There are a lot of lessons hidden behind the Samudra Manthan story. Let’s see them one by one.
It all started when Sage Durvasa came to Svarga. He saw Indra's pomp and prosperity as Indra sat on Airavata, very happy. In his happiness, Sage Durvasa gave Indra a garland that had been offered to Lord Vishnu. Indra, due to asuravesha (temporary demonic possession), kept that garland on Airavata, and it crushed the garland with its feet.
On seeing this, Sage Durvasa was enraged and hence cursed Indra to lose all his wealth and the kingship of the heavens. Indra and all the devatas lost everything. Airavata, the Paarijaata tree, Kalpavriksha, Kaamadhenu, Uchhaishravas horse, etc. everything submerged into the ksheerasaagara. Even Lakshmidevi, with the wish of Lord Vishnu, entered the ksheerasagara.
From this, we learn that you should never keep your ego in front of the elders or gurus, or the devotees of Bhagavan. Because if they are angered, then even Bhagavan cannot protect you from their wrath. With Gurubala, anything is attainable, but without Gurubala, we cannot attain anything. Therefore, one must respect the gurus.
Now, the devatas befriended the asuras. After this, to churn the Ksheerasagara, we need a churning stick. So, the devatas decided to keep Mount Mandara as their churning stick. But the Mandara Mountain had a boon from Lord Shiva that nobody could lift it. But then, Lord Vishnu came there and effortlessly lifted Mount Mandara and kept it on Garuda’s back.
From this we learn that Bhagavan is the Supreme, and no boon works in front of Him. If He wishes to do samhaara of someone or to do something, no boon in this universe can protect them or work in front of Him. If He wishes to save someone, nobody from the infinite universe, the devatas led by Brahma and Shiva cannot harm him. That’s the power of Bhagavan Vishnu. Plus, Garuda is the same as Lord Shiva in the hierarchy of the devatas, and hence was able to lift the Mandara Parvata on his back.
Now, the devatas said, “Oh! We could also have done it, just that Lord Vishnu gave the chance to a bird. Huh…” Lord Vishnu said, “Is that so?” And then lifted the Mandara Parvata and kept it on the devatas and said, “Now lift it.” The devatas were flattened under that massive mountain. Their bones were broken. Lord Vishnu just saw them with a look of compassion, and all the devatas grew up strong and normal and stood up.
Here we learn that the devatas again fell into their ego and said that they could do anything, forgetting that it was Lord Vishnu who was providing power to them by residing within them. By doing so, Lord Vishnu gave a reality check to the devatas as to who is the boss. Lord Vishnu is like a mother. Like when a child does something wrong, a mother beats him, or scolds him, or puts him in a dark room. But at the end of the day, she is a mother. She goes and hugs her son/daughter with love and loves them.
Like that only, here Lord Vishnu, being the mother and father of everyone, punished the devatas and, at the same time, showed compassion towards the devatas and brought them back to life. That’s the compassion of Lord Vishnu. After this, Lord Vishnu took that Mandara Mountain to the Ksheerasagara on Garuda. Now, for the Ksheerasagara Manthana, we need a rope. So, they decided to take the serpent Vasuki as the churning rope.
The Ksheerasagara Manthana finally started. The devatas said, “We will take Vasuki’s head portion; you asuras go towards the tail portion of Vasuki.” The asuras had ego within them: why should they take the tail portion? They would take the head portion only, because they considered themselves supreme. Then, both interchanged their positions, and the asuras were now near Serpent Vasuki’s hoods. This ego of theirs made them regret their decision in the future.
From this manthana, we get a lesson. Whenever we grow Agyaana, or false knowledge (Indra losing his kingdom due to asuravesha), then we approach Bhagavan or the Shaastras, which are Bhagavan’s instructions only. Then, we do the churning of the Shaastras named Ksheerasaagara, with two sides or teams. The devata team over here is the right knowledge, whereas the asura team is the false knowledge. At first, we get the Halahala visha, as we hear in the story, if we study the Shaastras with a superficial view; but then, if we study and churn the Shaastras more deeply, then we get the Amrita of correct knowledge, which leads us to Moksha.
Now, when the Samudra Manthana was taking a long time, Vasuki was getting tired and started exhaling venom. This venom came towards the asuras standing there and was regretting their decision. Whereas the devatas were enjoying the Samudra Manthana because cold air was breezing past them. Now, Mount Mandara was drowning. So, to balance it, Lord Vishnu appeared as Kurmavatara (the incarnation of a turtle) and lifted the Mandara Mountain on His back.
As He lifted the Mandara Mountain on His back, it was as if someone was doing massage on His back and Kurma roopi Paramatma slept there itself holding the whole Mandara Mountain. Now, Mount Mandara was coming up. Therefore, to finally balance the Mountain, Lord Vishnu took the form of Ajita and sat on the Mandara Parvata. He saw that the devatas, asuras, and especially the serpent Vasuki were tired. But then, the Samudra Manthana needed to happen.
So, Lord Vishnu entered the devatas, asuras, and even the serpent Vasuki and made them do the Samudra Manthana. So, we learn here that everything that we do is inspired by Bhagavan only. We say in the Gayatri Mantra, ‘Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat’, which means, ‘O Bhagavan, please inspire our mind.’ He makes us do everything.
A jiva possesses gyaana, ichha, and prayatna, which mean knowledge, desire, and effort. For example, I want to write an essay. For that, I have the knowledge that, ‘Yes, I have to write an essay. For that, I need a paper and a pen/pencil.’ And then I have the desire to write the essay; only then will I write it. Now, I take the pen/pencil and write on the paper. That’s my effort. So, we have knowledge, desire, and effort as the three basic attributes. But these attributes are under the control of Bhagavan. Bhagavan is independent, and Jiva is dependent and is different from Bhagavan eternally, even in Moksha.
Bhagavan does inspire us to do things, as per our svabhaava. For example, in a school, a teacher corrects the question paper. Before that, he/she looks at how this kid was in his academic year. Was he sincere? Did he study or complete homework? That’s nothing but how the student's svabhaava was. If that’s good, then the teacher is like, ‘Yes, this student did everything, and his answers are genuine.’ But then, there are some students who don’t do anything but then write nice answers in exams.
But then, the teacher sees his/her answer and says, ‘He must have copied from someone, because this kid didn’t do anything, didn’t study anything, so he/she must have copied.’ And then, when the teacher calls the student and asks him/her questions about the answers he/she wrote, he/she is exposed. So, as per their svabhaava, the teacher gives marks. In the same way here, Bhagavan, as per the svabhaava of the jiva, inspires him/her to do the karmas.
And Bhagavan doesn’t change the svabhaava of the jiva. Because it is like you’re saying Change the fire into water. If you do that, fire won’t be fire. Yes, people, though they are inherently good, sometimes, due to evil influence, become evil. In their case, their svabhaava can be changed because evilness is not their inherent svabhaava, but those who are inherently evil, their svabhaava cannot be changed, and as per their svabhaava, Bhagavan makes them do their karma.
This is what Bheemasena tells Dharmaraja in the Vana Parva, when Dharmaraja, after 1 year of Vanavaasa, decides to drop the plan of going to Hastinapura and reclaiming the kingdom and stay here in the forest, and this concept, which I explained about jiva, is known as Jiva Kartrutva (doership of the Jiva).
Now, during the Samudra Manthana, Halahala visha came out. This is known as the Kaalakoota visha too. All the devatas took refuge in Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva approached and drank the Kaalakoota visha, and before drinking the poison, He remembered Lord Vishnu. The Bhagavata Purana states this. From this incident, we learn that anything is possible by Lord Vishnu’s grace. As Akroora himself says in the Bhagavatam, “Kim alabhyam bhagavati prasanne sriniketane” (What is unachievable when Lord Vishnu is pleased with us?)
Now, Indra and others approached Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva, Indra, etc., devatas approached the Ksheerasagara and prayed to Lord Vishnu for the solution. From this, we learn that Lord Vishnu is the only refuge for the devatas. The Venkatesha stotra of the Brahmanda Purana says:
Sarvadevaikasharanam Sarvadevaikadevatam |
Samastadevakavacham Sarvadevashikhamanih ||
[Brahmanda Purana, Brahma-Naarada Samvaada, Venkatesha Stotra]
So, it is Lord Vishnu who is the only refuge for the devatas. Lord Vishnu, at this, tells them, ‘O Devas, we need to perform the Samudra Manthan for this. For this, we need to befriend the asuras as per the Ahi Mooshaka Nyaaya.’ (Ahi Mooshaka Nyaya is a nyaaya wherein the snake befriends the mouse until its work is done, and then it gobbles the mouse up). From this, we learn that sometimes, for a good thing to happen, we must even have to befriend our enemies.
After this came the 14 ratnas like Airavata, Kalpavriksha, Kaamadhenu, Apsaras, Paanchajanya Shankha, etc. This Paanchajanya Shankha is the Shankha that Lord Vishnu holds. Even Chandra came out of the Ksheerasagara. After this, Lakshmidevi came out. Since Chandra and Lakshmidevi came out of the Ksheerasagara, Lakshmidevi also has the name ‘Chandrasahodari’.
During the pralaya of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, along with His queen Lakshmidevi, rests on the banyan leaf silently and in pure bliss. So, this is not the birth of Lakshmidevi, but an avatara or appearance of Lakshmidevi from the Ksheerasagara. Around Her neck, which was like a conch shell, She had tied a mangalasootra; in one hand She was holding Vara Mudra, and in the other was having Abhaya Mudra. She was holding lotus flowers in the other hands and had 4 braids.
She was wearing a garland of lotus, which never dried out. She wore anklets in Her feet, which made a ‘Ghiluk’ sound. She was wearing a Peetambara and was decorated with different ornaments. She came out of the Ksheerasagara as if it were a sunrise. She was wearing a crown. She had a hair bun decorated with flowers like mandaara, jaaji, mogra, kamala, etc.
Lakshmidevi came out of the Ksheerasagara and looked at the devatas, who bowed down to them, and didn’t even look at the asuras, because they were looking at Her with their lustful eyes. Lakshmidevi came and saw the devatas, who were Her sons only, and then, without saying their names, She exposed their flaws. By this, Lakshmidevi gives us a message that we must not tell the flaws of our children (if they are good) in front of everyone, because if we do so, then it is like demeaning them. So, better to take them to a corner and explain their mistakes to them.
Plus, we even learn here that one must never insult noble people. Sometimes, due to some influence or due to some mistakes they might have made, insulting them in front of everyone is not good, because it is like setting all their good works on fire. Then, Lakshmidevi saw Lord Vishnu, who was sitting on the Mandara Parvata in the form of Ajita. She saw that while others were so eager to marry Lakshmidevi, Lord Vishnu was in His own bliss. He doesn’t even need Lakshmidevi to experience ananda, since He is ananda svaroopa and svaramana.
Lakshmidevi wanted a husband who was the supreme, didn’t bow to anyone, and would never grow old or die. He must not be dependent on others, and She should be the one who would experience ananda along with Him and not vice versa. She found all these traits in Lord Vishnu and hence married Him. So, Lakshmidevi Herself proves the supremacy of Lord Vishnu here.
Finally, Lord Dhanvantari emerged from the Kshirasagara, along with the Amrita Kalasha. Lord Dhanvantari is the doctor avatar of Lord Vishnu. From His ananda baashpa (tear of joy), from His eyes, came Tulasi, who is Lakshmidevi Herself. The demons snatched the Amrita Kalasha from Lord Dhanvantari’s hands. Lord Dhanvantari allowed this to happen in order to show the deceitful minds of the asuras. The asuras fought among themselves for the Amrita because Amrita was the final product of the Samudra Manthana.
The devatas approached Srihari, and Srihari assumed the form of Mohini and came to the asuras. The asuras were so bewildered that they were no longer fighting for Amrita, but only seeing Her. They asked Mohini to distribute Amrita among them. Mohini agreed. Devatas sat in a line, and asuras too sat in a line parallel to each other, and Mohini gave Amrita to the devatas only. Out of the Asuras, Svarabhaanu came and sat in the devata line between Surya and Chandra and took the Amrita. Surya and Chandra told Mohini that this was Svarabhaanu and not a devata.
Mohini immediately summoned the Sudarshana Chakra and beheaded Rahu, but since he had drunk amrita, the head portion was worshipped as Rahu. After this, Mohini assumed Her original Lord Vishnu form. And then, as the asuras thought that they were being cheated, they waged a war against the devatas. But this time, they couldn’t even harm the devatas, because they had drunk Amrita. And then Lord Vishnu also came there and destroyed the demons and sent them back. And after all this, the devatas attained their heavens, and Indra regained the kingship of heaven.
From this episode, we got to know that we must not be lustful or deceitful, or do anything for that. One must control their senses and should worship Srihari with devotion; only then do they get the Amrita of Moksha. If we hate Srihari, we attain Naraka, and if we love and devote ourselves to Srihari, we attain Moksha. That’s it.
Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriKrishnarpanamastu!