>Midnight-Blue766 at 01:15, 8 July 2021

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{{short description|Divine ocean in Hindu mythology}}
[[File:Kurma, the tortoise incarnation of Vishnu.jpg|right|thumb|[[Kurma]] avatar of Vishnu, below [[Mount Mandara]], with [[Vasuki (snake)|Vasuki]] wrapped around it, during [[Samudra manthan]], the churning of the Ocean of Milk, c. 1870]]
[[File:Vishnu and Lakshmi on Shesha Naga, ca 1870.jpg|right|thumb|[[Vishnu]] and [[Lakshmi]] on [[Shesha|Shesha Naga]] over Kshirasagar - The Ocean of Milk, ca 1870]]
{{Vaishnavism}}
In [[Hindu cosmology]], the '''Ocean of Milk''' ([[Sanskrit|Skt]].: '''''Kṣīra Sāgara''''') is the fifth from the center of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha.<ref>D. Dennis Hudson: The body of God: an emperor's palace for Krishna in eighth-century Kanchipuram, Oxford University Press US, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-19-536922-9}}, pp.164-168</ref> According to Hindu scriptures, the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] and [[asuras]] worked together for a millennium to churn the ocean and release [[Amrita]] the nectar of immortal life.<ref>{{cite web|title=Churning the Ocean of Milk by Michael Buckley|url=http://www.veloasia.com/library/buckley/churning_milk.html}}</ref> It is spoken of in the [[Samudra manthan|''Samudra manthana'']] chapter of the [[Puranas]], a body of ancient Hindu legends. It is called as ''Thirupaarkadal'' (Sacred Sea of Milk) in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and is the place where [[Vishnu]] reclines over [[Shesha|Shesha Naga]] along with his consort [[Lakshmi]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Concept of Sri Andal's Tiruppavai|author=Chenni Padmanabhan|publisher=R.P. Publications, 1995 - Krishna (Hindu deity) in literature - 296 pages|page=87}}</ref>

==Etymology==
"Ocean of Milk" is the English translation of the [[Sanskrit]] terms ''{{IAST|kṣīroda}}'', ''{{IAST|kṣīrābdhi}}'' or ''{{IAST|kṣīrasāgara}}'', from ''{{IAST|kṣīra}}'' "milk" and ''{{IAST|-uda}}'', ''{{IAST|sāgara}}'' "water, ocean" or ''{{IAST| abdhi}}'' "ocean."

The term varies across Indic languages, including ''khir sagar'' in [[Bengali language|Bengali]], ''pārkaḍal'' in [[Tamil language|Tamil]], and ''Pāla Kadali'' in [[Telugu language|Telugu]].

==The Churning of the Ocean==
{{Main|Samudra manthan}}
[[File:Churning of Milky Ocean by Devas and Asuras.jpg|thumb|Churning of Milky Ocean by Devas and Asuras]]
Hindu history also contains a story about the churning of the Cosmic Ocean in order to obtain [[Amrita]] – the nectar of immortal life. At the suggestion of [[Vishnu]], the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] and [[asura]]s churn the primeval ocean in order to obtain [[Amrita]] which will guarantee them immortality. To churn the ocean they used the Serpent, [[Vasuki (snake)|Vasuki]], for their churning-string. For a churning pole they used [[Mount Mandara]] placed on the back of a Great Tortoise – the [[Kurma|Kurma Avatar]] of Vishnu. As the gods and demons churned the sea, the terrible poison [[Halahala]] issued from its depths and began to envelop the universe with its choking fumes. Gasping for breath, the devas and asuras sought the help of [[Shiva]], who valiantly took the poison into his throat and swallowed it. Shocked by his heroic act, the Goddess Parvati grasped him by the throat, trapping the poison there and preventing it from spreading; but, such was the strength of the poison, that it turned his neck blue, thereby earning him the name of Neelakanta (blue-throated one).<ref>{{cite book |last=Flood |first=Gavin |author-link= Gavin Flood |title=An Introduction to Hinduism |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo |url-access=registration |year=1996 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |isbn= 0-521-43878-0}}, pp. 78.</ref>

When the Amrita finally emerged along with several other treasures the devas and asuras fought over it. However Vishnu in the form of the enchantress [[Mohini]] managed to lure the asuras into handing over to "her" the Amrita, which she then distributes to the devas. [[Svarbhanu]], an asura, disguises himself as a deva and tries to drink some Amrita himself. [[Surya]] (the sun-god) and [[Chandra]] (the moon-god) alert Vishnu to this deception. Vishnu then decapitates Svarbhanu just as he is about to swallow the nectar, leaving his head and decapitated body immortal. Later the head part is known as [[Rahu]] and the beheaded part is known as [[Ketu (mythology)|Ketu]].

According to the Bhagavata, the products of the churning of Kshirasagara are the substances ''Halahala'' (the terrible poison neutralised by Shiva) and ''Amrita'' (the divine nectar); the divinities Dhanvantari (the physician of the Gods), Lakshmi (Goddess of Riches), Jyestha (Goddess of Poverty) and Chandra (the Moon); the animals Airavata, the white elephant and the horse [[Uchchaihshravas|Uchchaisrava]] and, last but not least, the magical wish-granting tree [[Kalpavriksha]].

The Churning of the Cosmic Ocean (the Milky Way) is told in several ancient texts, notably in the [[Valmiki|Valmiki's]] ''[[Ramayana]]'' Canto 45 <ref>{{cite web|title=Online version of the Ramayana Canto 45 in English|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rama/ry045.htm}}</ref> and in the ''[[Mahabharata]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Online version of the Mahabharata in English|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm}}</ref>

==Depiction at Angkor Wat==
A [[bas-relief]] at the temple of [[Angkor Wat]] in Cambodia includes a depiction of [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] and [[asuras]] working together to stir up the Ocean of Milk in an attempt to free the precious objects lost within, including the elixir of immortality called [[amrita]]. The scheme, masterminded by [[Vishnu]], was to wrap the serpent [[Vasuki (snake)|Vasuki]] around [[Mount Mandara]] and then to rotate the mountain and to churn the surrounding sea in the manner of a gigantic butter churner, by alternately pulling on the serpent's head and then on his tail.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.asiaexplorers.com/cambodia/angkor/angkorwatmilk.htm| title=Churning of the Ocean of Milk Travel Guide, Angkor Wat| publisher=AsiaExplorers}}{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Svetadvipa==
*There is a [[Vaikuntha]]loka covered with water in the material world, which is an inestimable distance away in the direction of the ''Makara'' Rashi ([[Shravana]] Zodiac) or the Capricorn Constellation, and on that planet, is a place called [[Vedavati]], where Vishnu resides.
*On the island known as Svetadvipa there is an Ocean of Milk, and in the midst of that ocean, is a place called Airavati-pura where Aniruddha lies on [[Shesha|Ananta]].

Cosmologically the Dvipas and Sagaras depict the entire Cosmos, though in Cartiography (or Cosmography), all the Dvipas and Sagaras are shown to lie in the Southern Hemisphere. In some of the satvata-tantras there is a description of the nine varshas and the predominating Deity worshiped in each:

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
#[[Vasudeva]]
#[[Sankarshana]]
#[[Pradyumna]]
#[[Aniruddha]]
#[[Narayana]]
#[[Narsimha]]
#[[Hayagriva]]
#Maha[[varaha]]
#[[Parashurama]]
{{div col end}}

[[Paramatma]], the Supersoul in the heart of everyone through whom all [[Avatar]]s come to material universe, is lying on that Milk Ocean. So Paramatma is [[Ksirodakasayi Vishnu]] – who is in every atom and heart of all 8 400 000 kinds of material bodies, as the soul in each heart called [[Ātman (Hinduism)|atma]] which in essence is same as the [[Paramatma]]).

==See also==
*[[Goloka]]
*[[Krishna]]
*[[Ksirodakasayi Vishnu]]
*[[Paramatma]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01019.htm The story of the churning] as told in the epic ''[[Mahabharata]]'', here in the online English translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli at sacred-texts.com.
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rama/ry045.htm The story of the churning] as told in the epic ''[[Ramayana]]'', here in the online English verse translation by [[Ralph T. H. Griffith]] at sacred-texts.com.
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp044.htm The story of the churning] as told in the [[Vishnu Purana]], here in the online English translation by Horace Hayman Wilson at sacred-texts.com.

{{Hindu deities and texts}}

[[Category:Locations in Hindu mythology]]
[[Category:Milk in culture]]
[[Category:Divya Desams]]

Kshira Sagara - Revision history

>Midnight-Blue766 at 01:15, 8 July 2021