The god Vishnu has various avatars in order to protect the world from demons. He takes on the form of different animals or humans to protect and preserve the world, which is why he is known as the preserver. The churning of the ocean myth involves Vishnu’s avatar, Kurma, also known as the tortoise. In the myth of the tortoise, the Devas ask Vishnu to protect them from the demons after they had been defeated. The myth of Kurma provides explanation for phenomena which are not directly observable and can not be explained on the basis of knowledge. Some phenomena include the reason why Shiva’s throat is blue, why the Gods are immortal, and why there are eclipses with the sun and the moon.
The first phenomenon explained by the churning of the ocean is the reason for Shiva’s throat being blue. As the ocean was being churned, a deadly poison called halahala emerged. Since Shiva is the god of destruction the gods called him. Shiva gathered the poison in the palm of his hand and “he swallowed it and held it in his throat” (ACK, The Churning of the Ocean, 49). Since he held the poison in his throat, it turned blue. From then Shiva was called Nilakantha, “nila” meaning blue and “kantha” meaning throat. The poison in Shiva’s throat symbolizes how he carries the power of destruction within him, which…show more content… “Dhanvantari, the divine physician, came forth, holding the vessel of celestial nectar” (ACK, The Churning of the Ocean, 53). Although the Asuras had stolen the nectar of immortality from the Devas, the Devas were able to trick the Asuras and drink the nectar and not give any to the Asuras. This nectar makes the gods much more powerful than the demons. For this reason, the Gods are able to have a large amount of power over the demons, and protect the world. This explains the phenomenon of the gods being immortal and them being able to defeat the demons in many different