the story of amrita

The Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) were often at war with each other, fighting to prove their dominance and superiority. Again as the law of nature, Devas (gods) would always win, for upliftment of the world.

But during one of the wars, in spite of their best efforts the Devas were not able to defeat the Asuras. The Devas got very worried and panicked and went to the Supreme Protector of the Universe, The Great Lord Vishnu. Vishnu, the Almighty, the ever-giving Lord, readily agreed to help the Devas.

Lord Vishnu came up with a plan. He would sprinkle the ocean with a number of medicinal herbs. Then, the Devas would churn the milky ocean for elixir (amrita). Drinking Amrita would give back their strength and make them immortal. With their new strength, they would fight the Asuras and be sure of a grand victory. The Devas were excited about this plan and at once agreed to this and thanked the Lord for helping them.

But how were they to do this? The Devas had a meeting and planned about how to go about this task. Churning the ocean was a very physical challenge and all the Gods put together couldn’t do this really hard work. According to their plan, they decided that Mount Mandara would serve as a churning stick and the endless serpent, Ananta, as the rope. But still, the gods in their weakened state could not perform this task without help. So they schemed and came up with a solution.

They invited the Asuras and falsely promised them a share of the nectar in return for their help in churning the Ocean. The Asuras readily agreed to this plan and were eager to win their share of amrita, be immortal and win over all the worlds. They were all excited and waited for the big day to happen.

When finally the big day came, the Devas and Asuras gathered near the ocean. Mount Mandara and Ananta took their positions. The Asuras held the serpent’s head while the Devas took his tail and together they pulled, once this way and once that, with all their might. But the harder they worked, they found the churn was sinking into the ocean and they were unable to hold it up. Then Lord Vishnu appeared as the great Tortoise on whose back the mountain could rest and allowed the churning to carry on easily.

From the churned Milky Ocean emerged all the planets and poisonous Halahala. For a long time all that rose to the surface was the poison of Halahala, confusion, ignorance, greed, aversion, and grasping. The process was looking more and more grim.

But after churning and churning for a long time, the Devas and Asuras were surprised and delighted to see the treasures from Ocean’s depths rise to the surface one by one, the last of which was the bowl of elixir (amrita), the nectar of immortality.

The Asuras swiftly grabbed the precious drink and tried to run away with the bowl, but were stopped in their path by the sudden appearance of a beautiful girl whose name was Mohini. She was so enchanting and magical that the Asuras listened to her every word when she told them that she would distribute the nectar equally between all those who had worked for it. The Asuras readily agreed.

For this, she ordered the Devas to form one row and the Asuras another. Then the maiden Mohini began serving. The Devas received their portion first and as soon as she had served them, Mohini disappeared, bowl and all! Mohini had tricked the Asuras. The Asuras who got nothing for their efforts now realized that they hade been tricked and this time by a young, beautiful woman, who was none other that Lord Vishnu in Mohini’s disguise.

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