Ajita Avatāra

Ajita Avatāra · a-jita avatāra, “the avatāra who is never conquered”

Ajita, “the unconquered”, is the avatāra of Śrī Hari in the sixth manvantara, the manvantara of Cākshusha Manu. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa tells that Śrī Hari, the self-luminous Jagannātha, was born by his aṃśa as the son of Vairāja in Sambhūti, and became famous by the name Ajita. It was Ajita who churned the Ocean of Milk and won the amṛta for the devatās, and who, in the form of a tortoise, held up Mount Mandara as it spun in the water as the churning rod.

The Cākshusha manvantara

Śuka Maharshi tells Parīkshit of the manvantaras one by one. The sixth Manu, famed as Cākshusha, was the son of Cakshu, and his sons were Pūru, Pūrusha, Sudyumna and others. In that manvantara the one in the seat of Indra was Mantradruma; the deva-gaṇas were the Āpyas, the Parāvatas and others; and the saptarshis were Havishmān, Vīraka, Bhṛgu and others.

In that manvantara too Bhagavān Śrī Hari, self-luminous, the lord of the world, was born by his aṃśa as the son of Vairāja in Sambhūti, and became famous by the name Ajita.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 8, Chapter 5

The churning of the ocean

Ajita churned the ocean and obtained amṛta for the devatās. In the form of a tortoise he held up Mount Mandara, the churning rod, which was spinning about in the water. Hearing this, Parīkshit asked Śuka for whose sake and in what way Bhagavān Vishṇu churned the Ocean of Milk, why he bore the mountain in the form of a tortoise, and how the devatās obtained the amṛta; and so Śuka began the account of the churning: how the devatās were oppressed in battle, and how by the śāpa of Durvāsa the three worlds with Indra had lost their fortune.

When Śuka sums up the whole Bhāgavata at its close, he says that Skandha 8 tells of the manvantaras, the release of Gajendra, and the avatāras of Vishṇu in the manvantaras, such as Hayagrīva and Ajita.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 8, Chapter 5; Skandha 12, Chapter 12

Sources

• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 8, Chapter 5; Skandha 12, Chapter 12