Introduction
Kurma, "the tortoise", is the second avatar of Vishnu. In this form he supported the mountain Mandara on his back while the gods and demons churned the ocean of milk to obtain amrita, the nectar of immortality.
Avatars (avataras, "descents") are the forms in which Vishnu is said to come to the world when dharma is in decline. The idea is stated in the Bhagavad Gita (4.7 to 4.8), where Krishna says that he takes birth in every age to protect the good, destroy the wicked and restore dharma. The most widely accepted list, the Dashavatara, has ten avatars: Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narasimha (man-lion), Vamana (dwarf), Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. Other lists exist, for example with Balarama in place of Buddha, and the Bhagavata Purana speaks of twenty-two avatars and says they are innumerable. The Dashavatara is the subject of many temples and works of art, from the rock-cut reliefs of Ellora (the Dashavatara cave) and Mahabalipuram, to Jayadeva's twelfth-century poem the Gita Govinda, which opens with a hymn to the ten avatars.
Family
- Incarnation of: Vishnu
The churning of the ocean
The gods (Devas) had lost their power because of a curse from the sage Durvasa. Vishnu advised them to work with the demons (Asuras) to churn the ocean of milk, to obtain amrita. They used the mountain Mandara as the churning rod and the serpent Vasuki as the rope, with the gods holding the tail and the demons the head. As the churning began, the mountain started to sink. Vishnu took the form of a huge tortoise, dived to the bottom, and held up the mountain on his back.
What came from the ocean
Among the objects and beings that came from the churning, in the standard account, were the poison Halahala (drunk by Shiva), the wish-granting cow Kamadhenu, the horse Uchchaihshravas, the elephant Airavata, the jewel Kaustubha, the wishing tree, the apsaras, the goddess Lakshmi, the wine goddess Varuni, the moon, and finally Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods, holding the pot of nectar. The nectar was then taken by Vishnu as Mohini, and distributed to the gods.
Kumbha Mela
According to tradition, drops of nectar fell in four places: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. These are the sites of the Kumbha Mela, the largest gathering of pilgrims in the world.
Sources and tortoise traditions
The tortoise is an ancient figure in Indian tradition. In Vedic texts, Kashyapa is also a name for a tortoise, and the tortoise is the creator in some Brahmana texts. The Kurma Purana, one of the eighteen Puranas, is named after him. Many traditions describe the earth as resting on the back of a great tortoise, Akupara.
Iconography and worship
Kurma is depicted as a tortoise, or as a man with a tortoise's lower body. The Srikurmam temple in Andhra Pradesh is one of the few temples dedicated to Kurma. Kurma Jayanti is observed on the full moon of Vaishakha.
Meaning
Kurma is understood as the support beneath a great cosmic effort, the patient, steady power that sustains action without being seen.