The Churning of the Ocean

Dear Children,

Samudra Manthan literally means: The Churning of the Ocean. The story of the Samudra Manthan narrated in the Shrimad Bhaagvad is interesting!

Let us first understand the terms : Devas and Daityas. Devas Represent 'Good', and Daityas represent 'Evil'. But Hindus believe that the good people have a little of evil in them. Also the evil have some good tendencies in them. It is interesting to note that, it is mentioned in the Bhaagvad that both, Good and Evil or Devas and Daityas are born of the same father. 

The King of the Devas is called Indra. Once the Sage Durvaasa presented Indra with a garland of flowers. Indra, having become egoistic and insensitive, disrespectfully placed the garland on the tusk of an elephant who trampled it with his feet. If someone treated a gift you gave, like that, you would also be hurt and angry. Durvaasa feeling humiliated cursed Indra that he would lose his power and position. So, Paradise, the Land of the Devas fell into the hands of the Daityas.

The Devas prayed to the Lord for help. The Lord realized that though the Devas had committed an offence, it was more favorable, in the long run that the Universe should belong to the Devas. But for that victory to come to pass, a Samudra Manthan ('The Churning of the Ocean') had to be performed.

The Samudra Manthan was not going to be easy, so the Devas had to take the assistance of the Daityas. The nectar that would come out of the Ocean, after all the poison that would emerge first, would make the Devas immortal. For the churning to take place, a big pole was inserted in the Ocean. But no matter what they did, the pole would continue to sink into the Ocean bed. So the Lord took the form of a tortoise. The pole was placed on His back. The latter symbolizes the fact that whatever you undertake to do, its support must be God.

The rope that was used for the churning is symbolic of the string of co-operation. One end of the rope was manipulated by the Devas and the other end by the Daityas. When the churning commenced, at first an extremely potent poison emerged which threatened to destroy Creation. That venomous potion had to be discarded. But where? No place was powerful enough to contain it. The Devas and the Daityas finally decided to implore God Shiva to help them. Shivji did help them, by gulping the poison, yet retaining it in his throat. This is the reason why Shivji is called 'Neel-Kanth' the 'Blue Throated One'. Symbolically, when one is faced with troubles, take them to the Lord. He will help you out by swallowing your difficulties! 

The churning of the Ocean continued. A lot of Divine gifts emerged from the Ocean. These were shared by the Devas and the Daityas. Finally, the much coveted Amrit (Nectar) appeared. The Daityas grabbed it and ran. The Lord incarnated as a beautiful damsel named 'Mohini'. With His/Her help the potion was attained by the Devas, who got back their Paradise. But two of the Daityas managed to partake of the Amrit. And they both became immortal. Therefore the fight between good and evil continues to this day.

With love,
Dadi Ma Nani Ma