The Tortoise Incarnation

Sage Durvasa, once gifted to Indra, the divine garland, presented to him by celestial maidens. That garland was trampled upon and crushed by Iravata, lord of elephants, belonging to Indra. Seeing this, the sage cursed him out of anger. Since Durvasa was not born of Thee, (but of Rudra), tolerance was not one of his qualities.

Due to that curse, Indra, hitherto known as Nirjara, or The Unaging One, was afflicted by old age; the gods were defeated by the demons and lost all their glory and strength. Oh Thou Source of Deliverance ! All the gods including Siva went to Brahma, and along with him came to Thee for help.

Oh Varada ! Grantor of Boons ! Thou whose glory was long sung by Brahma and others, appeared before them, radiating supreme light and ordered them to enter into a pact with the demon race and churn the ocean for nectar.

The gods, entering into a peace pact with the demons, proudly brought the Mandara mountain to be used as a churning stick, but it fell down half way. Then, Thou seated aloft Garuda, the king of birds, lifted it effortlessly, as if it were a badara fruit and soon, placed it in the ocean of milk.

Using Vasuki, the serpent, as the churning rope, the gods and demons began to churn the ocean of milk, with all the vital seeds embedded in it. At that time, Thou, cunningly, placed the demons, facing the serpent, near its mouth.

When the ocean was thus vigorously churned, the churning stick, the Mandara mountain, due to its own heavy weight, began to sink in the rolling waters below. Seeing the gods becoming distressed by this, Thou, wishing to help them, ook the form of a hardbacked tortoise.

Oh Vishnu ! Thou, assuming the form of a tortoise, with its outer shell harder than diamond, and its width spanning a lakh of yojanas, entered the depths of the ocean, and lifted the lord of the mountains, that lay sunken there.

As the lord of mountains emerged from the water, there was gaiety all round, and the gods and demons churned with redoubled vigour. Thou, at that time, entered the hearts of the two groups and the lord of serpents, enthusing them and driving away their fatigue.

To prevent the Mandara mountain from being toppled, owing to the vigorous churning and the consequent speedy revolution, Thou, held it firmly in place with Thy lotus like hand. Seeing this, Siva, Brahma and others, showered flowers on Thee from the heavens and sang Thy praises full of wonder and delight.

The poisonous breath emanating from the serpent's mouth, made the demons feel parched and uncomfortable. The gods also felt the heat, but to a lesser extent, as they were in the rear. Owing to Thy mercy, Oh Lord ! The clouds rained water on the gods, but not on the demons.

Even though the ocean was churned for a long time, with the multitudes of whales and crocodiles swimming round in agitation, nothing happened. Then Thou, holding the ends of the serpent lord in Thy two hands, churned the ocean, all by Thyself. Oh Guruvayurappa ! May Thou, of such amazing prowess, protect me from diseases.