarī, carrying the kalaśa (pot) of amṛta.

Mohinī and the beheading of Rāhu

The asuras seized the pot of amṛta. Bhagavān Vishṇu then took the form of Mohinī, a woman of unmatched beauty. The asuras were charmed and gave her the pot to share out. Mohinī gave it only to the devas.

Rāhu, a daitya, dressed himself as a deva and sat among them. Sūrya and Candra knew him and said so. Bhagavān Vishṇu threw the Sudarśana Cakra, which cut off Rāhu’s head. Rāhu had already swallowed a drop of amṛta, so the head could not die. The head became the graha Rāhu and the body became the graha Ketu. Both are everlasting.

The war of devas and asuras, and the death of Kālanemi

The devas, now strong, began a full campaign against the asuras. Kālanemi led the asura army with great power. After long battles Bhagavān Vishṇu killed Kālanemi. Śukrācārya brought the fallen asuras back to life again and again with the Mṛtasañjīvanī vidyā (knowledge). Bali himself kept the war going.

Vāmana and Bali

The devas still could not remove Bali for good, so they asked Bhagavān Vishṇu for help. Aditi, the mother of the devas, kept the Payovrata for twelve days. Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared as her son, the dwarf Vāmana. Vāmana went to Bali’s great yajña and asked for three steps of land. Śukra warned Bali, but Bali, the noble asura, gave what was asked.

Bhagavān Vishṇu then became Trivikrama. His measureless form covered the whole earth in one step and the whole of svarga in another. There was no place left for the third step. Bali offered his own head.

Bhagavān Vishṇu sent Bali to Sutala Loka, a realm more beautiful even than svarga. He also became Bali’s own doorkeeper and guardian for ever, in honour of Bali’s great generosity and dharma. The Gaṅgā, flowing from the foot of Bhagavān Vishṇu in Vaikuṇṭha, was set free to make the earth holy.

What the Kedāra Khaṇḍa teaches

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa shows the churning of the ocean as a teaching of the Śaiva path. The devas did not listen to the advice of Nārada to honour Bhagavān Śiva first, and so the calamity of Kālakūṭa came. Only Bhagavān Śiva could swallow what no one else could bear.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 9 to 19