Kurma, the Giant Turtle

Once upon a time, the devtas had become very weak. They went to Bhagwan Vishnu and said, "Prabhu, please help us." Vishnu ji said, "Churn the Kshir Sagar, the ocean of milk. Amrit, the nectar, will come out of it. This is a very big job, so take the asuras along with you too."

The devtas and the asuras got ready to churn the ocean together. For a churning stick, they brought the huge Mandar mountain. For a rope, Vasuki, the king of serpents, came forward. Vasuki was wound around the mountain. The asuras held the head end, and the devtas held the tail end. Then both sides began to pull, forward and back, forward and back.

But there was a big problem. Under the mountain, in the ocean, there was nothing to hold it up. Slowly, the heavy mountain began to sink into the water! Both the devtas and the asuras felt sad. They thought all their hard work would be wasted.

Just then, Bhagwan Vishnu took the form of a giant turtle. This is called the Kurma avatar. Kurma Bhagwan dived deep into the ocean and lifted the mountain onto his back. His back was so big that it looked like a large island in the sea. Now the mountain was steady, and the churning began again.

Here is the fun part. As the mountain turned round and round on his back, Kurma Bhagwan felt as if someone were lovingly scratching his back! He liked it very much.

The churning went on. First came poison, which Shiv ji drank to keep everyone safe. That is a story for another day. After that, wonderful things came out of the ocean one by one. Out came Kamdhenu, the wish-cow. Out came Uchchaishrava, the white horse. Out came Airavat, the white elephant. The shining Kaustubh gem and the wish-tree Kalpavriksh came out too. Then Lakshmi Maa appeared, seated on a lotus, and she chose Vishnu ji.

Last of all came Dhanvantari Dev, holding a pot of amrit in his hands. How that amrit finally reached the devtas is another story.

Just think: if Kurma Bhagwan had not held up the mountain from below, none of this would have come out. Sometimes the biggest work is done by the one who quietly stays below and holds everyone up. In many temples, you will also see a statue of a turtle facing the deity. When you see it, remember Kurma Bhagwan.