Milky Ocean

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The whisking with the snake Vasuki as a whisk around the mountain
Detail of a depiction of the myth at Angkor Wat

The ocean of milk ( Sanskrit क्षीराब्धि ksirabdhi ) is a primordial sea of Hindu mythology. According to this, the middle level of the cosmos consists of concentrically arranged continents, separated by huge oceans of various liquids. The innermost ocean contains salt water, the outermost is the milk ocean.

Associated with this is the popular Hindu creation myth of the “whisking of the ocean of milk” , which occurs in many ancient scriptures and in different versions, in the great epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana as well as in some Puranas . It provides the basis and explanation for countless other myths. In many cases it was changed, supplemented or only reproduced in excerpts. Since it is embedded in a much larger story comprising many part episodes, the introductions to the various versions differ considerably. In any case, however, Vishnu is the central deity and always the savior. Tradition reports that he rests in cosmic sleep on the serpent Shesha in the milk ocean during a world night , the time between two creations . The four-headed Brahma sits enthroned on the lotus blossom emerging from his navel, and on his behalf brings forth a new creation.

The theme of the story of the "whisking of the milk ocean" is the search for the immortality drink, Amrita , which the devas (gods) and asuras (demons) desire, but which is hidden in the milk ocean inaccessible to all. Only the common whisking of the primeval water, which is said to have lasted a thousand years of gods, allows the longed-for elixir to emerge after many obstacles.

myth

Gods and demons fought with each other all the time, and many of them perished in the fighting. So they asked Vishnu for advice, and he proposed to the gods an alliance with the demons in order to obtain Amrita, the drink of immortality. Around the mountain Mandara ( called Meru in other versions ) they wound the serpent Vasuki as a rope and turned it into a whisk. With the agreement of the ocean and Vasuki, the stirring could begin. The gods pulled on the tail, the demons on the head. For a long time there was no sign of success, the mountain even threatened to sink into the ocean. Vishnu then took on the shape of a giant turtle ( Kurma ) and crawled under the mountain to slowly lift him out of the water on his back and support him.

With the whisk made of mountain and snake, the allies kept stirring the water until it finally turned as white as milk. Suddenly a terrible poison rising from the water threatened to destroy everyone. But Shiva hurried to help, he drank the poison Halahala down to the last drop. Since then his neck is "nil", i. H. blue, which is why he is also called Nilakanta , "the one with the blue neck". The whisking could go on and various treasures appeared one after the other from the milky white ocean.

Lakshmi rises from the ocean of milk.

First Chandra , the moon, appeared, which now adorns Shiva's forehead. Uchchaishrava, the white horse, received the demon king, but soon had to cede it to Indra. The jewel Kaushtuba now wears Vishnu and the desired cow Kamadhenu became the property of the Rishis. Kalpavrksha, the wishing tree, Indra planted in his garden. Even the goddess Lakshmi rose beautifully on a lotus blossom out of the ocean. Their appearance sparked enthusiasm among all those present, and the four sky elephants poured blessing water over them from golden jugs. Lakshmi himself chose Vishnu to be her husband. The whisking continued again. Then Varuni appeared, the goddess of wine, which the demons kept to themselves.

Finally the figure of a dark young man emerged from the water, richly adorned with jewels and with a chain of flowers around his neck. It was Dhanvantari , the doctor of the gods and the origin of all healing arts. In his hand he held what everyone longed for: a large jug of amrita, the drink of immortality. If gods and demons had worked together until now, quarreling began again. Despite the agreement to share everything, the demons wanted greedily to usurp the precious drink. Vishnu then came, but this time in the form of a desirable young woman, Mohini . With a friendly smile, the beautiful woman offered to distribute Amrita to everyone. Using a trick, however, she administered the elixir only to the gods, while the inattentive demons, who were inattentive in their infatuation, got nothing. Only one of them, Rahu , had mingled suspiciously with the gods to get a drop. But the sun and moon betrayed him and Vishnu / Mohini knocked off Rahu's head with the throwing disc, even before the Amrita he had just swallowed could reach the body. Only his head became immortal, the body fell lifeless to the earth. Since then, Rahu has sought revenge on the sun and moon by repeatedly trying to swallow them. On earth this can be observed as a solar or lunar eclipse. But the gods strengthened by the Amrita got their place back in heaven.

The text sources report differently which objects emerged from the water and in which order. The number varies between nine and fourteen. In addition to the aforementioned, Airavata , the elephant, which is now considered to be Indra's companion animal, Parijata, a heavenly tree that perfumes the whole world with its flowers, and the Apsaras , heavenly dancers. Occasionally the scriptures name Vijaya , a medicinal plant that helps against poisoning, an umbrella for Varuna , another horse that can claim the sun, earrings for the goddess Aditi and the tulsi plant, which is worshiped as divine .

meaning

Many mythological ideas of Hinduism are based on the popular story of the "whisking of the milk ocean": It not only explains important attributes of many gods, such as Vishnu's breast jewel, the moon on Shiva's forehead, the elephant Indras and the depiction of the Lakshmi with the four elephants. The story also contains the tradition of Vishnu's second avatar (Kurma, the turtle), who saves the world from its end. Nilakanta , a popular form of Shiva as a helper, also finds its starting point here.

One of the various myths about the origins of the world's largest bathing festival, the Kumbh Mela , also justifies its creation with an event in this myth: When gods and demons fought over the jug (kumbha) with the Amrita, they spilled four precious drops. Where they fell to earth, places with healing effects were created, where festivals still take place today.

The Dhanvantari , which emerged from the Milky Ocean , according to the Puranas, is a form of Vishnu, is considered the source of Ayurveda , the traditional Indian healing art.

As in other narratives of Indian tradition , the rich symbolism of the imagery of the myth allows countless explanatory models, philosophical and psychological as well as esoteric. It is therefore often used as a model for imparting spiritual teachings.

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

Web links

Commons : Milky Ocean  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Peter Schreiner: The lotus of Hinduism opens in the moonlight . Dtv, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-423-36112-3 .