Kurma Avatar Story

The Kurma Avatar is the second avatar of Lord Vishnu which came into being during the Satya yuga. It came into existence as half tortoise and half human. It is depicted in the water, holding up the mount Mandara, which was chosen as the churning rod during the manthan, upon which Lord Vishnu is seated himself.

Kurma Avatar of Vishnu

During the churning, snake Vasuki is used as the churning rope, to obtain Amrit ( the elixir of immortality). However, the mountain Mandara required a firm foundation and therefore, Vishnu took the form of a tortoise and supported Mandara on his back.

Reason for Kurma Avatar

Once Sage Durvasa came to visit Lord Indra and gave Indra a garland of flowers. However, Indra placed it on the forehead of his elephant, Airvata who threw it on the floor.  This angered Sage Durvasa and he cursed Indra that his realm will be ruined.

Due to this, the devas (gods) grew weaker and were attacked and defeated by the asuras (demons).

Consequently, they ran to Lord Vishnu for help and he suggested churning the ocean along with the asuras to obtain Amrit. Whoever consumed Amrit would become the most powerful.

The Mandar mountain was used as the churning stick and snake Vasuki as the churning rope. The churning represented a literal tug-of-war between the demons and the gods. The sea represents the state of deep awareness of the human mind. The goods and demons represent our good and bad deeds respectively. The war represented the human struggle to choose between the good and bad in our day-to-day lives. Due to the choices we make, we either get a chance to taste the tonic of life or continue to be mortal.

The mount Mandar represents our hard work in life, and only by doing the rightful actions can we succeed in life ( which was represented by lord Vishnu).

When the churning began, mount Mandar began to sink into the ocean and thus, required a strong foundation. It is then that lord Vishnu took the form of a tortoise to help it keep afloat.

Mount Mandar

Note to Parents 

Hindu mythology illustrates philosophy and conveys cultural values to help people learn from them. Moreover, they are entertaining and interesting to read. Therefore, parents along with their kids shall take out some time to inculcate this habit of reading and learning.

Conclusion 

As a result of churning, Amrit came out but the demons took control of it. Then Vishnu took the form of a beautiful lady, Mohini, and managed to distract the Asuras and take Amrit from them and give it to the Devas to drink. Devas became more powerful and once again Vishnu and his avatar helped save the universe.