Sea Serpent & the Churning of Milky Ocean

Sea Serpent & the Churning of Milk Ocean

Churning the Milk Ocean

Hindu mythology also contains a story about the churning of the Cosmic Ocean in order to obtain Amrita - the nectar of immortal life. At the suggestion of Vishnu the gods, (Devas) and demons (Asuras) churn the primeval ocean in order to obtain Amrita which will guarantee them immortality. To churn the ocean they used the Serpent King, Vasuki, for their churning-string. For a churning pole they use Mount Mandara placed on the back of a Great Tortoise - the Kurma Avatar of Vishnu. As the gods and demons churned the sea, a terrible poison issued out of its depths which enveloped the universe. The Devas and Asuras approach Shiva who took the poison into his throat and swallowed it. The poison turned his throat blue, thereby earning him the name of Neelakanta (blue-throated one). When the Amrita finally emerged along with several other treasures the Devas and Asuras fought over it. However Vishnu in the form of Mohini the enchantress manages to lure the Asuras into handing over the Amrita to her, which she then distributes to the Devas. Rahu, an Asura, disguises himself as a Deva and tries to drink some Amrita himself. Surya (the sun-god) and Chandra (the moon-god) alert Vishnu to this deception. Vishnu then decapitates Rahu just as he is about to swallow the nectar, leaving only his head immortal.

The Churning of the Cosmic Ocean (the Milky Way) is told in several ancient texts


...more here
Ocean of milk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...some photos I took a few years ago and never posted them anywhere

...little more readable acct

Every culture has its legends of the origin of the species. The Hindu creation myth Churning the Sea of Milk is shown in the bas-relief panel at the East gallery (panel 4) of Angkor Wat. In Hindu mythology, 13 precious things including the elixir of immortality were lost in the churning of the cosmic sea. Finding them again required a joint dredging operation between gods and demons. Assisting in this endeavor was the giant serpent Vasuki, who offered himself as a rope to enable twirling of a "churning stick." The serpent was yanked back and forth in a giant tug-of-war that lasted for a thousand years.

In the bas-relief panel, the front end of the serpent is being pulled by 91 surly-looking asuras (demons), anchored by the 21-headed demon king Ravana; on the right are 88 almond-eyed devas (gods) pulling on the tail, anchored by monkey-god Hanuman. The central pivot, or churning stick, is a complicated piece of imagery. Vasuki has wrapped himself around Mount Mandara, represented by a tower. At one point Mount Mandara started to sink, and had to be propped up by a giant tortoise, an incarnation of Vishnu. The Sea of Milk, or the Ocean of Immortality, is represented by innumerable fish and aquatic creatures, torn to shreds as they swim close to powerful air currents near the churning stick.

...more here
Churning the Ocean of Milk by Michael Buckley

...bit of a story about the sculpture that appears at the new airport in Thailand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpZxaCdYq-w