When their enemies, the Devatas, did not turn up for war, the demon army commanders were stunned and anxious. Their Emperor Bali Chakravarthy, who was adept in the determining the apt time for fight and for ceasefire, pacified them. He was truly an illustrious king.

Bali, the son of Virochana, had conquered all the worlds and hence the three worlds now belonged to him. The Devatas approached Bali, who was seated on his royal throne, ruling all the three worlds.

Lord Indra, the Lord of heaven who was exceptionally intelligent, informed Bali of what he had learnt from Lord Vishnu regarding truce. Just as Lord Srihari had advised, with very sweet words he explained to Bali the necessity for a ceasefire. Bali was truly impressed with the suggestions put forth by Indra. Even demon army commanders, Śambara and Ariṣṭanemi were impressed so were all the residents of Tripura.

The Devatas and demons then came to an understanding and signed a peace treaty. Deciding to jointly procure nectar, the demons and Devatas swung in full-fledged action. All the able-bodied demons and Devatas, who possessed unbelievable vigour and might, uprooted the entire Mount Mandara. Roaring violently like lions, they energetically carried the mountain towards the ocean.

As they had to carry the mountain for a very long distance, all the Devatas and demons including their leaders Indra and Bali, were totally fatigued. Unable to carry it any longer, they just dropped it mid-way. The massive Mount Mandara, which was made of gold, was extremely heavy. When this heavy mountain was dropped, innumerable Devatas and demons were crushed to death under its weight. A significant number lost their limbs and their shoulders. With this, the Devatas and demons were totally terrified and discouraged. Lord Srihari, who came to know of this, immediately manifested before them seated on His vehicle Garuda. Merely with His gaze, He revived all the dead Devatas and demons. Freed from wounds, their bodies now shone radiantly as before.

Playfully, the Supreme Lord Srihari lifted the mountain with just one hand. He then mounted His vehicle Garuda and even as the Devatas and demons were watching, He swiftly flew towards the milk-ocean. Garuda, the supreme among birds, removed the mountain from its back and placed it in the centre of the milk-ocean. With the permission of Lord Srihari, Garuda then left for his abode”.

With this the sixth chapter of the eighth canto comes to an end.

Eighth Canto Chapter Seven

In this chapter, the churning of the ocean and Lord Shiva gulping the terrible poison in order to rescue the world are covered.

Maharishi Śuka continued, “O Emperor! The Devatas and demons requested snake Vasuki to join them during the churning of the ocean, promising to give him a share of the nectar that would be obtained. When Vāsuki agreed, they happily coiled him like a rope around the mountain. Using Vasuki as the churning rope, in great joy they assembled to churn the milk-ocean, with the goal of obtaining the nectar of immortality.

Srihari, who had incarnated as Ajita, went at first and held the mouth of the snake. All the Devatas followed him and assembled at the snake’s mouth.

The demon army commanders instantaneously disapproved this action of the Supreme Lord. They declared that it was inauspicious for demons, who were exponents in Vedas, to hold the tail of the snake. Moreover, both due to birth and due to their supreme actions they were revered in all the worlds. How could they, the valorous members of the Danu-Diti lineage, hold the tail of the snake, which is considered inauspicious? Considering this deed of the Devatas as an insult, they refrained from joining them in churning the ocean.
Seeing the dejected faces of the demons, the Supreme Lord Ajita, with a smile graciously let go off the mouth of Vasuki. Together with the Devatas he now held the tail of the snake Vasuki”.

Observe the deftness with which the Lord was handling the entire situation. Had He gone directly to the tail portion of the snake, the demons would have questioned his deed and demanded that they should be given the tail portion. The moment he held the mouth the demons rushed towards the mouth demanding it to be their rightful share.

“Now the demons held the mouth of the snake, while the Devatas held its tail. In this way Devatas and demons, both of whom were the sons of Kaśyapa Prajapati, determined their respective places. With full vigour, they began to churn the milk-ocean so as to procure the nectar of immortality.

Due to its heavy weight and due to lack of adequate support, Mount Mandara sank into the ocean as they churned vigorously with all their might. Even the collective strength of the Devatas and demons could not prevent it from sinking.

Unbelievable is the strength of providence! When such providence rendered their efforts futile and when the mountain sank, the Devatas and demons remained totally distressed and dejected. Their faces withered and became lustreless.

Srihari realized this to be an obstacle created by Lord Ganapati, the lord of obstacles. The will of the Supreme Lord, who possesses unlimited prowess, can never go for a waste, isn’t it? Srihari thought of Ganapati and then taking on a wonderful, astonishing form of a tortoise, quickly entered into the ocean and lifted up the mountain.

Seeing the mountain restored back to its original place in the ocean, the Devatas and the demons enthusiastically and eagerly rushed forth to churn it. They took up their original positions. The gigantic tortoise which was 800 thousand miles in width (10 lakh Yojanas) resembled a vast island. It was carrying the mountain on its back”.

What a divine transcendental deed the Lord displayed! He alone carried the mountain and stabilized it in the ocean. When the mountain sank, it was He who lifted it up and now, in His form of a tortoise, He alone carried the mountain on His back to help them procure nectar. He underwent so much pain solely for the devotees.

“The demons and Devatas, using their full might, churned the ocean vigorously. The primordial Lord, who is beyond the understanding of the mind and senses, had incarnated as a gigantic tortoise and was holding the enormous mountain on his back. When they churned vigorously the Lord was pleased because it relieved the itching sensation from his back”. The infinite Lord did not find it bothersome to incarnate as a tortoise and hold a mighty mountain on His back. On the contrary, he was pleased that due to the vigorous churning, his itching sensation abated.

“Thereafter the Lord, deciding that the strength and energy of the demons should increase, entered into them in the form of passion (rajasic). Likewise in order to increase the strength and energy of the Devatas he entered into them in the form of divine pure energies (sattva). In the form of sleep, which is of the mode of ignorance (tamasic) he entered into the snake Vasuki”.

Srikrishnāya namah