Prayers at the Milk Ocean

Chapter 5

Sukadeva Goswami continued to describe the Manus – fifth was Raivata and sixth was Chaksusa. During Chaksusa Manu, the churning of the milk ocean (samudra-manthan) took place, and the Lord incarnated as the gigantic tortoise, Kurma. When Maharaja Pariksit requested further details about this incident, Sukadeva Goswami narrated the history.

Once, Durvasa Muni encountered Indra riding on his elephant and offered the demigod a garland he was wearing. Indra disrespected that garland and carelessly placed it on his elephant’s trunk, who ended up trampling all over it. Durvasa was outraged by his attitude and cursed the demigods to lose their influence and power. They were subsequently defeated in battle by the demons, and had no choice but to approach Brahma for help. The engineer of the universe took them to the shore of the milk ocean, where he began reciting a series of beautiful prayers to invoke the mercy of Lord Vishnu.