The Story:

It is believed that the great Sage Durvasa once cursed Indra, the King of the Gods, with the destruction of his Kingdom. Soon after, the Asuras (demons) attacked Heaven and defeated the Devas (Gods) who were, at the time, weakened by the curse. The Devas approached Lord Vishnu for help who advises them to carry out a Samudra Manthan and retrieve the Amrit (the nectar of immortality) in order to regain their powers

To perform the Samudra Manthan, the churning of the great cosmic ocean, the Devas decided to use Mount Mandara as the churning rod and Vasuki, the legendary serpent, as the rope. However, the Gods soon realised that they did not have enough manpower to churn this mighty ocean and, upon instructions from Lord Vishnu, sought assistance from the Asuras, promising them a share of the Amrit, in return.

Both the Devas and the Asuras then come together and began the churning. Soon, as the momentum built, Mount Mandara slowly began sinking, flooding the universe. It was then that Lord Vishnu took the form of the Kurma avatar, a massive tortoise that swam to the bottom of the ocean and took the mountain on its back, facilitating the Samudra Manthan and also saving creation.

Slowly, the churn began to yield results and many divine elements, including Kamadhenu, the sacred wish-fulfilling cow; the Parijata Tree that blooms Elysian flowers; Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity, and finally Sage Dhanwantari and the pot of Amrit, emerged from it.

It is said that the process of churning left a serendipitous mark on the vast shell of the tortoise in the shape of a wheel – Chakra. This celestial wheel went on to become the symbol of Lord Vishnu as the Sudarsan Chakra, his weapon of choice.

At VR Chennai:

The Kurma form can be seen carved out of green stone and is placed in a body of running water.

The celestial tug-of-war of Samudra Manthan comes to life in the form of a hand-painted mural in the foyer of the Kannadi Gopuram.