A long time ago, Indra, the Chief of gods, was riding on his elephant. Sage Durvasa saw him and offered him a garland. He accepted the garland happily and placed it on his elephant’s trunk. The elephant got irritated by its scent and threw it on the ground. Seeing this, sage Durvasa cursed Indra and all gods to forget their divine powers. The gods went to Lord Vishnu for help. He advised them to churn the ocean. This was a typical process, supposed to be done by both the gods and the demons. So they came together and decided to share the blessings that would emerge from the ocean. During the churning process, many things emerged and were shared by the gods and the demons. But Amrit, the nectar of immortality, created conflict between them. Just then, Lord Vishnu transformed into a beautiful lady named Mohini and suggested to distribute Amrit between the gods and the demons. Mohini cleverly distributed the Amrit only among the gods and nothing was left for the demons. Now, the gods had become immortal by the effect of nectar. Even till today, none of the gods has died and they are still living in heaven.
THE CHURNING OF OCEAN
