06 – Gifts of the Turtle

Hi Friends!

Today let us quietly stand in the corner of the primeval sea and see what precious things or “ratnas” are received by the grace of the Great Turtle, the Kurma.

As we saw in the last post Adityas and Daityas wanted for themselves the Nectar of Immortality or Amruta. So together, they pulled alternately on the churning rope of Sesha, which was wound around the churning stick of Mount Meru, which in turn was supported on the back of the Great Turtle Father, whom some call Kurma and some call Kachhapa (or Kasyapa), who swam placidly in the Sea of Milk (or Ksheerasagara). And out came precious and rare things. Some good, and some not-so-good!

First came the most potent poison of all, (1) Halaahal. Why? As the Ocean is neutral. And for the Nectar of Immortality to separate out of it, the opposite of it also needed to come out, i.e. the strongest poison. Or else the remaining Sagara would become poisonous, which would be unacceptable. As no Daitya or Aditya had the power to consume this, they requested the Great God, or Mahadeva, in his quiet form of the Auspicious One, or Shiva, to help them. As the blistering Halaahal flowed down his throat, it turned blue. He became Neelakantha, the Blue Throated One. Somehow it stopped at his throat. May be as Shiva was too auspicious and powerful for even the halaahal to poison him further. Or maybe the Mother Goddess, Parvati, squeezed his throat, stopping the flow of that burning liquid of destruction, stopping it from spreading further into the Destroyer God.

Then came the three Divine Animals who became forebears of the animals valued in Indian culture.

Out came the demure Mother of Cows, (2) Kamadhenu, who could provide for any need her owner could think of. She was the mother of all cows. She plays an important part in the story of another later incarnation of Vishnu. She signified the bounty of the Sea, of Nature. He was given to the Sages, the keepers of knowledge.

Majestically strode out the White Elephant of Prosperity and Royal Magnificence, (3) Airaavat. He was three-headed, and the ancestor of all elephants. Those that were the majestic steeds of kings and gods. Those that were the gigantic war elephants of the armies of older times. Those that were the original heavy lifters of Indian industry. He signified the strength and majesty of Nature. He was given to the King of gods, Indra.

On the white foam of the Sea, rode out the Seven Headed White Horse of martial strength and purity, (4) Uchchaishrava. He was the source of all horses. He signified the beauty and the purity of Nature. His very purity denoted by his whiteness is a major factor in the story of the start of enmity between snakes and eagles. He was given to the King of Asuras.

Then came the three Divine Female Entities who are (supposed to) denote the three ways happiness is visualised.

Out came the divine nymph, or Apsara, mostly mentioned as (5) Rambha, but sometimes mentioned as Menaka. She may be seen as an happiness that comes from youth, from beauty. The stories with apsaras in the mythological tales of India mostly end in tragedy and tears. As Apsaras are also equated with the sweet-water lakes and seasonal waterfalls, may be the tragedy in the tales denotes that one day youth ends in old-age, and the seasonal waterfalls dry out in the long summer. She went to the Heavens, with the Adityas, bringing dance and joy into the lives of gods and humankind.

With a pitcher filled with the drink madira, came the daughter of lord of seas, called (6) Varuni. She was the happiness that comes from intoxication, and abandonment of responsibilities. This happiness always comes with a price. The price of lost opportunities and fights. Sometimes she is equated to Alakshmi, or misfortune. She was accepted in the land of the Asuras.

Then came the resplendent glory of the Goddess of Riches and Fortune, (7) Lakshmi. She is the happiness that comes from well-earned wealth and good fortune. If the house-holder is respectful in good fortune and gives due respect to her, she remains with him. But if disrespected she flees in anger. Similarly when responsibilities are abandoned, is replaced by her twin-sister Alakshmi. The Goddess Lakshmi accepted Lord Vishnu as her husband. We meet her many times, in her many roles, every time teaching us lessons of life.

Then came a few valuable representations of power. The ratnas numbered eight to twelve keep changing in different lists. Below is “a” list of the same:

One of the ratnas was the only “true ratna” or “precious jewel” known as (8) Kaustabha, bright and magnificent, but creator of greed. Some say it is lost forever when the Coastal City of one of the Incarnations of Vishnu was devoured by the sea. But maybe this Mountain of Light remains amongst human by another name.

Another of the ratnas was the divine flowering tree (9) Parijata, whose sweet smelling flowers never wilt. This tree and its flowers are somehow always connected with Indrani, the wife of the King of gods. There is a story that while in every Manvantara the King of gods changes, the Queen remains the same. May be Indrani denotes the power that comes from the position of King. And Parijata’s forever fragrance a representation of the fame that comes with such power.

Vying for a position with these is the (10) Kalpavriksha, or Wish Fulfilling Tree. Sometimes equated with Parijata, but sometimes seen as separate. I prefer to keep it separate, as unlike the Parijata that denotes never-wilting flower/fame of true power, this World Tree denotes the riches from the forests, the fruits, the leaves, the wood, the flowers, and the clean fresh air they give us.

One thing that surely came out of the Sea is the Five-Pronged Conch-Shell or (11) Panchajanya. As conch shells do come from the sea. Panchajanya was taken by Lord Vishnu. The sound made from the conch is considered auspicious as it is a pure note. And it was blown long and hard, as a representation of victory. May be the stamina, health and lung power needed to blow a large conch was supposed to prove that the warrior is healthy, and hence sure to win. Similar to the roar of lions, or shouting and chest thumping of gorillas.

The twelfth ratna is interesting. It is the (12) Saarang, i.e. Chandra, or moon, especially in its crescent form. In this form it was given place on the head of Shiva, and he is called the One with Moon on his Head, or Chandra-Sekhara. I have one more theory. The word Saarang has many meanings. One meaning of it is Bow, maybe from the shape of the crescent resembling a well-made bow. In fact some lists has the divine bow of Vishnu, named interestingly as the Saarang, as one of the ratnas. It was later used by two incarnations of Vishnu on Earth, in fact these were the incarnations which had an overlap in their stints, and had the same given name, Rama. One was the Rama-who-wields-the-Axe or Parashu-Rama. The other was the Rama-who-was-King or Raja-Rama. Saarang also means the spotted deer, and may be representative of the wild game, which the hunters depended on for food. Saarang means a lot of things. In fact we can say the twelfth precious gift was the understanding that the same word can mean many things. The gift of language. The gift of poetry. Nice! Or if want to keep simple, choose one of the meanings, Moon, Bow or Spotted Deer.

Then came the last two ratnas, (13) Dhanvantari, the divine physician, who had in his arms a pitcher filled with (14) Amruta, the Nectar of Immortality.

As soon as the Adityas and Daityas saw the Amruta, all cooperation broke down and both tried to take the nectar for themselves. Then Vishnu took another form. He became the Alluring One, Mohini. As a beautiful women she distracted the Daityas, and started to give the Amruta only to the Adityas. Before the Sons of Diti could understand the Sons of Aditi not just regained their lost powers, they became immortal. Not a single drop was ingested by a Daitya.

Wait! One Daitya, one of them, Svarbhanu, was a bright chap. In fact his name literally meant Splendour of Radiance. He disguised himself as an Aditya, and took a gulp of Amruta being offered by Mohini. But before he could gulp it down, Surya and Chandra, i.e. the Sun god and the Moon god, recognised him as an outsider, and his head was cut from his body. Since he had already taken the Amruta, he didn’t die. Instead he became two entities. Divine entities called Rahu, the Head, and Ketu, the Tail or Body. Immortals and very angry at the divine witness who reported their mischief. So they keep trying to eat them. So Rahu every once in a while causes Solar Eclipse, by swallowing the Sun (“surya grahan”). Similarly Ketu swallows the Moon (“chandra grahan”), causing Lunar Eclipse. But as both of them are incomplete deities, the Sun and the Moon do not remain swallowed and emerge back. A very interesting story for eclipses!

This finishes the creation myth of Kurma Avataar and Sagara Manthan, weaving a story of precious things coming from the sea, as well as “reasons” of a few astronomical events. Enough of the sons of the twin sisters, Diti and Aditi though! Next time let’s meet some other sons of Kasyapa (“kachchhapa”?). May be the sons of twin sisters, Kadru and Vinata?