श्रूयतां राम शक्रस्य कथां कथयतः श्रुताम्। अस्मिन् देशे हि यद् वृत्तं शृणु तत्त्वेन राघव
Listen, Rāma, to the tale of Indra as I have heard it; hear truly what happened in this land, O descendant of Raghu.
पूर्वं कृतयुगे राम दितेः पुत्रा महाबलाः। अदितेश्च महाभागा वीर्यवन्तः सुधार्मिकाः
Formerly, in the Kṛta age, O Rāma, the mighty sons of Diti and the greatly fortunate, powerful, and righteous sons of Aditi existed.
ततस्तेषां नरव्याघ्र बुद्धिरासीन्महात्मनाम्। अमरा विजराश्चैव कथं स्यामो निरामयाः
Then, O tiger among men, those great souls deliberated: How might we become immortal, ageless, and free from disease?
तेषां चिन्तयतां तत्र बुद्धिरासीद् विपश्चिताम्। क्षीरोदमथनं कृत्वा रसं प्राप्स्याम तत्र वै
As those wise ones pondered, the thought arose among them: By churning the ocean of milk, we shall obtain the essence there.
ततो निश्चित्य मथनं योक्त्रं कृत्वा च वासुकिम्। मन्थानं मन्दरं कृत्वा ममन्थुरमितौजसः
Having resolved to churn, they used Vāsuki as the rope and Mandara as the churning rod, and with great energy they began to churn.
अथ वर्षसहस्रेण योक्त्रसर्पशिरांसि च। वमन्तोऽतिविषं तत्र ददंशुर्दशनैः शिलाः
Then, after a thousand years, the serpent used as the rope began to emit deadly poison from its heads, biting the rocks with its fangs.
उत्पपाताग्निसंकाशं हालाहलमहाविषम्। तेन दग्धं जगत् सर्वं सदेवासुरमानुषम्
A blazing, fire-like, dreadful poison called Hālāhala arose; by it, the entire world—gods, asuras, and humans—was scorched.
अथ देवा महादेवं शङ्करं शरणार्थिनः। जग्मुः पशुपतिं रुद्रं त्राहि त्राहीति तुष्टुवुः
Then the gods, seeking refuge, approached the great god Śaṅkara, Lord of Beasts, Rudra, and praised him, crying, 'Save us, save us!'
एवमुक्तस्ततो देवैर्देवदेवेश्वरः प्रभुः। प्रादुरासीत् ततोऽत्रैव शङ्खचक्रधरो हरिः
Thus addressed by the gods, the Lord of lords of gods appeared there; then Hari, bearing the conch and discus, manifested.
उवाचैनं स्मितं कृत्वा रुद्रं शूलधरं हरिः। दैवतैर्मथ्यमाने तु यत्पूर्वं समुपस्थितम्
Hari, smiling, spoke to Rudra, the wielder of the trident: 'What has arisen here while the gods were churning—'
तत् त्वदीयं सुरश्रेष्ठ सुराणामग्रतो हि यत्। अग्रपूजामिह स्थित्वा गृहाणेदं विषं प्रभो
'That which is yours, O best of gods, and which has appeared before the gods—standing here at the forefront, accept this poison, O Lord.'
इत्युक्त्वा च सुरश्रेष्ठस्तत्रैवान्तरधीयत। देवतानां भयं दृष्ट्वा श्रुत्वा वाक्यं तु शार्ङ्गिणः
Having spoken thus, the best of gods vanished there; seeing the gods' fear and hearing the words of the wielder of Śārṅga—
हालाहलं विषं घोरं संजग्राहामृतोपमम्। देवान् विसृज्य देवेशो जगाम भगवान् हरः
The Lord of gods, Hara, took up the dreadful Hālāhala poison, equal to nectar, and, dismissing the gods, departed.
ततो देवासुराः सर्वे ममन्थू रघुनन्दन। प्रविवेशाथ पातालं मन्थानः पर्वतोत्तमः
Then all the gods and asuras resumed churning, O delight of the Raghus, and the great mountain churning rod sank into the netherworld.
ततो देवाः सगन्धर्वास्तुष्टुवुर्मधुसूदनम्। त्वं गतिः सर्वभूतानां विशेषेण दिवौकसाम्
Then the gods, along with the Gandharvas, praised Madhusūdana: 'You are the refuge of all beings, especially of the dwellers in heaven.'
पालयास्मान् महाबाहो गिरिमुद्धर्तुमर्हसि। इति श्रुत्वा हृषीकेशः कामठं रूपमास्थितः
Protect us, O mighty-armed one; you ought to lift the mountain. Hearing this, Hṛṣīkeśa assumed the form of a tortoise.
पर्वतं पृष्ठतः कृत्वा शिष्ये तत्रोदधौ हरिः। पर्वताग्रं तु लोकात्मा हस्तेनाक्रम्य केशवः
The Hari lay in the ocean, placing the mountain upon his back; and Keśava, the soul of the worlds, grasped the mountain's summit with his hand.
देवानां मध्यतः स्थित्वा ममन्थ पुरुषोत्तमः। अथ वर्षसहस्रेण आयुर्वेदमयः पुमान्
Standing among the gods, the supreme person churned; then, after a thousand years, a man composed of the science of life arose.
उदतिष्ठत् सुधर्मात्मा सदण्डः सकमण्डलुः। पूर्वं धन्वन्तरिर्नाम अप्सराश्च सुवर्चसः
The virtuous one emerged, holding a staff and water-pot; first, named Dhanvantari, and radiant apsarases as well.
अप्सु निर्मथनादेव रसात् तस्माद् वरस्त्रियः। उत्पेतुर्मनुजश्रेष्ठ तस्मादप्सरसोऽभवन्
From the churning of the waters, O best of men, the essence produced those excellent women; thus, apsarases came into being.
षष्टिः कोट्योऽभवंस्तासामप्सराणां सुवर्चसाम्। असंख्येयास्तु काकुत्स्थ यास्तासां परिचारिकाः
Sixty crores of those radiant apsarases arose; and, O Kākutstha, their attendants were countless.
न ताः स्म प्रतिगृह्णन्ति सर्वे ते देवदानवाः। अप्रतिग्रहणादेव ता वै साधारणाः स्मृताः
Neither gods nor demons accepted them; because they were not taken, they are considered common to all.
वरुणस्य ततः कन्या वारुणी रघुनन्दन। उत्पपात महाभागा मार्गमाणा परिग्रहम्
Then, O delight of the Raghu lineage, Varuṇa's daughter, Vāruṇī, of great fortune, emerged, seeking acceptance.
दितेः पुत्रा न तां राम जगृहुर्वरुणात्मजाम्। अदितेस्तु सुता वीर जगृहुस्तामनिन्दिताम्
The sons of Diti, O Rāma, did not accept Varuṇa's daughter; but the sons of Aditi, O hero, accepted her, who was blameless.
असुरास्तेन दैतेयाः सुरास्तेनादितेः सुताः। हृष्टाः प्रमुदिताश्चासन् वारुणीग्रहणात् सुराः
Thus, the Daityas became asuras, and the sons of Aditi became suras; the gods rejoiced greatly at the acceptance of Vāruṇī.
उच्चैःश्रवा हयश्रेष्ठो मणिरत्नं च कौस्तुभम्। उदतिष्ठन्नरश्रेष्ठ तथैवामृतमुत्तमम्
Uccaiḥśravā, the foremost horse, and the Kaustubha gem arose, O best of men; likewise, the supreme nectar.
अथ तस्य कृते राम महानासीत् कुलक्षयः। अदितेस्तु ततः पुत्रा दितिपुत्रानयोधयन्
Then, for its sake, O Rāma, there was a great destruction of clans; the sons of Aditi fought with the sons of Diti.
एकतामगमन् सर्वे असुरा राक्षसैः सह। युद्धमासीन्महाघोरं वीर त्रैलोक्यमोहनम्
All the asuras united with the rākṣasas; a terrible battle took place, O hero, bewildering the three worlds.
यदा क्षयं गतं सर्वं तदा विष्णुर्महाबलः। अमृतं सोऽहरत् तूर्णं मायामास्थाय मोहिनीम्
When everything was destroyed, then mighty Viṣṇu, assuming the enchanting form, swiftly seized the nectar.
ये गताभिमुखं विष्णुमक्षरं पुरुषोत्तमम्। सम्पिष्टास्ते तदा युद्धे विष्णुना प्रभविष्णुना
Those who approached Viṣṇu, the imperishable supreme person, were crushed in battle by Viṣṇu, the powerful.