Storytelling for Week 11: Milk to Salt

Before the ocean was made of salt, it provided the earth with the creamiest, most refreshing potion known as milk. This potion was worthy of drinking, and so, people would come from all over the land to see and taste this magnificent beverage. It smelled sweet, and looked like a soft blanket of snow like you would see at the top of the mountains where no one has ever walked before. The people had never tasted anything like it! The desire for more made them come back day after day. 

One day, Narayana, an incarnated version of Vishnu, came to the milk sea and shouted to the gods, "Churn the ocean! Unearth the nectar of immorality for me!"

And so, the gods began. They placed the mountain Mandara in the middle. Mandara is the snow mountain, and it is far taller then the sea's depths. Therefore, the milk and snow on the part of the mountain that was visible blended together seamlessly. It was hard to tell the two landscapes apart from one another. However, no one nearby saw this spectacle as the sound of the commotion had pierced their ears, and everyone was hunched over with their fingers in their ears for protection. 

Then abruptly, the great serpent, Sesha, wrapped himself around the mountain and stretched the length of the mountain so that he could be used to churn the ocean. At this moment, Sesha looked like an octopus stretched out to be used in a grand tug-a-war match, good versus evil! Holding onto Sesha's tail were the Asuras which are the unusual-looking, immoral gods. Grabbing onto Sesha's neck were the devas who are the mortal gods including Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu. Each side took turns pulling back and forth causing the mountain to spin in opposite directions, and of course, messing up the perfect snow on the mountain and throwing boulders into the, now, bubbling milk.

(Image Source: Churning the Milk Sea)

At this, glorious creatures began emerging from the frothing ocean. First, the crescent Moon appeared. Then, to list some of the most notable creatures, Indra's white elephant, Airavata, Surabhi, the white cow who grants wishes, and finally Dhanwantari, the physician robed in white carrying a cup full of amrita, which was the essence of life. 

Narayana screeched with excitement, "At last! I will live forever! This treasure is mine." He had now begun doing his happy dance like a little school girl. Narayana, or Vishnu, was so excited! He proclaimed again, "Thank you, gods. Thank you!"

In the meantime, with all the commotion in the sea from the churning, the sea shot poison up into the air turning the milk into salt water. Milk is a drink that sustains life, and salt water is a drink that destroys it. This was devastating to the people watching.

While the gods were busy elsewhere, the poison shot up into the sky and was going to land all over the worlds. This would instantaneously kill anything that came in contact with it. Miraculously, out of nowhere, Shiva, The Lord of the Mountains and Songs, came flying in to gather all the poison into his mouth in order to swallow it. With this, Shiva saved the worlds. He was a hero!

Unfortunately, the poison was lodged in his airways and his face turned blue. He grabbed the crescent moon that had just emerged from the milk sea and placed it in his hair. With this, Narayana became a woman named Mohini. The cresent moon became a hair jewel for her, and Mohini seduced and confused the asuras who were trying to steal the cup full of amrita. Thankfully though, Mohini succeeded at bringing the devas the armita before the asuras could took it for themselves.       

Author's note: I wrote this tale because I like the significance of the churning of the ocean in Hindu mythology. Also, while writing, I felt like I was able to better understand the events that were happening which helped me to realize why this tale would hold that kind of importance. The beauty of the white milky sea was important in this tale because it is sacrificed in order to bring Vishnu amrita, the essence of life. It is interesting to me that the "dark" gods are pulling against the "mortal" gods like tug-a-war in order to bring Vishnu what he wants. This is very symbolic about the meaning of asking for amrita. When the milk sea began to bring out the glorious creatures, I only named the white creatures that appeared to emphasize the significance of the color white in the story such as, the milk, the elephant, the cow, and the robe. White symbolizes purity so I thought it held a lot of meaning in this tale as the sea was once pure, but now it has been used as a sacrifice and turned into salt water. However, salt is still white. How ironic! I chose this picture because it helps to vividly visualize the event of churning the ocean along with the creatures that surfaced from the ocean during the scene as well. 

Bibliography:  

• Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata