Kurma, the tortoise, is the second avatar of Vishnu in the Dashavatara. The gods and the danavas were churning the ocean of milk with Mount Mandara as the churning rod and the serpent Vasuki as the rope, when the mountain began to sink under its own weight; the Lord took the form of a vast tortoise and bore it up on his back (Bhagavata 8.7.6-9; Vishnu Purana 1.9).
- In the Dashavatara
- The second avatar
- Form
- A vast tortoise (kurma, kacchapa)
- Yuga (tradition)
- Satya yuga
- Others in the story
- The gods and danavas, the serpent Vasuki, Mount Mandara; Shiva drank the halahala the churning brought up
- Where the story is told
- Bhagavata Purana 8.7; Vishnu Purana 1.9; the churning in the Mahabharata; the Kurma Purana is the tortoise’s own teaching
- Main temple
- Srikurmam (Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh)
The story in the Bhagavata
The gods and the danavas began to churn the ocean of milk together for amrita. According to the Bhagavata (8.7.1-4) the Lord first went to Vasuki’s head and the gods followed him; the danavas said that they, learned in the Vedas and of high birth, would not hold the serpent’s tail. So the Lord smiled and moved to the tail with the gods.
As they churned, the mountain, with nothing beneath it, sank into the water under its own weight, and everyone lost heart (8.7.6-7). Then the Lord took the wondrous form of a vast tortoise, went down into the water and bore the mountain up on his back, and the gods and danavas churned again (8.7.8-9). The turning mountain felt to him like a pleasant scratching of his back (8.7.10). He also entered the gods and danavas as strength, and in another form held the mountain from above with a thousand arms (8.7.11-13).
The churning first brought up a terrible poison called halahala, which Shiva drank to protect the three worlds (8.7.18 onwards); after it came the treasures one by one and at last the amrita (8.8).
In the Vishnu Purana
In the Vishnu Purana (1.9) the Lord himself tells the gods to make peace with the danavas and churn. The gods were placed at the serpent’s tail and the daityas at its head. In the midst of the ocean of milk Hari himself, as a tortoise, was the pivot of the turning mountain; in other forms he was among the gods and danavas pulling the serpent, and in yet another vast form he sat on the mountain’s summit.
Temples of Kurma
Temples of Kurma are very few. The best known is the Srikurmam (Kurmanatha Swamy) temple in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. According to Wikipedia it was first a Shiva temple, which the saint Ramanuja made a Vaishnava one.
Where the sources differ
- The oldest mentions: according to Wikipedia the Shatapatha Brahmana is the oldest text to mention Kurma, but there he is linked to Prajapati and the rishi Kashyapa; in the critical edition of the Mahabharata the tortoise of the churning is not plainly called Vishnu. The full link to Vishnu comes in the Puranas.
- Who held which end: in the Bhagavata (8.7.1-4) the Lord and the gods first take the serpent’s head and move to the tail when the danavas insist; in the Vishnu Purana (1.9) the gods are placed at the tail from the start. In both the danavas end up at the head.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the Kurma avatar happen?
At the churning of the ocean Mount Mandara began to sink because nothing held it from below. The Lord took the form of a tortoise and bore it on his back so that the churning could go on and the amrita come up (Bhagavata 8.7.6-9).
What was the rope at the churning of the ocean?
The serpent Vasuki. The churning rod was Mount Mandara (Vishnu Purana 1.9; Bhagavata 8.7).
Where is the temple of the Kurma avatar?
The best known, the Srikurmam temple, is in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.
Sources
- Bhagavata Purana 8.7.1-13, 8.7.18 onwards (G. V. Tagare’s English translation, Motilal Banarsidass, archive.org)
- Vishnu Purana 1.9 (H. H. Wilson’s translation, archive.org)
- Wikipedia: “Kurma” (the Shatapatha Brahmana and Mahabharata mentions, the Kurma Purana, Srikurmam)
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