Skandapurana 2.9.11
English (machine translation) 2.9.11
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Skanda said:
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Brahmā and Rudra, having instructed Mahendra and the others to make peace with the asuras,
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departed to their respective abodes, O sage, and the gods [went] to the nether region. // 1
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Vāsava, skilled in speaking appropriately for the occasion, using diplomacy and sound reasoning,
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and enticing them with a share of the fruit, made an alliance with the asuras. // 2
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Then the hosts of gods and asuras met together on the shore of the ocean;
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having brought great medicinal herbs, they quickly threw them in abundantly. // 3
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Then, approaching Mount Mandara, adorned with various herbs,
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all of them, uprooting it from its base, prepared to carry it to the ocean. // 4
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[Since it was] eleven thousand yojanas deep in the earth,
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they were unable to lift it up; then they praised Hari. // 5
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Knowing this, the Blessed One commanded Saṃkarṣaṇa, the sovereign of the earth,
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to lift up that mountain that was firmly rooted. // 6
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With just a single puff of breath, that Lord immediately
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hurled it out from that place to a distance of two yojanas. // 7
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Beholding that great wonder, all the gods and asuras were delighted;
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making loud shouts, they ran and approached its vicinity. // 8
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Though strong and striving, with arms like iron bars,
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they were unable to lift it up and carry it away, and became despondent, their labor in vain. // 9
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Knowing that the hosts of gods were distressed, the all-seeing Lord
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commanded Garuḍa to carry it swiftly to the ocean.
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Capable of bearing even the cosmic egg with its coverings in sport,
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he, swift as thought, went there, and with his beak alone [bearing] that mountain,
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uprooted it, set it down on the shore of the ocean, and returned to Hari.
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Then, their minds filled with joy, all the sons of Kaśyapa
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summoned Vāsuki with the promise of a share of the nectar.
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He arrived there; then they all prepared to churn the ocean.
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The Lord of Waters approached them in embodied form and spoke these words:
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"If you gods and asuras will give me a portion of the nectar,
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then I shall endure the immense agony of the whirling of Mount Mandara."
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Saying "So be it," and having made that promise, they first threw in medicinal herbs and creepers,
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and wound the king of serpents around that golden mountain.
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Then the gods remembered Hari in their hearts for the success of their undertaking.
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The moment he was remembered, Acyuta, the all-seeing, arrived there.
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Beholding him, the hosts of immortals rejoiced, and taking hold
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of the front part of the lord of serpents, they stood there, approved by him.
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And the Lord, demonstrating his partiality toward the gods,
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stood where the gods were; at that the Daityas became enraged:
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"We are foremost in austerity, learning, and age; how can we take the lower, inauspicious part
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of an animal? We are not such fools!"
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Then Viṣṇu, together with the gods, as if showing them respect,
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smiled, gave them the front part, and made the gods grasp the tail.
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This was the deed of the Lord of Śrī to protect the immortals
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from the burning blasts of the great serpent's venom; but the Daityas did not understand this.
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Then those sons of Kaśyapa lifted up Mount Mandara,
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radiant with its ridges of gold, having bound their loincloths with leather straps.
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Twenty-two thousand yojanas high,
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they placed it in the ocean, shouting aloud in extreme eagerness.
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Though held by them, having no base, the mountain, because of its immense weight,
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sank immediately to the bottom; then they became utterly distraught.
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Then the Lord himself, who by all means fulfills the needs of his devotees,
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praised by the immortals, assumed the form of a tortoise and lifted the mountain.
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Seeing it rise, the faces and hearts of all blossomed with joy,
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and it became firmly fixed upon the vast back of the tortoise.
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Then, with swift speed and to the best of their strength, they churned the ocean of waters,
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the gods and others pitilessly, their faces hissing with exhaustion.
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As the mountain was being whirled, many trees fell from it;
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the fire born of the friction of the higher trees burned the lions and other beasts dwelling thereon.
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Crushed by the great mountain, various aquatic creatures there
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met their destruction by the hundreds in the Ocean of Milk.
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Like the roaring of a mass of great clouds at the end of a cosmic age,
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a mighty sound of churning arose, amplified by reverberations.
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By the hissings from the mouth of Vāsuki, whose body was exhausted from being pulled excessively,
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the Daityas, deprived of vigor and utterly worn out, looked like glowing embers.
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Enduring the unbearable fire of poison again and again in various ways,
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the thousand faces of the serpent king hung downward.
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Instantly, urged by the Lord, the all-pervading
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Saṃkarṣaṇa of great splendor supported them, enduring the fire of venom.
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After the ocean of milk had been churned for one thousand years,
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the hālāhala poison arose, spreading in all directions and intermediate directions.
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It is called kālakūṭa, which intensely scorches all worlds;
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with their bodies burning from it, they took to flight.
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Then Brahmā, the lords of creatures, and all the gods praised the lord of Umā
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with hymns, O sage, entreating him to drink it.
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Then the Lord said to him: "You are the firstborn among the gods;
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and this is the firstborn of the ocean: take this poison, O Śiva."
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Seeing the fear of the gods, the compassionate one, by the command of Hari,
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drew all the poison onto the palm of his hand by the power of yoga.
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He drank it, and instantly held it dried within the middle of his throat.
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He became known as Nīlakaṇṭha and was called Śaṃkara.
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The drops that fell upon the ground from his hand as he was drinking,
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serpents, scorpions, and other creatures, as well as certain herbs, took up.
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Thus ends the eleventh chapter, named 'The Origin of the Poison during the Churning for Nectar,' in the Vāsudeva Māhātmya of the second [section], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit