Having gathered every herb and precious jewel, the gods prepared to obtain the ambrosia—the nectar of immortality—by churning the vast ocean with a mountain. The mountain chosen was Mandara, adorned with peaks as lofty as the summits of clouds and thickly entwined with creepers. Its slopes echoed with the cries of many birds and teemed with fanged creatures; kinnaras, apsarases, and even the gods themselves frequented its heights. Mandara soared eleven thousand yojanas into the sky and was rooted a thousand yojanas deep into the earth. When the time came, the hosts of gods found themselves unable to lift Mandara. Seeking a solution, they approached Vishnu, who sat in contemplation, and spoke to Brahma: “Let your honors devise the highest and most beneficial plan; let effort be made for our welfare in raising Mandara.” Vishnu, together with Brahma and Bhargava, consented, saying, “So be it.” The lotus-eyed, immeasurable soul then urged the king of serpents. At the command of Brahma and the words of Narayana, mighty Ananta rose up to perform the task. With immense power, Ananta lifted Mandara, mountain, plateau, and all its dwellers, by sheer force. Accompanied by the gods, Ananta brought Mandara to the ocean, where they declared, “For the sake of ambrosia, we will churn these waters.” The lord of waters replied, “Let me also have a share; I will endure the great agitation caused by the turning of Mandara.” The gods and asuras then spoke to the king of tortoises dwelling in the depths: “You ought to become the support for this mountain.” The tortoise agreed, offering its back, and Indra pressed the mountain upon it with his thunderbolt. With Mandara as the churning rod and Vasuki, the serpent king, as the rope, the gods, along with the asuras and danavas, began to churn the ocean, as Brahma had directed. The great asuras seized one end of Vasuki, while all the gods took their place at the tail, where divine Ananta, Lord Narayana, stood. The asuras grasped Vasuki’s head, pulling it upwards and then downwards. As they pulled, smoke and blazing flames issued repeatedly from Vasuki’s mouth. As Vasuki was churned, the water became tainted with the poison emerging from him. Then, as gods and danavas churned Mandara with their arms, a sharp poison arose—Halahala. Scorched by this poison, the gods and danavas fled in fear and despair. In their distress, the gods and foremost sages approached Brahma. “As we churned for ambrosia, a poison has arisen, blazing like the fire of destruction. The worlds are tormented—please counteract it.” Thus addressed, Brahma meditated upon Hara, the lord of the worlds. He thought of Rudra, the three-eyed, trident-bearing god, consort of Uma. Knowing their plight, Rudra swiftly appeared. The lord of creatures explained all, and Rudra, desiring the welfare of the world, drank the poison, blazing like the fire of destruction, holding it in his throat for the good of all beings. Because his throat became blue, he is remembered as the blue-throated one. When Rudra of immeasurable energy drank the poison, the gods, pleased, resumed their work. Again, gods and danavas churned for the sake of ambrosia. As the asuras swiftly pulled Vasuki, smoke and flames burst from his mouth. The masses of smoke became clouds filled with lightning, raining down upon the gods, exhausted by their toil. From Mandara’s summit, showers of flowers fell, covering gods and asuras on every side. A great sound arose, like the roar of a mighty cloud, as the ocean was churned by gods and asuras with Mandara. Many aquatic creatures were crushed by the mountain, perishing by the hundreds in the salty water. Mandara also brought destruction to various beings of Varuna dwelling in the depths of the underworld. As the mountain whirled, great trees clinging to its peaks collided and fell. From their collision, fire arose, blazing with flames and covering Mount Mandara with tongues of fire, like lightning on a dark cloud. That fire burned the elephants, lions, and all the various beings whose life had departed. Then Indra, foremost of the immortals, extinguished the fire completely with water produced from clouds. Into the ocean flowed many different kinds of saps from the great trees and juices of herbs. From those juices, possessing the essence of immortality, and from the milk as well, the gods attained immortality, as also from the flow of gold.