Samudra Manthan

The Gods were not always immortal. And all the battles that they were having with the Demons, it was a bit of a problem. On top of that Indra was once cursed by Rishi Durvasa to be deprived off all his possessions and Laxmi. So they approached Lord Brahma, to help the Gods regain their supremacy. Lord Brahma Suggested the Samudra Manthan.

This is also representative of the fact that the oceans can be mined for natural resources and when the earth starts getting depleted. And that the ocean is a great resource.

Samudra Manthan is the churning of the Milky Ocean "Kshirsagar". It was churned using Mount Mandar as a pole, Vasuki, the king of the snakes as a rope, the Gods on the tail side of Vasuki and the Demons on the Head side, pulling the snake alternatively, causing the huge mountain to rotate.

This whole process represents many things. "Man" meaning mind and "Dhar" meaning in a line. Putting them together it means concentration, which should be like a mountain. Vasuki symbolizes desire. The demons and the Gods held their desires to seek immortality.

During the Manthan process, Amrita, the nectar of immortality was not the only thing that came out. In fact the first thing that came out was Halaa hal, the deadly poison that threatened to destroy all living beings from the planet. Lord Shiva drank this poison and Parvati held on to his throat which stopped the poison from going into his stomach, in effect not harming him. But the poison was so deadly, it turned Shiva's throat into Blue, and that's why he is named "Neela Kantha" meaning the blue throated one. The divine doctors as a part of the therapy advised the Gods to Keep Lord Shiva awake during the night. So to amuse Lord Shiva and keep him awake, all the gods took turns to sing and dance and entertain him through the night. This is what we now celebrate as "Shiva ratri".

Continued...