You may have several questions in your mind about Samudra Manthan, such as why it was done, who gave the advice for Samudra Manthan ? Why did Durvasa curse Indra, and what was the impact of his curse on Indra ? Know all these in this blog.

Once upon a time, Shri Durvasa Ji, who is considered an incarnation of Lord Shiva, was wandering on the earth. While wandering, he saw a divine garland of Santanak flowers in the hands of a Angel (Apsara) Vidhyadhari. The fragrance of that divine garland was so enchanting that every forest dweller, and every present creature experienced that fragrance. Durvasa Ji asked for that divine garland from the beautiful woman. Upon his request, the dark-skinned Vidhyadhari with big eyes respectfully greeted him and gave him the garland.

After taking the garland, Durvasa put it around his neck and started wandering on the earth. Some time later, he saw Devraj Indra riding on his elephant Airavata. As soon as he saw Indra, Durvasa threw the garland on him. Indra took the divine garland and placed it on Airavata's back. Airavata, attracted by the fragrance of the garland, threw it down with his trunk. Seeing this, the great sage Durvasa became angry. Feeling insulted, Durvasa cursed Devraj Indra to be stripped of all his prosperity in all three worlds. After this, Durvasa continued wandering on the earth, and Devraj Indra also came back to Amaravati by riding on Airavata.

As per the curse of Durvasa, the glory of all three worlds of Indra began to decline gradually, and the strength of all the Deites also diminished. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Demons attacked and defeated the king of Deites, Indra. The Deites were defeated and fled in fear in all directions. Later, Indra and all the Deites took refuge in Lord Brahma. Then Brahma explained that they should take refuge in Lord Vishnu, as he is the creator of all three worlds, the destroyer of the demons, and the one whose bed is the ocean of milk, and he is supreme. Only he can increase their power. Brahma, Indra, and all the Deites then reached the shore of the ocean of milk where Lord Vishnu was seated. Brahma, Indra, and all the Deites and sages praised Lord Hari. Pleased, Lord Hari appeared and said, "I will certainly increase your lost power. But now, instead of fighting with the demons, you must churn the ocean with them as friends. You will become invincible and immortal by obtaining the nectar, and your power will also increase. Bring all the necessary herbs with the demons and churn the Mandara mountain, making Vasuki the leader of the Nagas, in the ocean. Lord Hari appointed the demons towards the direction of Vasuki's mouth and the Deites towards his tail."

During the churning of the ocean, first Kamadhenu was produced, followed by Kalpavriksha. After that, an Apsara was produced, and then Chandra (the Moon) appeared, which Lord Shiva took hold of. The Nagas took hold of the poison that was produced from the Kshira Sagara. In this way, the churning continued and one gem after another was produced. Then, Dhanvantari emerged holding a vessel filled with nectar, and Shri Lakshmi Devi appeared holding lotus flowers in her hands. She emerged from the Kshira Sagara, adorned with divine garlands, clothing, and jewelry, and after bathing in divine water, she sat on the chest of Shri Vishnu Bhagwan. When Demons saw Lakshmi seated beside Lord Vishnu, they became angry and took the vessel of nectar from Dhanvantari's hand. After this, with the help of illusion, Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of an extremely beautiful woman, Mohini, and entranced the demons, taking the vessel of nectar into his hands and delivering a sermon on everyone drinking the nectar equally. The beauty enchanted the demon, and they forgot to drink the nectar, allowing the Deites to take it. The demon named Swabhānu recognized Lord Vishnu's trick and, using his powers, took the form of a Deity and stood in line with the other Deites to drink the nectar. As soon as he drank the nectar, the moon and the sun screamed, revealing that he was not a real Deity but the demon Swabhānu. Upon hearing this, Lord Vishnu immediately severed his head with his Sudarshan Chakra. However, due to the effects of drinking the nectar, his head and torso created two planets named Rahu and Ketu, which cause eclipses on the sun and moon due to their enmity. Seeing this, all the demons attacked the Deites, but due to the effects of drinking the nectar, the demons were defeated and forced to flee to the underworld. The Deites, then pleased and grateful, saluted Lord Vishnu with conch shells and weapons and resumed ruling over heaven just like before.

Verified from Puran…………

Writer: - Kuldeep Singh