The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 1.16: atha ṣoḍaśo'dhyāyaḥ

1.16.1

sūta uvāca |
tato'bhraśikharākārairgiriśṛṅgairalaṃkṛtam |
mandaraṃ parvatavaraṃ latājālasamāvṛtam || 1 ||

"Sauti said, 'There is a mountain called Mandara adorned with cloud-like peaks. It is the best of mountains, and is covered all over with intertwining herbs. There countless birds pour forth their melodies, and beasts of prey roam about. The gods, the Apsaras and the Kinnaras visit the place. Upwards it rises eleven thousand yojanas, and descends downwards as much. The gods wanted to tear it up and use it as a churning rod but failing to do so same to Vishnu and Brahman who were sitting together, and said unto them, 'Devise some efficient scheme, consider, ye gods, how Mandara may be dislodged for our good.'

1.16.2

nānāvihagasaṃghuṣṭaṃ nānādaṃṣṭrisamākulam |
kiṃnarairapsarobhiśca devairapi ca sevitam || 2 ||

1.16.3

ekādaśa sahasrāṇi yojanānāṃ samucchritam |
adho bhūmeḥ sahasreṣu tāvatsveva pratiṣṭhitam || 3 ||

1.16.4

tamuddhartuṃ na śaktā vai sarve devagaṇāstadā |
viṣṇumāsīnamabhyetya brahmāṇaṃ cedamabruvan || 4 ||

1.16.5

bhavantāvatra kurutāṃ buddhiṃ naiḥśreyasīṃ parām |
mandaroddharaṇe yatnaḥ kriyatāṃ ca hitāya naḥ || 5 ||

1.16.6

tatheti cābravīdviṣṇurbrahmaṇā saha bhārgava |
tato'nantaḥ samutthāya brahmaṇā paricoditaḥ |
nārāyaṇena cāpyuktastasminkarmaṇi vīryavān || 6 ||

"Sauti continued, 'O son of Bhrigu! Vishnu with Brahman assented to it. And the lotus-eyed one (Vishnu) laid the hard task on the mighty Ananta, the prince of snakes. The powerful Ananta, directed thereto both by Brahman and Narayana, O Brahmana, tore up the mountain with the woods thereon and with the denizens of those woods. And the gods came to the shore of the Ocean with Ananta and addressed the Ocean, saying, 'O Ocean; we have come to churn thy waters for obtaining nectar.' And the Ocean replied, 'Be it so, as I shall not go without a share of it. I am able to bear the prodigious agitation of my waters set up by the mountain.' The gods then went to the king of tortoises and said to him, 'O Tortoise-king, thou wilt have to hold the mountain on thy back!' The Tortoise-king agreed, and Indra contrived to place the mountain on the former's back.

1.16.7

atha parvatarājānaṃ tamananto mahābalaḥ |
ujjahāra balādbrahmansavanaṃ savanaukasam || 7 ||

1.16.8

tatastena surāḥ sārdhaṃ samudramupatasthire |
tamūcuramṛtārthāya nirmathiṣyāmahe jalam || 8 ||

1.16.9

apāṃpatirathovāca mamāpyaṃśo bhavettataḥ |
soḍhāsmi vipulaṃ mardaṃ mandarabhramaṇāditi || 9 ||

1.16.10

ūcuśca kūrmarājānamakūpāraṃ surāsurāḥ |
gireradhiṣṭhānamasya bhavānbhavitumarhati || 10 ||

1.16.11

kūrmeṇa tu tathetyuktvā pṛṣṭhamasya samarpitam |
tasya śailasya cāgraṃ vai yantreṇendro'bhyapīḍayat || 11 ||

1.16.12

manthānaṃ mandaraṃ kṛtvā tathā netraṃ ca vāsukim |
devā mathitumārabdhāḥ samudraṃ nidhimambhasām |
amṛtārthinastato brahmansahitā daityadānavāḥ || 12 ||

"And the gods and the Asuras made of Mandara a churning staff and Vasuki the cord, and set about churning the deep for amrita. The Asuras held Vasuki by the hood and the gods held him by the tail. And Ananta, who was on the side of the gods, at intervals raised the snake's hood and suddenly lowered it. And in consequence of the stretch Vasuki received at the hands of the gods and the Asuras, black vapours with flames issued from his mouth. These, turned into clouds charged with lightning, poured showers that refreshed the tired gods. And flowers that also fell on all sides of the celestials from the trees on the whirling Mandara, refreshed them.

1.16.13

ekamantamupāśliṣṭā nāgarājño mahāsurāḥ |
vibudhāḥ sahitāḥ sarve yataḥ pucchaṃ tataḥ sthitāḥ || 13 ||

1.16.14

ananto bhagavāndevo yato nārāyaṇastataḥ |
śira udyamya nāgasya punaḥ punaravākṣipat || 14 ||

1.16.15

vāsukeratha nāgasya sahasākṣipyataḥ suraiḥ |
sadhūmāḥ sārciṣo vātā niṣpeturasakṛnmukhāt || 15 ||

1.16.16

te dhūmasaṃghāḥ saṃbhūtā meghasaṃghāḥ savidyutaḥ |
abhyavarṣansuragaṇāñśramasaṃtāpakarśitān || 16 ||

1.16.17

tasmācca girikūṭāgrātpracyutāḥ puṣpavṛṣṭayaḥ |
surāsuragaṇānmālyaiḥ sarvataḥ samavākiran || 17 ||

1.16.18

babhūvātra mahāghoṣo mahāmegharavopamaḥ |
udadhermathyamānasya mandareṇa surāsuraiḥ || 18 ||

"Then, O Brahmana, out of the deep came a tremendous roar like unto the roar of the clouds at the Universal Dissolution. Diverse aquatic animals being crushed by the great mountain gave up the ghost in the salt waters. And many denizens of the lower regions and the world of Varuna were killed. Large trees with birds on the whirling Mandara were torn up by the roots and fell into the water. The mutual friction of those trees also produced fires that blazed up frequently. The mountain thus looked like a mass of dark clouds charged with lightning. O Brahmana, the fire spread, and consumed the lions, elephants and other creatures that were on the mountain. Then Indra extinguished that fire by pouring down heavy showers.

1.16.19

tatra nānājalacarā viniṣpiṣṭā mahādriṇā |
vilayaṃ samupājagmuḥ śataśo lavaṇāmbhasi || 19 ||

1.16.20

vāruṇāni ca bhūtāni vividhāni mahīdharaḥ |
pātālatalavāsīni vilayaṃ samupānayat || 20 ||

1.16.21

tasmiṃśca bhrāmyamāṇe'drau saṃghṛṣyantaḥ parasparam |
nyapatanpatagopetāḥ parvatāgrānmahādrumāḥ || 21 ||

1.16.22

teṣāṃ saṃgharṣajaścāgnirarcirbhiḥ prajvalanmuhuḥ |
vidyudbhiriva nīlābhramāvṛṇonmandaraṃ girim || 22 ||

1.16.23

dadāha kuñjarāṃścaiva siṃhāṃścaiva viniḥsṛtān |
vigatāsūni sarvāṇi sattvāni vividhāni ca || 23 ||

1.16.24

tamagnimamaraśreṣṭhaḥ pradahantaṃ tatastataḥ |
vāriṇā meghajenendraḥ śamayāmāsa sarvataḥ || 24 ||

1.16.25

tato nānāvidhāstatra susruvuḥ sāgarāmbhasi |
mahādrumāṇāṃ niryāsā bahavaścauṣadhīrasāḥ || 25 ||

"After the churning, O Brahmana, had gone on for some time, gummy exudations of various trees and herbs vested with the properties of amrita mingled with the waters of the Ocean. And the celestials attained to immortality by drinking of the water mixed with those gums and with the liquid extract of gold. By degrees, the milky water of the agitated deep turned into clarified butter by virtue of those gums and juices. But nectar did not appear even then. The gods came before the boon-granting Brahman seated on his seat and said, 'Sire, we are spent up, we have no strength left to churn further. Nectar hath not yet arisen so that now we have no resource save Narayana.'

1.16.26

teṣāmamṛtavīryāṇāṃ rasānāṃ payasaiva ca |
amaratvaṃ surā jagmuḥ kāñcanasya ca niḥsravāt || 26 ||

1.16.27

atha tasya samudrasya tajjātamudakaṃ payaḥ |
rasottamairvimiśraṃ ca tataḥ kṣīrādabhūdghṛtam || 27 ||

1.16.28

tato brahmāṇamāsīnaṃ devā varadamabruvan |
śrāntāḥ sma subhṛśaṃ brahmannodbhavatyamṛtaṃ ca tat || 28 ||

1.16.29

ṛte nārāyaṇaṃ devaṃ daityā nāgottamāstathā |
cirārabdhamidaṃ cāpi sāgarasyāpi manthanam || 29 ||

1.16.30

tato nārāyaṇaṃ devaṃ brahmā vacanamabravīt |
vidhatsvaiṣāṃ balaṃ viṣṇo bhavānatra parāyaṇam || 30 ||

"On hearing them, Brahman said to Narayana, 'O Lord, condescend to grant the gods strength to churn the deep afresh.'

1.16.31

viṣṇuruvāca |
balaṃ dadāmi sarveṣāṃ karmaitadye samāsthitāḥ |
kṣobhyatāṃ kalaśaḥ sarvairmandaraḥ parivartyatām || 31 ||

"Then Narayana agreeing to grant their various prayers, said, 'Ye wise ones, I grant you sufficient strength. Go, put the mountain in position again and churn the water.'

1.16.32

sūta uvāca |
nārāyaṇavacaḥ śrutvā balinaste mahodadheḥ |
tatpayaḥ sahitā bhūyaścakrire bhṛśamākulam || 32 ||

'Re-established thus in strength, the gods recommenced churning. After a while, the mild Moon of a thousand rays emerged from the Ocean. Thereafter sprung forth Lakshmi dressed in white, then Soma, then the White Steed, and then the celestial gem Kaustubha which graces the breast of Narayana. Then Lakshmi, Soma and the Steed, fleet as the mind, all came before the gods on high. Then arose the divine Dhanwantari himself with the white vessel of nectar in his hand. And seeing him, the Asuras set up a loud cry, saying, 'It be ours.'

1.16.33

tataḥ śatasahasrāṃśuḥ samāna iva sāgarāt |
prasannabhāḥ samutpannaḥ somaḥ śītāṃśurujjvalaḥ || 33 ||

1.16.34

śrīranantaramutpannā ghṛtātpāṇḍuravāsinī |
surā devī samutpannā turagaḥ pāṇḍurastathā || 34 ||

1.16.35

kaustubhaśca maṇirdivya utpanno'mṛtasaṃbhavaḥ |
marīcivikacaḥ śrīmānnārāyaṇaurogataḥ || 35 ||

1.16.36

śrīḥ surā caiva somaśca turagaśca manojavaḥ |
yato devāstato jagmurādityapathamāśritāḥ || 36 ||

1.16.37

dhanvantaristato devo vapuṣmānudatiṣṭhata |
śvetaṃ kamaṇḍaluṃ bibhradamṛtaṃ yatra tiṣṭhati || 37 ||

1.16.38

etadatyadbhutaṃ dṛṣṭvā dānavānāṃ samutthitaḥ |
amṛtārthe mahānnādo mamedamiti jalpatām || 38 ||

1.16.39

tato nārāyaṇo māyāmāsthito mohinīṃ prabhuḥ |
strīrūpamadbhutaṃ kṛtvā dānavānabhisaṃśritaḥ || 39 ||

[paragraph continues] But with the churning still going on, the poison Kalakuta appeared at last. Engulfing the Earth it suddenly blazed up like a fire attended with fumes. And by the scent of the fearful Kalakuta, the three worlds were stupefied. And then Siva, being solicited by Brahman, swallowed that poison for the safety of the creation. The divine Maheswara held it in his throat, and it is said that from that time he is called Nilakantha (blue-throated). Seeing all these wondrous things, the Asuras were filled with despair, and got themselves prepared for entering into hostilities with the gods for the possession of Lakshmi and Amrita. Thereupon Narayana called his bewitching Maya (illusive power) to his aid, and assuming the form of an enticing female, coquetted with the Danavas. The Danavas and the Daityas charmed with her exquisite beauty and grace lost their reason and unanimously placed the Amrita in the hands of that fair damsel.'"

1.16.40

tatastadamṛtaṃ tasyai daduste mūḍhacetasaḥ |
striyai dānavadaiteyāḥ sarve tadgatamānasāḥ || 40 ||