108 Divya-deshams: Thirupparkatal

BY: SUN STAFF

Churning of the Milk Ocean
Thanjavur, c. 1830

Jun 08, 2024 — CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Tirupparkatal, or Kshira Sagara, the Ocean of Milk, is one of the rare Divya Deshams not located on the Earth planet. The Ocean of Milk is fifth from the centre of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha. Lord Vishnu resides here, reclining on His serpent-mount Shesha, accompanied by his consort, Lakshmi.

The devas and asuras worked together for a millennium to churn this ocean in order to acquire amrita elixir. This pastime is mentioned as Samudra Manthana in various Puranas.

The "Ocean of Milk" is the English translation of the Sanskrit terms kṣīroda, kṣīrābdhi or kṣīrasāgara, from kṣīra "milk" and -uda, sāgara "water, ocean" or abdhi "ocean." The term varies across Indic languages, referred to as Khir Shaagor in Bengali, Tiruppāṟkaṭal in Tamil, and Pāla Samudram in Telugu.

Garhwa, Prayagraj

When the devas and asuras set out to churn the primeval ocean in order to obtain amrita, they used the serpent-king, Vasuki as the churning rope. Mount Mandara served as a churning pole, and was placed it on the back of Lord Visnu's Kurma avatar. As the devas and asuras churned the ocean, the poison halahala emerged from its depth and enveloped the universe with its poisonous fumes. The devas and asuras then asked Shiva for help, and he swallowed the poison. His consort Parvati tried to prevent the poison from spreading to the rest of his body, and the strength of the poison turned Shiva's neck blue, thus he became known as Nilakantha, the blue-throated one.

The Mahabharata describes a number of ratnas (treasures) that emerged during the churning of Kshira Sagara: Kamadhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow, Varuni, the goddess of wine, the tree Parijata, the Apsaras, the crescent moon, the poison halahala, and Dhanvantari (the physician of the devas), holding a cup of amrita in his hand. He was followed by Lakshmi Devi, the horse Uchchaishravas, the gemstone Kaustubha, the elephant Airavata, the wish-granting tree Kalpavriksha, and the conch Panchajanya. The Puranas include the emergence of Alakshmi, the goddess of misfortune, Riddhi and Siddhi, Pushkara, and a number of botanical substances.

When the amrita finally emerged along with several other treasures, the devas and asuras fought over it. Howeve, Vishnu, in His form of the enchantress Mohini, managed to manipulate the asuras into allowing him to be the one to distribute the elixir, upon which he offered it only to the devas. One asura, Svarbhanu, disguised himself as a deva in order to partake of the amrita. Surya and Chandra alerted Vishnu to this deception. Vishnu then decapitated Svarbhanu after the asura's consumption of the elixir, leaving his head and decapitated body immortal. Later, his head became known as Rahu and the beheaded part became known as Ketu.

The churning of the Milk Ocean is told in several ancient texts, notably in the Valmiki's Ramayana Canto 45, and in the Mahabharata. The Vishnu Purana describes the origin of Lakshmi from the Sea of Milk:

"The sea of milk in person presented her with in wreath of never-fading flowers; and the artist of the gods (Visvakarma) decorated her person with heavenly ornaments. Thus bathed, attired, and adorned, the goddess, in the view of the celestials, cast herself upon the breast of Hari; and there reclining, turned her eyes upon the deities, who were inspired with rapture by her gaze. Not so the Daityas, who, with Vipracitti at their head, were filled with indignation, as Visnu turned away from them, and they were abandoned by the goddess of prosperity (Laksml)."
— Vishnu Purana, Book 1, Chapter 9

The Ocean of Milk (Tiruppāṟkaṭal) is also mentioned in Tiruvaymoli, a Vaishnava work of Tamil literature:

Praise the lotus-eyed Lord
Who is the form of the three gods
Who is the first among the first three
Who removes curses
Who lies on the deep ocean
Who is the Lord of the divine beings
Whose bow burnt the beautiful Lanka and
Who destroys our sins. — Nammalvar, Tiruvaymoli, Verse 3.6.2

The Devi Bhagavata Purana also refers to the Ocean of Milk in its verses:

"The Bhagavan Hari sometimes resides in Vaikuntha, sometimes resides in the sea of milk and enjoys pleasures, sometimes fights the powerful Danavas, sometimes performs extensive sacrificial ceremonies sometimes performs severe asceticism and sometimes takes to deep sleep under the guidance of Yoga Maya. Thus He never becomes free and independent."
— Devi Bhagavata Purana, Chapter 20, Verses 12 – 14

In the Garga Samhita, the Kshira Sagara is personified as Nagalakshmi, the consort of Shesha.

Source: Wikipedia

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