It is a matter of the golden age that Indra the king of the gods, was riding on his elephant Eiravat. On the way, they found Rishi Durvasa who offered Indra a special garland given by Lord Shiva. To misunderstand Indra's own egoistic deity, he accepts the offer and put the garland on his elephant trunk. The elephant dropped the garland on the ground thinking that Indra could not control his ego. Seeing this, the sage got angry because he gave that garland as a Prasad for good future. Angry Durvasa cursed Indra and all the gods to lose all power and fortune.
After this incident, he was defeated in the war with the Demon and the control of the whole world came to Demon’s King Bali. All the gods went to seek help from the Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu advised all the gods, "If you have to get your position again, then you will have to drink nectar for which you will have to do Samudra Manthan. Given the vastness of the sea, you have to make the Mandarachal Mountain the base of the churn and the Snake god Vasuki has to make the churning rope. You are not so powerful for that Samudra Manthan and you will have to make peace with the Demon’s and ask them for help and assure them that the nectar emanating from Samudra Manthan will be divided equally and I assure you that the nectar will be given only to the Gods”.
Samudra Manthan was a complex process as Vasuki the god of Snake, had to complete this task by making a churning rope and laying the base of the Mandarachal Mountain. On the advice of Lord Vishnu, the gods talked about placing the head of the Snake god towards the Demon’s and asking the gods towards the gods. As a result, the Demon’s became toxic due to Vasuki's poison. Despite this, the deity and the Demon’s again pulled the body of the snake deity back and forth so that the Mandarachal Mountains could roam the sea. However, when the Mandarachal Mountain was landed in the sea, it started sinking, which was saved as a turtle in the second incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the form of Kurma (tortoise) and supported the mountain with his back.
Due to Samudra Manthan many things came out of the sea, out of which there was a deadly poison called Hallahal. Seeing this, both the gods and the demons got scared because that poison was so powerful that it could destroy the whole creation. The deity approached Lord Shiva for protection and Shiva drank poison to save the world and his throat turned blue. That is why Lord Shiva is also called Neelkanth. All the herbs and 14 gems of the sea came out of the Samudra Manthan which was shared by the gods and Demon’s. From the Samudra Manthan three types of goddesses emerged out of which the first goddess was Lakshmi whom Lord Vishnu accepted as his eternal wife. The second Rambha came out like Apsaras who were chosen by fellow gods. The third ugly and logical Varuna, which the Demon reluctantly had to accept.
Just as the goddess came out, similarly three types of supernatural animals came out of that ocean. The first animal to fulfil the wish, Kamdhenu cow, which Lord Vishnu adopted and gave to the sages so that he could use ghee made from his milk in the yagna. The second animal was Eravat and the second elephant, which was kept by Indra, the king of the gods. The third animal, the divine high-faced horse, was placed by the Demon’s.
After this, three precious gems came out of which Kaustubh, the most precious jewel of the world, which was captured by Lord Vishnu. The second divine flower, tree which Indra took to his heaven. Finally, the doctor of heaven, Dhanvantari Devi, came out of the Samudra Manthan with a pot of nectar. A fierce battle between Gods and Demon’s to take Amrit started. To save the nectar from the demons, Garuda Dev flew from the battlefield with that pitcher. When the Gods prayed to Lord Vishnu to get the nectar, Lord Vishnu took the form of an enchanting young woman. Mohini distracted the Demon’s and snatched the nectar from the Demon’s and distributed it to the gods. The third was a powerful bow Sharang which symbolized the combative demons. Apart from this, there were Moon, Hallahal, Shank, Chata Kalpavriksha and Nidra emanating from the sea churning.
As soon as Demon’s Rahu Ketu wanted to drink that nectar in the guise of the gods, God Moon informed Mohini and Vishnu Avatar Mohini cut his throat with Sudarshan Chakra before that nectar passed through Demon’s throat. He did not die due to passing through. From that day on, his head is called Rahu and his body is Ketu. Later on Rahu and Ketu became planets. Finally, after defeating the Demon’s, the gods again started their rule over the heavens.
Furthering this story in Hindu theology, it was told that when Dev was running away from the Demon’s with nectar, some of his drops fell on four places of the earth. Those four places where nectar fell, his name is Haridwar, Prayag, Nashik and Ujjain. According to the stories, these four places earned mystical power and spirituality. Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years at each of these four places. People believe that bathing in Kumbh Mela brings salvation.
0 comments