Essay name: Purana Bulletin
Author:
Affiliation: University of Kerala / Faculty of Oriental Studies
The "Purana Bulletin" is an academic journal published in India. The journal focuses on the study of Puranas, which are a genre of ancient Indian literature encompassing mythological stories, traditions, and philosophical teachings. They represent Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit and cover a wide range of subjects.
Purana, Volume 9, Part 1 (1967)
31 (of 228)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
Jan., 1967] LEGEND OF CHURNING OF THE OCEAN 23 offered his cooperation most willingly and went with the gods
to the Mandara mountain to request him to serve as a churning
staff. Mandara offered to be the churning-staff, if an appropriate
and adequate base for him to rest upon and an sufficiently long
and strong churning-string to coil round him were made available.
The tortoise and the serpent Seṣa came forth to do the respec-
tive jobs. But Seṣa in his arrogance moved the Mandara
mountain so violently that it could not rest on the back of the
tortoise. The Mandara mountain, thus with no base to rest
upon, could not be properly whirled by the gods and the demons
for churning the ocean. To rescue themselves from this difficult
situation, the gods and the demons approached Nārāyaṇa and
prayed to him for help. Thereupon, Nārāyaṇa or Viṣṇu went
with the gods and the demons to the place where the Mandara
mountain stood, coiled round by the coils of Seṣa. The gods,
afraid of the venom of the serpent, stood on the side of the
serpent's tail and the demons headed by Rāhu stood on the side
of the serpent's mouth. Nārāyaṇa, then, supported with the prop
of his four arms the Mandara mountain which was the churning-
staff and the gods and the demons churned the milky ocean,
Vi. 1. 9. 82-88
The gods in league with the demons exerted themselver for
getting the ambrosia. They brought plants and herbs and threw
them into the milk ocean. They made Mandara into a churning
staff and Vasuki into a churning rope and commenced churning
26. सर्व एव तद� सुरा� � सन्धानमसुरैः कृत्वा यत्नवन्तोऽमृतेऽभवन� � [sarva eva tadā surā� | sandhānamasurai� kṛtvā yatnavanto'mṛte'bhavan || ] 82
नानौषधी� समानी� देवदैतेयदानवाः �
क्षिप्त्वा क्षीराब्धिपयसि शरदभ्राम� त्विषि � [nānauṣadhī� samānīya devadaiteyadānavā� |
kṣiptvā kṣīrābdhipayasi śaradabhrāmala tviṣi || ] 83
मन्थान� मन्दरं कृत्वा नेत्रं कृत्वा � वासुकिम् �
तत� मथितुमारब्धा मैत्रे� तरसामृतम� � [manthāna� mandara� kṛtvā netra� kṛtvā ca vāsukim |
tato mathitumārabdhā maitreya tarasāmṛtam || ] 34
विबुधा� सहिताः सर्व� यत� पुच्छं तत� कृता� �
कृष्णे� वासुकेदैत्या� पूर्वंकाये निवेशिता� � [vibudhā� sahitā� sarve yata� puccha� tata� kṛtā� |
kṛṣṇena vāsukedaityā� pūrvaṃkāye niveśitā� || ] 85
क्षीराब्धिमध्य� भगवान् कूर्मरूपी स्वय� हरिः �
मन्थनाद्रेरधिष्ठान� भ्रमतोऽभून्महामुने � [kṣīrābdhimadhye bhagavān kūrmarūpī svaya� hari� |
manthanādreradhiṣṭhāna� bhramato'bhūnmahāmune || ] 88
--1,9
