Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 6 (Indian and Iranian).djvu/154

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Fig. 2. The Churning of the Ocean

The gods (Śiva, Viṣṇu, and Brahmā) stand to the left of Mount Mandara, which rests on a tortoise (Viṣṇu himself in his Kūrma, or Tortoise, avatar); to the right are the demons; and with the serpent Vāsuki as the cord the two opposing sides twirl the mountain to churn the ambrosia from the ocean of milk. In the lower part of the picture are the various "gems" incidentally won in gaining the amṛta. After Moor, Hindu Pantheon, Plate XLIX.