The Samudra Manthan is an eternal truth

Samudra Manthan (the Churning of the Cosmic Ocean) is a legendary cosmic event in Hindu mythology where Gods (Devas) and Demons (Asuras) collaborated to churn the ocean of milk in order to extract Amrita, the divine nectar of immortality. Today many of us think that this is an event that happened long time ago and therefore has no relevance now. I am about to tell you that this ancient event is happening every moment on our planet and now and then in our life.

Ancient stories are encoded messages that remain relevant for eternity as truth always prevails over ignorance. Please spend some extra time on the picture that I generated using AI. In the comment section please type out what runs in your mind. The question is "how is this relevant to your life today"?

What is meaning of the long Snake that is held by two opposite types of beings, the Devas and the Asuras. What is the meaning of the Tortoise right in the middle. What part of our life relates to the mount Mandara which is atop the Tortoise? Opposite types are working together and what is the motive? Will both sides win? Who will win? Inspite of equal effort why should only 1 side win and obtain the fruits of labor.

According to Puranas, kshira saagar churning (Samudra Mantthan) happened only once a long long time ago. Are you sure that this event has never repeated? Read on to get the right answers. This brings to light that all the ancient stories and epics continue to have relevance to our lives inspite of the modern science and technological advancement in this world.

First the story of Samudra Manthan

If you know the Samudra Manthan story to save precious time you may skip the next paragraph.

The Samudra Manthan, or Churning of the kshira saagar (milk ocean), began when the Devas lost their strength due to a curse and turned to the Asuras for help to obtain the nectar of immortality (Amrita). They used Mount Mandara as a churning rod and the giant serpent Vasuki as a rope, with Lord Vishnu taking the form of a giant tortoise (Kurma) to support the sinking mountain Mandara on His back. As they churned the kshira saagar, what came out first was a deadly poison Halahala that Lord Shiva swallowed to save the universe, followed by various divine treasures, weapon, Goddess etc. The full list is given in the last part of this article. Finally, the physician Dhanvantari emerged holding the pot of Amrita. The demons wanted the Amrit first, but Vishnu disguised himself as the beautiful enchantress Mohini to trick the asuras, safely recovering the drink and distributing it to the Devas restoring their cosmic power. Somehow Rahu the smartest Asura (Swarbanu) managed to hide (disguised as a Deva) in the queue of the Devas and managed to get the Amrit even as his head was cut off by Vishnu's Chakra. So Rahu is also immortal like the Devas.

The Kurma Avatar from the Astrology angle.

Have a good look at the picture once again. You may have noticed right in the middle there is the Giant Tortoise - The Kurma (2nd Avatar) Avatar of Vishnu. In Vedic Astrology Kurma Avatar is linked to Saturn. Saturn is slow. Saturn is patient. Saturn is the oldest planet in our horoscope. God is patient with all of us. We are busy churning all the time (our desires). Saturn is exalted in Thula and its symbol happens to be the weighing balance. That's why it is said that Saturn is the Judge who uses weighing balance to understand both sides of the argument. Thula (Libra Zodiac Sign) is all about justice. So God is right in the middle. He is the representation of Eternal Justice. God represents the middle, the equanimity and is the eternal referee. There are 12 zodiac signs in the horoscope. The middle sign is Thula because Thula commences at 180 degrees which is exactly half of 360 degrees. The 180th degree is very important point in the zodiac especially because Saturn the Karma planet is exalted (Utcha) from 180 degrees onwards to 210 degrees.

Sri Krishna (God) does not actively participate in the Kurukshetra war. He does not use weapons. Instead He guides Arjuna to be in the right place at the right time. Arjuna has to do the fighting. As human beings we get happy and unhappy at different times. God has no experience of happiness or sorrow. God is neutral. He is right in the middle. God is just the truth, the witness. While Devas and Asuras are pulling from opposite sides and God takes no side. We are told that the snake was crying out in pain when the churning happened. The Tortoise is giving us a hint that eventually desire leads to worry. The Devas are good people with desires and Asuras are bad people with the same desires. The point is both have desire. Once it takes birth, the soul has to go through the consequences of desires.

The Divine Tortoise or the Kurma represents the withdrawal of the 5 senses. They call such a person Jitendriya, the conqueror of senses. In Yoga they call this Pratyahara that is required to keep the intellect stable. In true meditation the mind is neither happy not sad. It is in a state of bliss. Like the divine tortoise (Kurma), which draws its limbs into its shell, the inward-focused mind retracts all senses and worldly attachments to discover ultimate consciousness. Kurma the middle position is ideal, peaceful and bliss. On either side of the Tortoise there is so much activity, pressure and stress. This is revealed in the picture as the Devas and Asuras are both in a state of continuous effort. These activities cannot happen without the Kurma (God) in the middle. Just imagine the picture without Kurma. How will mount Mandara stay there. The human mind is the Mount Mandara supported by the Tortoise which is what we call as the eternal Soul (The God element) in all of us.

What ? Samudra Manthan in Bangkok Airport !

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport

This colourful and grand sculpture greets travellers at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport. It brings the profound narrative of the Samudra Manthan directly into a bustling transit hub. While one might naturally expect such a massive monument of Vedic heritage to reside only in India where concepts like Karma and spiritual truths dominate the cultural philosophy it stands beautifully preserved in Thailand instead. What a surprise!

Back in 2009, I traveled to Thailand for a four-day conference as one of the delegates from Rotary District 3230. On seeing the Samudra Manthan sculpture, one of my friends jokingly reminded me of the contrast because most of us know about Thailand's lively, indulgence-driven nightlife with an asuric lifestyle. Together we appreciated the country's reverence for this epic story. In reality, Thai culture has for long integrated Hindu-Buddhist traditions. I later came to know that what we now know as Thailand was once a part of Bharat (India). The proof is people in Thailand continue to celebrate Mesha Sankranthi and all Sankranthi (the transit of Sun into the next Rasi). Over the next few hours I was trying to figure out the spiritual significance of this spiritual sculpture in perhaps the wrong place. Or was it the right place? Did this happen because the good energies of the universe want to remind us something important?

After a few hours of contemplation I found the answer. The Samudra Manthan sculpture serves as a profound cosmic reminder for travellers shifting between worlds. While most of the tourists often associate Thailand with worldly pleasures and sensory enjoyment, the presence of this sacred epic structure at the airport suggests a deeper, foundational truth. The churning of the ocean symbolizes the intense inner struggle required to overcome base desires and chaotic impulses. By placing this monument at the nation's entrance, Thai tradition honors the timeless pursuit of order, prosperity, true bliss and divine nectar gently reminding humanity that beneath the surface of worldly pleasures lies a deeper meaning of life. By the time you finish reading this article you will know why Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport welcomes us with a Samudra Manthan sculpture.

What does the mighty long snake indicate?

In this story all the action you see happens because of the long snake. The snake is Vasuki, the King of the Serpents (Nagaraja). Vasuki volunteered to serve as the cosmic churning rope, wrapping his massive, powerful body around Mount Mandara, which acted as the churning rod which stands on the Kurma Avatar. Vasuki represents the desire of each one of us. Only the enlightened does not have any desire.

Vasuki is a 5 headed snake according to some texts while some say it is a 7 headed snake. 7 heads may correspond to the 7 weekdays what correspond to the 7 planets in the horoscope namely Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Rahu Ketu is the entire snake. When you say 5 heads it corresponds to the nature of the world - the 5 Pancha Bhootas - Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Akasha (space). Incidentally the Panch bhootas are related to Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Sun is the soul and the Moon is the mind and therefore not part of the Panchabhootas.

The next question is who gets to hold the head side of the snake and who gets the tail part ? When assigning positions, the Asuras considered holding the tail beneath their dignity and demanded to hold Vasuki’s head. The Devas agreed to hold the tail. This decision proved critical; the demons bore the brunt of Vasuki’s scorching, venomous fumes during the strenuous churning process. To save creation from the escaping Halahala poison, Lord Shiva drank it, holding it safely in his throat, which turned blue thus giving Him the name "NeelaKanta" because Neel means blue, and Kanta means neck.

Vasuki represents the endless desires of human beings. The Buddha said desire leads to worry. Desire is the basis for all the good Karma and the bad Karma. Good karma and bad karma is the reason for rebirth. The endless cycle of rebirth is similar to the churning. What comes out due to the churning relates to all the fruits of labour. When we do work both good and bad things come out. It is like the side effects of a medicine.

There is never a moment in our lives which is free from desires. Even in our dreams we express our desires. The churning goes on. When you play a game, you and your opponent is pulling the snake of desires from opposite sides. All the back and forth action in our lives is based on desires (Vasuki).

In the horoscope of human beings there is always Rahu and Ketu, the head and the tail of the 1 single snake. Rahu and Ketu represents the sum total of our desires and obsessions. Rahu is the active part that pertains to the origin of sins and the tail part Ketu represents the punishment for all the sin that eventually turns a person towards spirituality. After countless rebirths, the individual being gets tired of the desires and then finally gets salvation. I am sure you guessed it by now. The churning of the cosmic ocean finally ends when the nectar of immortality is obtained. This is the objective of all the churning that happens.

Find out where the axis of the snake is in a horoscope. Once you know the Rahu-Ketu axis you will come to know the main obsession the person has. It may also indicate where the punishment is to be expected due to the Rahu-Ketu energies - the result of desires carried forward into the current life.

The contrast and the opposites

Look closely at the architecture of the Samudra Manthan narrative, and you will find it is woven entirely from raw contrasts and sharp opposites. It places the luminous Devas (gods) at one end and the shadowy Asuras (demons) at the other. Even the body of the great serpent Vasuki serves as a living metaphor for this universal friction; his venomous head and his passive tail represent the polarized forces that pull at the fabric of our material existence. This cosmic tug-of-war illustrates a profound truth: our world is defined by duality. Light requires darkness to be recognized, and creation demands destruction to maintain equilibrium. The beginning always brings out the bad in us, the good comes later. In the gym the sweat comes out first, it stinks and then you get an athletic body later on. Ignorance always comes first and absolute knowledge comes last.

Devas and Asuras represents duality of human types. The head and the tail of Vasuki represents the duality of our world. The Halahala poison comes out first and the Amrit (the nectar of immortality) comes last. Close your eyes. Think of this. If possible try to go deep into meditation on this. You may find the answers without reading this article. God is right in the middle and has no contradictions or opposites.

Some people are good and they are comparable to Devas. Please note that even good people drink and enjoy life, they have many wives for example, they earn a lot of money. Hitler is comparable to the Asura type of people.

Most people never understood what the Samudra Manthan actually is. They think it happened on the Cosmic Ocean somewhere in the Universe and it has nothing to do with our lives on earth. The cosmic ocean is the ocean of human beings on this very earth. Our earth is where all this is happening. If this is true who do we relate to Asuraa and the Devas.

Samsara Sagara

Samsara Sagar (often spelled Samsara Sagara or Samsara Samudra) translates literally from Sanskrit as the "Ocean of Worldly Existence" or the "Sea of Birth and Death." This is where the Samudra Manthan is happening. Until you understand this, you always think that you have nothing to do with Samudra Manthan. Just as an ocean has no rest, Samsara is a continuous, cyclic wheel of birth, death, rebirth, action (karma), and consequence. The waves represent the constant ups and downs of life—pleasure and pain, success and failure. You see the duality here, the head and tail of Vasuki the snake.

In the picture you see 2 kinds of lifestyle. The rich and the enjoying on one side and the poor and the suffering on the right side. Eventually for both the days are numbered and they will have to move on their next birth. If you examine carefully you will soon know that even the rich and those who enjoy life also go through suffering in their own way. So both types of people are far away from peace and happiness. For example when I asked my good friend who drinks a full bottle of alcohol everyday inspite of being very rich, "why do you drink like this" ? he answered me thus "I cannot sleep at all due to financial commitments".

The ocean is so vast that a human being can easily lose their way, tire out, and eventually drown. In philosophy, "drowning" in the Samsara Sagar means becoming completely blinded by Maya (illusion), material attachments, ego, and worldly anxieties.

When we overlay the narrative of the Samudra Manthan onto the Samsara Sagar, the myth transforms from distant folklore into an intimate psychological reality. The Ocean of Milk being churned is none other than the ocean of our own lives the Samsara Sagar. Every crisis we face, every relationship that tests our patience, and every moral dilemma that tears us apart is a rhythmic pull on the serpent rope. We are being violently churned by the circumstances of existence. This agitation is a spiritual necessity; without the stormy upheaval of the Samsara Sagar, the hidden, stagnant toxins of our ego the Halahala poison would never come to light, and the latent nectar of our divine nature would remain forever buried at the bottom of the sea.

What came out from the Churning ?

Halahala: The lethal poison swallowed by Lord Shiva and held in His neck to save all living beings.
Kamadhenu (Surabhi): The wish-fulfilling cow, gifted to the divine sages for rituals.
Uchhaishravas: The divine, seven-headed flying white horse, claimed by King Bali of the Asuras.
Airavata: The majestic white elephant with multiple tusks, chosen by Indra, King of Gods.
Kaustubha: The most radiant diamond in the universe, worn by Lord Vishnu on his chest.
Parijata: The celestial, eternally blooming tree with fragrant flowers, taken to Indra's heaven.
Apsaras: Divine nymphs and dancers (like Rambha and Menaka) who chose the heavens as their home.
Mahalakshmi: The Goddess of wealth and prosperity, who chose Lord Vishnu as her eternal consort.
Varuni: The Goddess of wine and intoxication.
Chandra: The Moon God, who was weak from the churning and was placed on Lord Shiva's hairlock (Jatamukuta (जटामुकुट))
Kalpavriksha: The divine wish-fulfilling tree, also placed in the heavenly realms.
Sharang (or Kodanda): A powerful celestial bow, which was given to Lord Vishnu.
Shankha (Panchajanya): The divine conch shell, representing the primordial sound, claimed by Lord Vishnu.
Dhanvantari and Amrita: The divine physician of the gods, who emerged holding the pot of Amrita (the nectar of immortality).

It is made clear that the efforts of the good and the bad people of this world will create many things. All that you see in modern life, the guns, the nuclear weapons of mass destruction is comparable to the halahala. The point is that the desires of our mind leads to some kind of results. Please look at the 14 items and try to find out what they really mean. Mahalakshmi represents the wealth that is created because of our efforts. The good people also create wealth, on the other hand the bad guys sometimes create more wealth than the good ones.

War and Violence is not always bad. Sometimes it becomes a necessary evil like the Kurukshetra war and it was engineered by Sri Krishna. This war was for establishing dharma, destroy the bad and anti social elements in this world. In the list, the 12th item makes sense now that you know what it really means. One must never forget Hitler who used weapons and poisonous gas that resembled Halahala poison of the Samudra Manthan and in this case the 12th item was in the hands of the Asuras.

The 11th item Kalpavriksha is common to both the Asuras and the Devas. Sometimes you see dictators in the political world fulfilling all their desires. Please type in the comments section what you may relate to each of the 14 items in the above list.

The Shiva connection

The snake comes to stay around the neck of Lord Shiva forever.

The connection of Lord Shiva to the Samudra Manthan story is the most critical turning point in the entire narrative. He represents the ultimate grace and our saviour. He seems to be saying all the churning (desires) should lead to salvation (Moksha) otherwise the effort that we put in through countless births is useless. He says, "Go for the Amrit".

Without Lord Shiva consuming the Halahala poison, all living beings would have perished, making the nectar of immortality completely useless.

The Neelakanta relates to the Throat Chakra. The last part of the AUM sound has the M sound in the throat chakra. We speak with our throat, we eat with our throat, the neck is the vital point of connecting the body to the head which is does the thinking part, the source of ou mind. In Astrology it is the 3rd house that is called our Ayush Sthana the house of longevity.

Ultimately, Shiva's presence in the Samudra Manthan reminds us of where true peace resides. The churning brings forth pain, poison and suffering. You need Shiva's grace to protect yourself from the poisons. The poisons are the Shadripus of human beings.

The 6 Shadripus the six negative traits that bind the soul to worldly delusion are :

Kama (Lust / Uncontrolled Desire)
Krodha (Anger / Rage)
Lobha (Greed / Miserliness)
Moha (Delusion / Blind Attachment)
Mada (Pride / Arrogance)
Matsarya (Envy / Jealousy)

Shiva relates to Jupiter in Vedic Astrology. Jupiter in Lagna is considered as the greatest saviour and Maharishi Parasara compares it to the Trident of Lord Shiva. Interestingly the Snake used in the churning of the ocean finally comes to be an ornament around the neck of Lord Shiva. So every time you pray to Lord Shiva think of the churning of the ocean, the samsara sagar of your existence. Seek the nectar from Him and attain salvation.

The trident of Shiva is not a weapon - the 3 tips of this so called weapon actually means past present and future. 3 is the number of Guru or Teacher or Shiva.

In the horoscope Rahu is the snake that represents the Shadripus. So if in any horoscope Rahu and Jupiter are together it means the person has to become a devotee of Lord Shiva at the earliest. Rahu represents the poison from past lives. Please join a spiritual ashram like "The Art of Living" or "Isha Yoga" or join the ashram of any spiritual Guru or any conventional yoga centre where you can be initiated into a meditation.

All the doshas in your horoscope that is connected to Rahu (Sarpa) requires remedies that are connected to Gurus, Mentor, Spiritual Masters, Good Astrologer etc. Recite the Guru Mantra everyday in the morning.

गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।

गुरुः साक्षात् परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥

Gurur Brahmā Gurur Viṣṇuḥ, Gurur Devo Maheśvaraḥ |

Guruḥ Sākṣāt Param Brahma, Tasmai Śrī Gurave Namaḥ ||

Guru is Brahma (the Creator), Guru is Vishnu (the Preserver), and Guru is the Shiva (the Destroyer).

Guru is truly the supreme, absolute reality manifest before us. To that glorious Guru, I offer my reverent salutations.

If Lord Shiva is the destroyer, what does He destroy? He destroys the sins, he destroys the poison of Rahu, he destroys the 6 Shadripus or the 6 Sins.

Halahala: The lethal poison swallowed by Lord Shiva to save creation.Kamadhenu (Surabhi): The wish-fulfilling cow, gifted to the divine sages for rituals.Uchhaishravas: The divine, seven-headed flying white horse, claimed by King Bali of the Asuras.Airavata: The majestic white elephant with multiple tusks, chosen by Indra, King of Gods.Kaustubha: The most radiant diamond in the universe, worn by Lord Vishnu on his chest.Parijata: The celestial, eternally blooming tree with fragrant flowers, taken to Indra's heaven.Apsaras: Divine nymphs and dancers (like Rambha and Menaka) who chose the heavens as their home.Mahalakshmi: The goddess of wealth and prosperity, who chose Lord Vishnu as her eternal consort.Varuni: The goddess of wine and intoxication, accepted by the Asuras.Chandra: The moon god, who was weak from the churning and was placed on Lord Shiva's hair to cool him.Kalpavriksha: The divine wish-fulfilling tree, also placed in the heavenly realms.Sharang (or Kodanda): A powerful celestial bow, which was given to Lord Vishnu.Shankha (Panchajanya): The divine conch shell, representing the primordial sound, claimed by Lord Vishnu.Dhanvantari and Amrita: The divine physician of the gods, who emerged holding the pot of Amrita (the nectar of immortality).

Guruji E K Dhilip Kumar

Email ekdhilipkumar@gmail.com

The Samudra Manthan is an eternal truth