The story of the Nagas: gods and demons

नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम्

 देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयम् उदीरयेत्

महाभरत

Mahābharata

As retold by

Michael Dolan, B.V. Mahāyogi

THE STORY OF THE NAGAS

“Because you asked me, my son, I will now tell you of the origin of our species, and how we snakes came to be. A long time ago, before the snakes existed,  there was a battle between the Suras and the Asuras or the gods and the demons.”

Modern version of a Naga-woman

           

“What you say mystifies my mind. Where did this battle take place and why did they fight?” said Astika.

“Lisren, my son, and I shall tell you. At the edge of the worlds there is a golden mountain called Meru. Mount Meru is the most powerful mountain at the crux of the worlds. It is the home of gods and Gandharvas. Insurmountable and impossible to approach by impious men. 

Mount Meru:  a powerful mountain at the crux of the worlds.

This Mount Meru is guarded by dreadful beasts and its foothills covered with precious medicinal herbs and flowers. Its summits kiss the heavens. Common men never think of climbing its heights. Fine trees grace Mount Meru whose streams and rivulets provide ample pure water where heavenly angels sing. There the gods would gather. And one day they approached Narayana and asked for the immortal life-giving nectar called amrita. And Narayana told Brahma, “If you but churn the ocean of milk you shall have all the nectar you want.”

“And so the gods descended Meru in search of a means to churn the milk ocean. In their quest for an instrument for churning the milk ocean they came upon another mountain and this was Mandara.  Mandara was covered with snow-peaks and clouds, high in the Himalayas. This best of mountains was blessed with life-giving herbs. Bears and monkeys roamed freely in peace with one another. Great tigers protected the mountain from intruders. It was known to the celestial apsaras and kinnaras as a place for their pleasure pastimes. Its majestic peaks soared thousands of feet. And with the help of Vishnu and Brahma, the gods headed by Indra enlisted the mighty Ananta, prince of snakes to dislodge this tall mountain from its very roots to use as a churning rod.

Vishnu with Ananta

“So it was that Ananta coiled himself around the mountain, tearing it from its roots and followed the gods to the shore of the mighty milk ocean. And the ocean replied, “So be it. I shall bear the agitation of my waters for the purpose of producing the nectar called amrita.”

Ananta

“And the gods went to the king of tortoises, Kurma, and said, “O Tortoise King, you must hold the mountain on your back to steady our churning rod.” And Kurma said, “So be it.” So it was that the gods and demons made a churning rod of Mount Mandara, steadying it on the back of the giant turtle Kurma, using the prince of snakes Vasuki as their cord.

Vasuki, the prince of snakes,helps in churning the ocean of milk

“With gods on one side and demons on the other they set about churning the milk ocean. The demons held Vasuki by the hood and the gods held that great serpent, your uncle, by the tail. And Ananta who was on the side of the gods, at intervals raised the snake’s hood and then lowered it.  By the twists and turns that dragon-king Vasuki received at the hands of the gods and demons black fumes issued from his massive snake-like nostrils and smoke and flames belched forth from his giant mouth, scorching the demons who held him.  

Churning of the milk ocean

And as the demons grunted and sweated under the weary load of the great snake, tormented by his poisonous fumes, those same vapours formed clouds charged with lightning that poured showers of cool water that refreshed the gods who held his tail. And seeing all this, the celestials showered flowers from above as they rode through the skies in their airships.

What were the chariots of the gods?

“At that time, O brahmana, a fearsome roar belched out of the deep, like the sound of the cataclysm at the time of universal dissolution. All kinds of sea monsters and aquatic dragons bellowed up from the deep, crushed by the weight of the mighty mountain. Unusual dinosaur-like fish were devastated by the churning. 

Unusual dinosaur-like fish were devastated by the churning.

Huge trees with strange gigantic birds fell into the liquid of the milk ocean. The trees were torn with such violence from their roots that their friction produced blazes of forest fires. 

Strange gigantic birds fell into the liquid of the milk ocean

The mountain-churning rod was covered with black smoke and lightning that charged the clouds and brought down fierce bolts.  This fire spread throughout the entire mountain torching trees and consuming lions and elephants in its flames. The rain-god Indra extinguished the fire by pouring heavy rain showers and hurricanes upon that mountain.

Indra extinguished the fire...

“In the midst of the churning and burning, the saps of mystic trees mixed with the aromatic herbs and magical flowers of mount mandara and poured into the waters of the milk ocean, gradually producing an elixir known to those gods as amrita. 

Devas and Asuras churning milk ocean and producing various by-products

The celestial gods attained immortality by drinking that elixir mixed with herbs and liquid gold. And gradually the milky liquids of the deep turned into a rich buttery nectar with the help of the herbs, spices and Himalayan tree-saps.

“With this the gods asked permission to stop as they felt they had reached their goal. They approached Brahma, the creator, and said, ‘Let us rest.’