Kurma
Kurma ( Sanskrit Sanskrit कूर्म kūrma , "turtle") is considered in Hinduism as the second avatara (descent, form) of the god Vishnu .
According to various Puranas , the old books about the gods, Vishnu embodied himself according to his appearance as a fish ( Matsya ) in the shape of a turtle . On her back, Kurma lifted the world mountain Mandara (corresponds to the Meru ) out of the water of the milk ocean and thus saved it from sinking. In this myth, gods ( devas ) and demons ( asuras ) had lost their immortality at that time. On Vishnu's advice, they tied the serpent Vasuki around the mountain and began - gods on one side, demons on the other - to pull the serpent. In a cosmogony they whirled the primordial ocean, thereby won the immortality potion Amrita and created the world.
literature
- Peter and Anneliese Keilhauer: The Imagery of Hinduism. The Indian world of gods and their symbolism. DuMont, Cologne 1986, pp. 79f, ISBN 3-7701-1347-0
- Veronica Ions: Indian Mythology. Hamlyn Publishing, Rushden 1988, pp. 48f, ISBN 0-600-34285-9
