This enrages Durvasa and he curses Indra and the devas to be bereft of their strength and fortune. In the battles that followed, the mighty asuras defeat the devas, and King Bali (the demon king) becomes the ruler of the Universe.

The demons/asuras held the head of the snake, while the devas, its tail. The churning went on for a 1,000 years. The force of the churning was so great that the mountain began to sink. Lord Vishnu then took the form of a huge turtle (Kurma avatar) and, like an island, supported the mountain on his back.

Three valuables were also produced: Kaustubha: the most valuable ratnam (divine jewel) in the world, worn by Vishnu. Parijata: the divine flowering tree with blossoms that never fade or wilt, taken to Indraloka by the Devas. Sharanga: a powerful bow, given to Lord Vishnu.

The Samudra Manthan episode is one of the iconic events that happened in the middle of the ocean (Samudra). It was a task undertaken by the Devas and the Danavs to churn the Amrit (divine elixir) from the seabed to attain immortality. And the mammoth task required the help of the Mandara Parvat and snake Vasuki.

River Ganga
He brought the River Ganga to Earth from the heavens because only shecould bestow nirvana to Bhagiratha’s ancestors who were cursed by Sage Kapila. After years of great penance, River Ganga descended on Earth and Lord Shiva agreed to channelize her flow. Therefore, River Ganga flowed from Lord Shiva’s hair.

Mandara Mountains, French Monts Mandara, volcanic range extending about 120 miles (193 km) along the northern part of the Nigeria-Cameroon border from the Benue River (south) to Mora, Cameroon (north). The mountains rise to more than 3,500 feet (1,100 m) above sea level.

Guru Gobind Singh
The Amrit Ceremony is the initiation rite introduced by Guru Gobind Singh when he founded the Khalsa in 1699. A Sikh can go through this initiation as soon as they are old enough to understand the full committment that they are making.

In Hindu cosmology, the Ocean of Milk (Skt.: Kṣīra Sāgara) is the fifth from the centre of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha. According to Hindu scriptures, the devas and asuras worked together for a millennium to churn the ocean and release Amrita the nectar of immortal life.

The churning of the Ocean of Milk was an extensive process: Mount Mandara was used as the churning rod, and Vasuki, a nāgarāja who abides on Shiva’s neck, became the churning rope. The Samudra Manthana process released a number of things from the Ocean of Milk. One of them was the lethal poison known as Halahala.

Samudra manthan by the Kurma (tortoise) avatar of Vishnu, with snake rope and mountain, artwork at the Bangkok Airport in Thailand. The samudra manthana (Sanskrit: समुद्रमन्थन, lit. churning of the ocean) is one of the best-known episodes in the Hindu philosophy narrated in the Bhagavata Purana, in the Mahabharata and in the Vishnu Purana.

Samudra Manthan or the churning of the ocean is one unique occasion when the Devas and their arch-nemesis, the Asuras, unite for an important reason. The churning of the ocean was a result of a curse by Sage Durvasa. Once, he offered a garland to Indra, the king of Devas.

As a result, his throat turned blue and he was henceforth called Neelakantha (the blue-throated one; “neela” = “blue”, “kantha” = “throat” in Sanskrit ). All kinds of herbs were cast into the ocean and fourteen Ratnas (gems or treasures) were produced from it and were divided between the Asuras and the Devas.