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{{Short description|Tortoise form of the Hindu god Vishnu}}
{{about|the Hindu deity|the cause-and-effect concept|Karma|the South Asian food|Korma}}
{{about|the Hindu deity|the cause-and-effect concept|Karma|the South Asian food|Korma}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}}
[[File:Kurma_deva.jpg|thumb|190px|Kurma]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
'''Kurma''' is an [[avatar]] in the [[Hinduism|Hindu religion]]. Hindus believe that [[Vishnu]], an important god of Hinduism, had several forms, or [[avatar]]s, and the second important avatar is called the Kurma avatar. In this avatar, Vishnu took the form of a kurma to help the devtas and asuras to churn the [[Kshira Sagara]], to gain amrita. This avatar took the Mount Mandaar on his back and helped the mount to churn the ocean. Kurma is a [[Sanskrit]] language word that means a [[tortoise]]. As a kurma, Vishnu is the symbol of strength and stability.
{{Infobox deity<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology-->
| type = Hindu
| image = Kurma deva.jpg
| caption = Half-human and Half-Tortoise depiction of [[Vishnu]]
| name = Kurma
| Devanagari = कूर्म
| affiliation = [[Vishnu]] (second [[avatar]])
| weapon = None
| abode = [[Bharata Khanda]], [[Vaikuntha]]
| mantra =
| consort =
| god_of = Firmness, Support
| children =
| symbols =
| festivals = Kurma Jayanti ([[Vaisakh]] month during the [[Shukla Paksha]])
| member_of = [[Dashavatara]]
}}
{{Vaishnavism}}
{{Hindu scriptures and texts}}


'''Kurma''' ({{lang-sa|कूर्म}}; {{IAST|Kūrma}}, 'turtle', 'tortoise')<!--Do not remove, WP:INDICSCRIPT doesn't apply to WikiProject Hinduism-->, is an [[avatar]] of the [[Hindu]] god [[Vishnu]]. Originating in [[Vedas|Vedic]] literature such as the [[Yajurveda|YajurVeda]] as being synonymous with the [[Saptarishi]] called [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]], Kurma is most commonly associated in post-Vedic literature such as the [[Puranas]] with the legend of the churning of the [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]], referred to as the [[Samudra manthan]]. Also synonymous with [[World Turtle|Akupara]], the [[World Turtle|world-turtle]] supporting the Earth, Kurma is listed as the second incarnation of the [[Dashavatara]], the ten principal avatars of Vishnu.
[[Category:Hinduism]]
[[Category:Hindu mythology]]


== Nomenclature and Etymology ==
{{Commonscat|Kurma}}
The [[Sanskrit]] word '''<nowiki/>'Kurma'''<nowiki/>' ([[Devanagari]]: कूर्म) means 'tortoise' and 'turtle'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=kurma&direct=au&anz=100|title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit: 'Kurma'|website=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=2019-12-24}}</ref> '''<nowiki/> The tortoise [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]] is also referred to in post-[[Vedas|Vedic]] literature such as the [[Bhagavata Purana]] as ''''Kacchapam'''' (कच्छप), ''''Kamaṭha'''' (कमठ), ''''Akupara'''' (अकूपार), and ''''Ambucara-ātmanā'''' (अम्बुचर-आत्मना), all of which mean 'tortoise' or 'form of a tortoise'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=kacchapam&direct=au&anz=100|title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit: 'kacchapam'|website=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kamatha|title=Kamatha, Kamaṭha: 5 definitions|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2018-05-29|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=akupara&direct=au&anz=100|title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit: 'Akupara'|website=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=2019-12-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sanskritdictionary.com/ambucara-ātmanā/18479/3|title=Sanskrit Dictionary: 'ambucara-ātmanā'|website=www.sanskritdictionary.com|access-date=2019-12-24}}</ref>


=== The Nirukta ===
Written by the [[grammar]]ian [[Yāska|Yaska]], the [[Nirukta]] is one of the six [[Vedanga]]s or 'limbs of the [[Vedas]]', concerned with correct [[etymology]] and interpretation of the Vedas. The entry for the Tortoise states (square brackets '[ ]' are as per the original author):{{quote|May we obtain that illimitable gift of thine. The sun is called [[World Turtle|akupara]] also, i. e. unlimited, because it is immeasurable. The ocean, too, is called akupara, i. e. unlimited, because it is boundless. A tortoise is also called a-kupa-ara, because it does not move in a well [On account of its shallowness]. Kacchapa (tortoise) is (so called because) it protects (pati) its mouth (kaccham), or it protects itself by means of its shell (kacchena), or it drinks (√pa) by the mouth. Kaccha (mouth or shell of a tortoise) <nowiki>=</nowiki> kha-ccha, i. e. something which covers (chddayatl) space (kham). This other (meaning of) kaccha, 'a bank of a river', is derived from the same (root) also, i.e. water (kam) is covered (chadyate) by it.|source=The Nighantu and the Nirukta [of Yaska], translated by Lakshman Sarup (1967), Chapter 4, Section 18<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nighantuniruktao00yaskuoft|title=The Nighantu and the Nirukta|last1=Yaska|last2=Sarup|first2=Lakshman|date=1967|publisher=Delhi Motilal Banarsidass|others=Robarts - University of Toronto|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nighantuniruktao00yaskuoft/page/64 64]}}</ref>|author=|title=}}


=== Kasyapa ===
{{religion-stub}}
As illustrated below, [[Vedas|Vedic]] literature such as the [[Samaveda|SamaVeda]] and [[Yajurveda|YajurVeda]] explicitly state Akupara/Kurma and the sage [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] are [[synonym]]ous. Kasyapa - also meaning 'Tortoise' - is considered the [[progenitor]] of all living beings with his thirteen wives, including vegetation, as related by H.R. Zimmer:
 
{{quote|Ira [meaning 'fluid']... is known as the queen-consort of still another old creator-god and father of creatures, Kashyapa, the Old Tortoise Man, and as such she is the mother of all [[vegetable]] life.|source=Myths And Symbols In Indian Art And Civilization by Heinrich Robert Zimmer, 1946), Chapter 6<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/HeinrichRobertZimmerMythsAndSymbolsInIndianArtAndCivilization|title=Heinrich Robert Zimmer Myths And Symbols In Indian Art And Civilization|pages=[https://archive.org/details/HeinrichRobertZimmerMythsAndSymbolsInIndianArtAndCivilization/page/n118 104]|language=en}}</ref>}}
 
The legend of the churning of the [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]] ([[Samudra manthan]]) developed in post-Vedic literature is itself inextricably linked with Kurma (as the base of the churning rod) and involves other sons of Kasyapa: the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]]/[[Âdityas]] (born from [[Aditi]]) and the [[Asura]]s/[[Danava (Hinduism)|Danavas]]/[[Daitya]]s (born from [[Danu (Asura)|Danu]] and [[Diti]]) use one of the [[Nāga|Naga]] (born from [[Kadru]]) as a churning rope to obtain [[Amrita]].  [[Garuda]], the king of birds and mount of [[Vishnu]], is another son of Kasyapa (born from [[Vinata]]) often mentioned in this legend. In another, Garuda seeks the [[Amrita]] produced (eating a warring [[Supratika#Vibhvasu and Supratik|Elephant and Tortoise]] in the process) to free his mother and himself from enslavement by Kadru.
 
=== The Body (Air and Arteries) ===
M. Vettam notes that there are ten [[Vayu]]s (winds) in the body, one of which is called 'Kurma' in regards to opening and closing the eyes.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft|title=Puranic encyclopaedia : a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature|last=Mani|first=Vettam|date=1975|publisher=Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass|others=Robarts - University of Toronto|pages=[https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft/page/513 513]}}</ref>
 
The '<nowiki/>'''kurma-[[Nadi (yoga)|nadi]]'''' (or '''Kūrmanāḍī''', Sanskrit कूर्मनाडी), meaning 'tortoise-nerve' or 'canal of the tortoise', is in relation to steadying the mind (slowing down thoughts) in [[Yoga|Yogic]] practice.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kurmanadi|title=Kurmanadi, Kūrmanāḍī, Kurma-nadi: 4 definitions|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2019-02-12|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> '''<nowiki/>'Nadi'''' itself means 'vein', 'artery', 'river', or 'any tubular organ of the body' (as well as 'flute').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?tran_input=nadI&direct=se&script=hk&link=yes&mode=3|title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit|website=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> Although the Kūrmanāḍī is generally stated to be located in the upper chest below the throat,<ref name=":3" /> S. Lele believes this refers to the [[Muladhara|Muladhara Chakra]], located near the [[Coccyx|tailbone]], based on the root-word 'nal' (Sanskrit नल्), meaning 'to bind'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/YogasutrasOfPatanjaliWithNotesAndIntroduction|title=Yogasutras Of Patanjali With Notes And Introduction|last=shriram lele|date=2010-03-21|pages=[https://archive.org/details/YogasutrasOfPatanjaliWithNotesAndIntroduction/page/n120 121]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/nal|title=Nal, Ṇal: 3 definitions|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2018-12-29|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref>
 
These are all mentioned in the [[Upanishads]] and [[Puranas]] (see below).
 
=== Yogic Practice / Ritual Worship ===
'''Kurmasana''' (Tortoise Posture) is a [[Yoga as exercise|Yoga]] posture. ''''Panikacchapika'''' (Sanskrit पाणिकच्छपिका), meaning 'hand tortoise','''<ref name=":44">{{Cite web|url=http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?tran_input=phaNikA&direct=se&script=hk&link=yes&mode=3|title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit: 'Panikacchapika'|website=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=2019-12-20}}</ref>''' is a special positioning of the fingers during worship rituals to symbolise Kurma. The '''Kurmacakra''' is a [[yantra]], a mystical diagram for worship,<ref name=":45">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kurmacakra|title=Kurmacakra, Kūrmacakra, Kurma-cakra: 1 definition|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2019-02-05|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-20}}</ref> in the shape of a tortoise. These are all mentioned in the [[Upanishads]] and [[Puranas]] (see below).
 
== Symbolism ==
[[File:Kurmavatara (tortoise incarnation of Vishnu), from Garhwa, Allahabad District.jpg|thumb|Kurmavatara, tortoise incarnation of Vishnu, from Garhwa, Prayagraj District]]
[[File:Varaha, Kurma and Krishna (6125139812).jpg|thumb|250x250px|Kurma with [[Shesha|Sesa]] holding the Earth (left), [[Varaha]] (right), and [[Krishna]] (below, centre).|alt=]]
'''Firmness / Steadiness:''' W. Caland notes that in relation to 'Akupara Kasyapa' in the [[Brahmana|Pancavimsa Brahmana]] and Jaiminiya Brahmana, the tortoise is equal to 'a firm standing... and Kasyapa (the Tortoise) is able to convey (them) across the sea [of material existence]'.<ref name=":41" /> P.N. Sinha seems to support this view, adding 'Kurma was a great Avatara as He prepared the way for the spiritual regeneration of the universe, by the Churning of the [[Kshir Sagar|ocean of Milk]]'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/studyofbhagavata00benaiala|title=A study of the Bhagavata Purana; or, Esoteric Hinduism|date=1901|publisher=Benares : Printed by Freeman & co., ltd.|others=University of California Libraries|pages=[https://archive.org/details/studyofbhagavata00benaiala/page/432 432]}}</ref>
 
'''Deity [[Yajna]]-[[Purusha]]:''' N. Aiyangar states that as the tortoise was 'used as the very basis of the fire [[altar]], the hidden invisible tortoise, taken together with the altar and the sacred fire, seems to have been regarded as symbolizing the Deity Yajna-Purusha who is an invisible spiritual god extending from the fire altar up to heaven and everywhere... this seems to be the reason why the tortoise is identified with the sun'.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.217324|title=Essays On Indo Aryan Mythology|last=Narayan Aiyangar|date=1901|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.217324/page/n211 211]-220}}</ref>
 
'''Meditation / Churning the Mind:''' Aiyangar also surmises that the legend of the [[Samudra manthan]] symbolises churning the mind through [[meditation]] to achieve liberation ([[moksha]]). Based on the mention of ''Vātaraśanāḥ'' ('girdled by the wind') [[Muni (Saint)|Munis]] in the [[Aranyaka|Taittirtya Aranyaka]] - also referred to as ''urdhvamanthin'', meaning 'those who churn upwards' - and the explanation provided in the [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]], Aiyangar believes this would 'appear to be the hidden pivot on which the gist of the riddle of the [[Puranas|Puranic]] legend about the [[Samudra manthan|churning for nectar]] turns'.<ref name=":1" /> R. Jarow seems to agree, stating the churning of the Ocean of Milk represents the 'churning of the [[Dualism (Indian philosophy)|dualistic]] mind'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJ_tiIqjyxAC&q=churning+bhagavata+purana+most+developed&pg=PA79|title=Tales for the Dying: The Death Narrative of the Bhagavata-Purana|last=Jarow|first=Rick|date=2012-02-01|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-8745-7|pages=79|language=en}}</ref>[[File:Koorma Kurma (Tortoise). The figure here indicated by the fingers is meant to represent it..jpg|left|thumb|170x170px|An ascetic performing the ''Panikacchapika.''|alt=]]'''[[Asceticism|Ascetic]] [[Penance]]:''' [[Horace Hayman Wilson|H.H. Wilson]] notes that 'the account [of the Samudra manthan] in the [[Harivamsa|Hari Vamsa]]... is explained, by the commentator, as an [[allegory]], in which the churning of the ocean typifies ascetic penance, and the [[ambrosia]] is final [[Moksha|liberation]]' (linking with the idea of 'steadiness' and 'firmness'), but personally dismisses this interpretation as 'mere mystification' (Note 1, pp.&nbsp;146).<ref name=":43" />
 
'''[[Astronomy]]:''' B.G. Sidharth states that the legend of the [[Samudra manthan]] symbolises astronomic phenomena, for example that 'Mandara represents the polar regions of Earth [and the] churning rope, [[Vasuki]], symbolizes the slow annual motion of Earth... [[Vishnu]], or the Sun himself rests upon a coiled snake... which represents the rotation of the Sun on its own axis'. In regards to the tortoise supporting the Earth, Sidharth adds that the 'twelve pillars... are evidently the twelve months of the year, and... The four elephants on which Earth rests are the Dikarin, the sentinels of the four directions.. [Kurma] symbolizes the fact that Earth is supported in space in its annual orbit around the Sun'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VooDwAAQBAJ&q=B.G.+Sidharth+churning+earth&pg=PP49|title=The Celestial Key to the Vedas: Discovering the Origins of the World's Oldest Civilization|last=Sidharth|first=B. G.|date=1999-10-01|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-59477-523-9|pages=X-XII|language=en}}</ref>
 
'''Extension and Withdrawal:''' As illustrated throughout this article, the tortoise extending and retracting its limbs is often mentioned [[Allegory|allegorically]] in the [[Itihasa|Itihāsa]] (epics) and [[Puranas]] in regards to various subjects, particularly self-control and detachment.
 
== The Vedas ==
[[Arthur Anthony Macdonell|A.A. Macdonell]],  [[Arthur Berriedale Keith|A.B. Keith]], J. Roy,  [[John Dowson|J. Dowson]], and W.J. Wilkins all state that the origin of Kurma is in the [[Vedas]], specifically the [[Shatapatha Brahmana]] (related to the [[Yajurveda|YajurVeda]]), where the name is also synonymous with [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]], one of the [[Saptarishi]] (seven sages).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/vedicmythology00macd_0|title=Vedic mythology|last=Macdonell|first=Arthur Anthony|date=1897|publisher=Strassburg : Karl J. Trübner|others=Princeton Theological Seminary Library|pages=[https://archive.org/details/vedicmythology00macd_0/page/151 151]-153}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/TheReligionAndPhilosophyOfTheVedaAndUpanishads01|title=The Religion And Philosophy Of The Veda And Upanishads 01|last=Keith|first=A.B.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/TheReligionAndPhilosophyOfTheVedaAndUpanishads01/page/n212 192]-193}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lr9pFQPwhXYC&q=kurma+tortoise&pg=PA95|title=Theory of Avatāra and Divinity of Chaitanya|last=Roy|first=Janmajit|date=2002|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0169-2|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/aclassicaldictio00dowsuoft|title=A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature|last=Dowson|first=John|date=1888|publisher=London : Trübner|others=Robarts - University of Toronto|pages=[https://archive.org/details/aclassicaldictio00dowsuoft/page/n81 36]}}</ref><ref name=":42">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.280527|title=Hindu Mythology Vedic And Puranic|last=W.j. Wilkins|date=1913|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.280527/page/n135 120], 144}}</ref> Macdonell adds that although the Shatapatha Brahmana also states all creatures are 'descended from Kasyapa', and lists this as the name of a [[Brahmin]] family in the [[Rigveda|RigVeda]] (along with other animal-based tribal names such as [[Matsya]]), he acknowledges academics such as [[Edward Washburn Hopkins|E.W. Hopkins]] 'doubt whether the names of animals ever point to [[totem]]ism'.<ref name=":0" />
 
=== Rig Veda ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Rigveda|Rig]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|9.114,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv09114.htm|title=Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 9: HYMN CXIV. Soma Pavamana.|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-15}}</ref> 10.136<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv10136.htm|title=Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 10: HYMN CXXXVI. Kesins.|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-07}}</ref>
|Hymn 9.114 names the sage [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]], later synonymous with Kurma (see [[Yajurveda|YajurVeda]] section).
|}
 
{{quote|<poem>2. The Munis, girdled with the wind [vātaraśanāḥ], wear garments soiled of yellow hue.
They, following the wind's swift course go where the Gods have gone before...
 
7. [[Vāyu]] hath churned for him: for him he poundeth things most hard to bend,
When he with long loose locks hath drunk, with Rudra, water [viṣá] from the cup.</poem>|source=Rig Veda (translated by R.T.H. Griffith, 1896), Book 10, Hymn 136, Verses 2 and 7|sign=}}
[[File:Ascetic.jpg|thumb|250x250px|'A learned [[Asceticism|ascetic]]'.|alt=]]
Verse 2 is significant as Aiyangar states that the ''vātaraśanāḥ [[Muni (Saint)|Munis]]'' ('girdled by the wind', explained as 'Vata = wind, rasana = rope, girdle') were known as [[Śramaṇa|''sramanas'']] ('derived from ''sram'', [meaning] to exert very much, to practice austerity') and as ''urdhvamanthins'', meaning 'those who churn upwards'. To explain what to 'churn upwards' means, Aiyangar quotes from the [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]] (1.14; text in square '[ ]' and round '( )' brackets are as quoted by the author):
 
{{quote|Making his [[Ātman (Hinduism)|atman]] (mind) the lower arani wood and the syllable [[Om]]  [repeated in the Japa dhyana] the upper wood, and by churning again and again with (the rope of) [[Dhyana in Hinduism|dhyana]] (contemplation), man should see the Lord like the hidden [fire generated by attrition].|source=Essays On Indo Aryan Mythology by Narayan Aiyangar ('The Tortoise')<ref name=":1" />|sign=}}
 
There is disagreement amongst academics as to whether the term '<nowiki/>''vātaraśanāḥ''' (i.e. 'girdled by the wind') refers to being naked (i.e. only clothed by the wind) or severe austerity (i.e. [[Śramaṇa|''sramana'']]).<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RYkPtXiXRYcC&q=urdhvamanthins&pg=PA13|title=The =Aśrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution|last=Olivelle|first=Patrick|date=1993-10-14|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-534478-3|pages=12–14|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOzdcIxJy2sC&q=urdhvamanthins&pg=PA30|title=The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices|last=Crangle|first=Edward Fitzpatrick|date=1994|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-03479-1|pages=30|language=en}}</ref> Aiyangar argues that austerity is the correct interpretation as the [[Rigveda|RigVeda]] clearly states the ''vātaraśanāḥ'' [[Muni (Saint)|Munis]] are wearing garments, and because the 'unshaven long-haired Muni [stated to have 'long locks' in verse 6] cannot have been an [[Asceticism|ascetic]] of the order of [[Sannyasa|sannyasin]]... who shaved his head'.<ref name=":1" /> P. Olivelle agrees, stating the term changed from meaning 'ascetic behaviour' to 'a class of [[Rishi|risis]]' by the time of the Taittirtya Aranyaka,<ref name=":4" /> in which the ''vātaraśanāḥa [[Muni (Saint)|Munis]]'' appear with Kurma (see [[Yajurveda|YajurVeda]] section, below).
 
Verse 7 is significant as in addition to mentioning the wind-god [[Vayu]] 'churning' the ''vātaraśanāḥ'' ''[[Muni (Saint)|Munis]]'' 'following the wind's swift course', although [[Ralph T. H. Griffith|R.T.H. Griffith]] translated 'viṣá' ([[Sanskrit]] विष) as [[Rudra]] drinking water, Aiyangar states it also means 'poison' (in this verse as 'keśī'''viṣa'''sya', Sanskrit: केशी'''विष'''स्य)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7|title=विष - Wiktionary|website=en.wiktionary.org|access-date=2019-12-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7&direct=au&anz=100|title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit|website=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=2019-12-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rvsan/rv10136.htm|title=The Rig Veda in Sanskrit: Rig Veda Book 10: Hymn 136|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-07}}</ref> and quotes [[John Muir (indologist)|Dr. Muir]] as stating that '[[Rudra]] [<nowiki/>[[Shiva]]] drinking water (visha) may possibly have given rise to the legend of his drinking poison (visha)' in the [[Samudra manthan]].<ref name=":1" />
 
=== Sama Veda ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="3" |[[Samaveda|Sama]]
! colspan="2" |References
!Notes
|-
|[[Panchavimsha Brahmana|Pancavimsa Brahmana]]
|15.5.30<ref name=":41">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/PancavimsaBrahmanaEnglishTransaltionWCaland1931bis_201804|title=Pancavimsa Brahmana English|last=Dr. Narinder Sharma|pages=[https://archive.org/details/PancavimsaBrahmanaEnglishTransaltionWCaland1931bis_201804/page/n446 407]|language=en}}</ref>
|This verse is in regards to [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]], synonymous with Kurma ('tortoise').
|-
|[[Samaveda|Jaiminiya Brahmana]]
|3.210<ref name=":41" />
|As stated by W. Caland in his translation of the Pancavisma Brahmana. Caland's German translation of the Jaiminiya Brahmana with this verse is available.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.80952|title=Das Jaiminiya Brahmana In Auswahl|last=Caland W|date=1919|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.80952/page/n295 293]}}</ref>
|}
 
{{quote|29. There is the akupara(-saman). ('The chant of Akupara').
30. By means of this (saman), Akupara Kasyapa attained power and greatness. Power and greatness attains he who in lauding has practised the akupara(saman).|source=Pancavimsa Brahmana (translated by W. Caland, 1931), Prapathaka XV (15), Khanda 5, Verses 29-30}}
[[File:Kashyapa muni statue in Andhra Pradesh.JPG|thumb|232x232px|[[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] [[Muni (Saint)|Muni]], one of the [[Saptarishi]] (Seven [[Rishi]]s) during the reign of the sixth (and current) [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]], [[Chakshusha]].|alt=|left]]
 
The sage [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] - stated in the [[Vedas]], [[Itihasa|Itihāsa]] (epics), and [[Puranas]] to be the progenitor of all living beings (see relevant sections, below) -  is also stated to be synonymous with [[World Turtle|Akupara]], the name of the 'world-turtle' in the [[Mahabharata]]. Caland explains in his footnote to verse 30 the significance of this name by quoting from the [[Samaveda|Jaiminiya Brahmana]]:<ref name=":41" />
 
{{quote|Akupara Kasyapa descended together with the [[Kali]]s, into the sea. He sought it in firm standing. He saw this atman and lauded with it. Thereupon, he found a firm standing in the sea, viz., this earth. Since that time, the Kalis sit on his back. This saman is (equal to) a firm standing. A firm standing gets he who knows thus. The Chandoma(-day)s are a sea... and Kasyapa (the tortoise) is able to convey (them) across the sea. That there is here this akupara, is for crossing over the sea.|source=Pancavimsa Brahmana (translated by W. Caland, 1931), Note 1 (extract from Jaiminiya Brahmana, 210), pp. 407|sign=}}
 
The Jaiminiya Brahmana explicitly links Akupara, Kasyapa, and the tortoise in regards to providing a 'firm standing' to cross over the sea of material existence. As illustrated below, in the [[Yajurveda|YajurVeda]], Kasyapa is also stated to be [[synonym]]ous with [[Prajapati]] (i.e. the creator-god [[Brahma]]) and with Kurma. In the Puranas, Kasyapa is frequently referred to as 'Prajapati' as well.
 
=== Yajur Veda ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="6" |[[Yajurveda|Yajur]]
! colspan="3" |References
!Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |'''[[Yajurveda#Shukla Yajurveda|Śukla (White) Shakha]]'''
|Vajasaneyi [[Samhita]]
|13.31,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/wyv/wyvbk13.htm|title=White Yajur Veda: Book XIII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref> 24.34, 24.37;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/wyv/wyvbk24.htm|title=White Yajur Veda: Book XXIV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref> 25.3<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/wyv/wyvbk25.htm|title=White Yajur Veda: Book XXV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref>
|These are in relation to tortoises, rather than Kurma, specifically.
|-
|[[Shatapatha Brahmana]]
|1.6.2.3-4,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe12/sbe1227.htm|title=Satapatha Brahmana Part 1 (SBE12): First Kânda: I, 6, 2. Second Brâhmana|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> 6.1.1.12,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe41/sbe4128.htm|title=Satapatha Brahmana Part III (SBE41): Sixth Kânda: VI, 1, 1. First Adhyâya. First Brâhmana|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> 7.5.1.5-7<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbr/sbe41/sbe4165.htm|title=Satapatha Brahmana Part III (SBE41): Seventh Kânda: VII, 5, 1. Fifth Adhyâya. First Brâhmana|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref>
|This is generally agreed to be the origin of the Kurma [[avatar]], and links [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]].
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[Taittiriya Shakha|'''Taittiriya (Black) Shakha''']]
|Taittiriya [[Samhita]]
|2.6.3,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/yv/yv02.htm|title=Yajur Veda Kanda II|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref> 5.2.8, 5.7.8, 5.7.13<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/yv/yv05.htm|title=Yajur Veda Kanda V|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-06}}</ref>
|Links [[Prajapati]] (i.e. [[Brahma]]), [[Vishnu]], and tortoises as the base 'bricks' in [[Yajna|sacrifice]] to achieve [[Moksha|liberation]].
|-
|Taittiriya [[Aranyaka]]
|I.23-25<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/vedicmythology00macd_0|title=... Vedic mythology|last=Macdonell|first=Arthur Anthony|date=1897|publisher=Strassburg : Karl J. Trübner|others=Princeton Theological Seminary Library|pages=[https://archive.org/details/vedicmythology00macd_0/page/41 41]}}</ref>
|As stated by Aiyangar and Macdonell
|-
|[[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]]
|1.14, 2.5<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/SvetasvataraUpanishadTyagisanandaRKMutt|title=Shvetashvatara Upanishad English : Swami Tyagisananda|last=Swami Tyagisananda|pages=[https://archive.org/details/SvetasvataraUpanishadTyagisanandaRKMutt/page/n36 37], 45}}</ref>
|This [[Upanishads|Upanishad]] is from the Taittiriya Aranyaka. Swami Tyagisananda translates the churning verse as the body being the lower piece of wood, whereas Aiyangar quotes the [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (translated as 'mind') as the lower piece of wood.
|}
 
==== Shukla (White) YajurVeda ====
{{See also|Shatapatha Brahmana}}
{{quote|31. He crept across the three heaven-reaching oceans, the Bull of Bricks, the Master of the Waters.|source=White Yajurveda (translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith, 1899), Book 13, Verse 31}}
 
Macdonell states that in the above-quoted verse, Kurma 'is raised to the semi-divine position as 'lord [or master] of waters'.<ref name=":0" /> Verse 24.34 states that 'the tortoise belongs to Heaven and Earth' and Verse 24.37 states that the tortoise - along with the doe-antelope and iguana - 'belong to the [[Apsara]]ses' (spirits of clouds and water). The translator, [[Ralph T. H. Griffith|R.T.H. Griffith]], makes several notes in the Shukla [[Yajurveda|YajurVeda]] regarding the use and symbolism of tortoises. This includes remarking in book 13, that the tortoise was buried in 'ceremonies connected with the construction of the Ahavaniya Fire-Altar'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/yajurvedacomplete|title=Complete Shukla Yajur Veda in English (Kanva Shakha)|pages=[https://archive.org/details/yajurvedacomplete/page/n113 114]}}</ref> Other notes made by Griffith in regards to sacrificial ritual practice with the corresponding texts (i.e. verses) include:
 
* '''Verse 13.30 (pp.&nbsp;118):''' 'He lays down the tortoise on a bed of Avaka plants on the right side of the brick Invincible... The tortoise may have been chosen here with reference to the belief that the world rests upon a tortoise as an incarnation of Vishnu.'
* '''Verse 13.31 (pp.&nbsp;118):''' 'He keeps his hand on the tortoise and shakes it as he recites the text'.
* '''Verse 13.31 (pp.&nbsp;118):''' 'He puts the tortoise on the altar site with the text.'
 
The tortoise is also mentioned in the [[Shatapatha Brahmana]]:{{quote|<poem>1. He then puts down a (living) tortoise [on the altar];--the tortoise means life-sap: it is life-sap (blood) he thus bestows on (Agni). This tortoise is that life-sap of these worlds which flowed away from them when plunged into the waters: that (life-sap) he now bestows on (Agni). As far as the life-sap extends, so far the body extends: that (tortoise) thus is these worlds.
 
2. That lower shell of it is this (terrestrial) world; it is, as it were, fixed; for fixed, as it were, is this (earth-)world. And that upper shell of it is yonder sky; it has its ends, as it were, bent down; for yonder sky has its ends, as it were, bent down. And what is between (the shells) is the air;--that (tortoise) thus is these worlds: it is these worlds he thus lays down (to form part of the altar)...
 
5. And as to its being called 'kûrma' (tortoise); [[Prajapati]], having assumed that form, created living beings. Now what he created, he made; and inasmuch as he made (kar), he is (called) 'kûrma;' and 'kûrma' being (the same as) 'kasyapa' (a tortoise), therefore all creatures are said to be descended from [[Kasyapa]].
 
6. Now this tortoise is the same as yonder sun: it is yonder sun he thus lays down (on the altar)... On the right (south) of the Ashâdhâ [Altar Brick] (he places it), for the tortoise (kûrma, masc.) is a male, and the Ashâdhâ a female...
</poem>|source=Yajur Veda (Shatapatha Brahmana, translated by [[Julius Eggeling]], 1900), Kanda VII, Fifth Adhyâya (First Brâhmana), Verses 1-6|sign=}}'Ashâdhâ' means 'of a brick used for the sacrificial altar'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://faculty.washington.edu/prem/mw/a.html|title=Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary -- a (aṣāḍha)|website=faculty.washington.edu|access-date=2019-12-29}}</ref> The Shatapatha Brahmana explicitly states the Tortoise forms part of the sacrificial altar, that it represents the Earth and the Sun, and that it 'is the breath, for the breath makes (kar) all these creatures' (verse 8). The remainder of this [[Brahmana]] details the process of carrying out the [[Yajna|sacrifice]]. Notably, several references are made to [[Vishnu]] as the performer and enjoyer of the sacrifice. Thus, the tortoise - Kurma - is explicitly linked with [[Vishnu]].
 
Kurma is also stated to be the origin of all creatures and [[synonym]]ous with the sage, [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]], repeatedly stated throughout [[Puranas|Puranic]] literature to be a '[[Prajapati]]', i.e. the origin of all living creatures. Dowson states 'authorities agree in assigning him [Kasyapa] a large part in the work of creation', as one of the seven great [[rishi]]s ([[Saptarishi]]) and the guru of both the [[Parashurama|Parasurama]] and [[Rama]] avatars of [[Vishnu]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/aclassicaldictio00dowsuoft|title=A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature|last=Dowson|first=John|date=1888|publisher=London : Trübner|others=Robarts - University of Toronto|pages=[https://archive.org/details/aclassicaldictio00dowsuoft/page/n198 153]}}</ref>
 
==== Krishna (Black) YajurVeda ====
Relating to the tortoise being the 'Bull of Bricks' in the Shukla [[Yajurveda|YajurVeda]], Aiyangar states that the [[Taittiriya Samhita]] (5.2.8) 'speaks of the ritual of burying a living tortoise underneath the altar, and says that the tortoise thus buried will lead the sacrificer to Suvarga, Heaven':<ref name=":1" />[[File:Yajna1.jpg|alt=|thumb|288x288px|[[Yajna]] performed by a [[Brahmin]] using a modern-[[brick]] fire-altar.]]{{quote|...verily he piles the fire with [[Prajapati]]. The first brick that is put down [for an altar] obstructs the breath of cattle and of the sacrificer; it is a naturally perforated one, to permit the breath to pass, and also to reveal the world of heaven... Now he who ignorantly puts down a brick is liable to experience misfortune... When the [[Angiras (sage)|Angirases]] went to the world of heaven, the sacrificial cake becoming a tortoise crawled after them; in that he puts down a tortoise, just as one who knows a place leads straight (to it), so the tortoise leads him straight to the world of heaven...  He puts it down to the east, to attain the world of heaven; he puts it down to the east facing west; therefore to the east facing west the animals attend the sacrifice... the sacrifice is [[Visnu]], the trees are connected with Visnu; verily in the sacrifice he establishes the sacrifice.|source=Black Yajur Veda (Taittiriya Sanhita, translated by Arthur Berriedale Keith, 1914), Kanda V, Prapathaka II ('The Preparation of the Ground for the Fire')|sign=}}
The building of sacrificial altars are directly connected with [[Prajapati]]. Macdonell also notes another instance in the Taittiriya Samhita (2.6.3) where [[Prajapati]] assigns sacrifices for the gods and places the oblation within himself, before [[Rishi|Risis]] arrive at the sacrifice and 'the sacrificial cake (''purodasa'') is said to become a tortoise'.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Taittiriya Samhita]] (e.g. 5.3.1) also describes the use of bricks - real bricks made of clay/earth (''<nowiki/>'istaka'<nowiki/>'') and symbolic 'bricks' of water (''<nowiki/>'ab-istaka''') and [[Cynodon dactylon|Durva grass]] - for the construction of real and symbolic altars for rituals (e.g. [[Agnicayana|cayana]]) and oblations ([[yajna]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/yv/yv05.htm|title=Yajur Veda Kanda V|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref>
 
F. Staal and D.M. Knipe both state that the creation, numbers, and configuration or layering of bricks - real and symbolic - had numerous rules, with Staal adding that 'Vedic geometry developed from the construction of these and other complex altar shapes'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HcE23SjLX8sC&q=vedas+brick&pg=PA267|title=Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights|last=Staal|first=Frits|date=2008|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-309986-4|pages=267–268|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8oUSBwAAQBAJ&q=abistaka&pg=PT321|title=Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Andhra Tradition|last=Knipe|first=David M.|date=2015-04-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-026673-8|pages=6.10.2 Aruna-Ketuka (page numbers not listed)|language=en}}</ref> The use of bricks to build fire-altars for oblations to achieve liberation ([[moksha]]) is also mentioned by [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]] to [[Nachiketa]] in the [[Katha Upanishad]] (1.15).<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.30807|title=Bibliotheca Indica A Collection Of Oriental Works Vol.2, Part-3|last=Asiatic Society Of Bengal|date=1856|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.30807/page/n109 101]}}</ref> Aiyangar also quotes from the Taittiriya Aranyaka, where 'the Tortoise Kurma is, in this story also, the ''maker'' of the universe':<ref name=":1" /> [[File:Prajapati.JPG|left|thumb|290x290px|[[Prajapati]] (i.e. [[Brahma]]).]]{{quote|The waters, this (universe), were salilam (chaotic liquid) only. [[Prajapati]] alone came into being on a lotus leaf. Within his mind, desire ([[Kama]]) around as 'Let me bring forth this (universe).' Therefore what man gets at by mind that he utters by word and that he does by deed... He (Prajapati desired to bring forth the universe) performed [[Tapas (Indian religions)|tapas]] (austere religious contemplation). Having performed tapas, he shook his body. From his flesh sprang forth Aruna-Ketus, (red rays as) the Vatarasana Rishis, from his nakhas, nails, the [[Vaikhanasas]], from his valas, hair, the Valakhilyas, and his [[Rasa (theology)|rasa]], juice, (became) a bhutam (a strange being, viz.,) a tortoise moving in the middle of the water. He [Prajapati] addressed him thus 'you have come into being from my skin and flesh.' 'No,' he replied, 'I have been here even from before (''purvan eva asam'').' This is the reason of the Purusha-hood of [[Purusha]]. He (the tortoise) sprang forth, becoming the Purusha of a thousand heads, thousand eyes, thousand feet. He (Prajapati) told him, 'you have been from before and so you the Before make this (''idam purvah kurushva'').'... From the waters indeed was this (universe) born. All this is ''Brahman Svayambhu'' (Self-Born).|source=Essays On Indo Aryan Mythology by Narayan Aiyangar ('The Tortoise')|sign=}}
 
In the Taittirtya Aranyaka, the ''Vātaraśanāḥ'' [[Rishi]]s (or [[Muni (Saint)|Munis]], mentioned in RigVeda 10.136 where [[Shiva]] also drank poison) are generated by [[Prajapati]] who then encounters a tortoise (Kurma) that existed even before he, the creator of the universe, came into being. Aiyangar states that 'the words ''Vātaraśanāḥ'' ['girdled by the wind'] and ''urdhvamanthin'' ['those who churn upwards']... appear to be the hidden pivot on which the gist of the riddle of the [[Puranas|Puranic]] legend about the [[Samudra manthan|churning for nectar]] turns'.<ref name=":1" />
 
=== Atharva Veda ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Atharvaveda|Arharva]]
! colspan="2" |References
!Notes
|-
| colspan="2" |19.53.10<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/av/av19053.htm|title=Atharva Veda: Book 19: Hymn 53: A hymn to Kāma or Time|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref>
|
|}
 
{{quote|<poem>[[Kaal|Kāla]] created living things and, first of all, [[Prajapati|Prajāpati]].
From Kāla self-made [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]], from Kāla Holy Fire was born.</poem>|source=Artharva Veda (translated by R.T.H Griffith, 1895), Book 19, Hymn 53 ('A hymn to Kāma or Time'), Verse 10}}
 
Macdonell states that Kurma 'as [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]], often appears beside or identical with [[Prajapati]] in the AV [<nowiki/>[[Atharvaveda|AtharvaVeda]]]', receiving the epithet ''svayambhu'', meaning 'self-existent' (or 'self-made').<ref name=":0" /> Kāla means 'time',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2&direct=se&anz=100|title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit: 'Kala'|website=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sanskritdictionary.org/kala|title=kala -- time -- Sanskrit Dictionary|website=sanskritdictionary.org|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref> and in direct relation to creation, the [[Bhagavata Purana]] (3.6.1-2) states that [[Vishnu]] entered into the inert or static [[purusha]] (first principle of creation) to animate it into creation 'with the [[Kali|goddess Kālī]] [the goddess of time], His external energy, who alone amalgamates all the different elements'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/3/6/|title=CHAPTER SIX|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref> Relating to the Holy Fire, in the [[Katha Upanishad]] (1.14-15), [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]], describing the rite of fire and use of bricks to build an altar, states to [[Nachiketa]] that fire is the first of the worlds, the foundation of the universe, and the cause of 'acquiring infinite worlds'.<ref name=":5" />
 
== Itihāsa (Epics) ==
 
=== Mahabharata ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="6" |[[Ramayana|Mahabharata]]
! colspan="2" |References
!Notes
|-
|'''Kurma'''
|'''Book 1:''' XVIII (18);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01019.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Astika Parva: Section XVIII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-09}}</ref> '''Book 12:''' CCCXL (340);<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c039.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Section CCCXL|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 13:''' CXLIX (149)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m13/m13b114.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 13: Anusasana Parva: Section CXLIX|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>
|
|-
|'''Kasyapa'''
|'''Book 1:''' XVI (16),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01017.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Astika Parva: Section XVI|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> XX (20),'''<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01021.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Astika Parva: Section XX|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref>''' XXIX-XXXIV (29-34),<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/index.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva Index (XXIX-XXXIV; 29-34)|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> XLII-XLIII (42-43),<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01043.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Astika Parva: Section XLII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01044.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Astika Parva: Section XLIII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> LXVI (67);<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01067.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section LXVI|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 3:''' CXIV (114),<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03114.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Tirtha-yatra Parva: Section CXIV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CLXXXVIII (188);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03188.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Markandeya-Samasya Parva: Section CLXXXVIII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 5:''' CX (110);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m05/m05110.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Bhagwat Yana Parva: Section CX|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 6:''' VI (6);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/m06006.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Jamvu-khanda Nirmana Parva: Section VI|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 7:''' LXX (70),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m07/m07067.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 7: Drona Parva: Abhimanyu-badha Parva: Section LXX|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 12:''' L (50),<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12a049.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Rajadharmanusasana Parva: Section L|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCVII (207),<ref name=":14">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b034.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCVII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCVIII (208);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b035.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCVIII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 13:''' XVII (17),<ref name=":15">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m13/m13a017.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 13: Anusasana Parva: Anusasanika Parva: Section XVII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CLIV (154);<ref name=":16">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m13/m13b119.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 13: Anusasana Parva: Section CLIV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 14:''' XVI (16)<ref name=":17">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m14/m14016.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 14: Aswamedha Parva: Anugita Parva: Section XVI|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>
|1.29-31 concerns [[Garuda]], son of [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]], seeking the [[Amrita]] produced by the churning of the ocean.
|-
|'''Tortoise'''
|'''Book 1:''' CXLII (142);'''<ref name=":18">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01143.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section CXLII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref>''' '''Book 3:''' CLXLVIII (198)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03198.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Markandeya-Samasya Parva: Section CLXLVIII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref> '''Book 6:''' XXVI (26);<ref name=":19">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/m06026.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parva: Section XXVI (Bhagavad Gita Chapter II)|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref> '''Book 9:''' 54;<ref name=":20">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m09/m09054.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 9: Shalya Parva: Section 54|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 12:''' XXI (21),<ref name=":21">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12a021.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Rajadharmanusasana Parva: Section XXI|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-09}}</ref> LXXXIII (83),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12a082.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Rajadharmanusasana Parva: Section LXXXIII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CLXXIV (174),<ref name=":22">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b001.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CLXXIV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CXCIV (194),<ref name=":23">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b021.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CXCIV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCXLVII (247),<ref name=":24">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b074.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCXLVII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCLXXXVI (286),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b113.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCLXXXVI|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCCII (302),<ref name=":25">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c001.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Section CCCII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCCXXVII (327);<ref name=":26">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c026.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Section CCCXXVII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 14:''' XLII (92),<ref name=":27">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m14/m14042.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 14: Aswamedha Parva: Anugita Parva: Section XLII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> XLVI (96)<ref name=":28">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m14/m14046.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 14: Aswamedha Parva: Anugita Parva: Section XLVI|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>
|3.198 is Akupara, the [[World Turtle|World-Turtle]]. Many references are in relation to withdrawing one's senses 'like a tortoise'.
|-
|'''Churning'''
|'''Book 1:''' CLXXIII (173);<ref name=":29">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01174.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Chaitraratha Parva: Section CLXXIII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 3:''' CCCIX (309);<ref name=":30">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03309.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Aranya Parva: Section CCCIX|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 4:''' I (1);<ref name=":31">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04001.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 4: Virata Parva: Pandava-Pravesa Parva: Section I|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 5:''' CII (102);<ref name=":32">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m05/m05102.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Bhagwat Yana Parva: Section CII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 12:''' CCXIV (214),<ref name=":33">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b041.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCXIV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCXLVI (246),<ref name=":34">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12b073.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Mokshadharma Parva: Section CCXLVI|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCCXIX (319),<ref name=":35">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c018.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Section CCCXIX|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCCXXX (330),<ref name=":36">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c029.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Section CCCXXX|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> CCCXL (340),<ref name=":6" /> CCCXLIII (343),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c042.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Section CCCXLIII|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>  CCCXLIV (344);<ref name=":38">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c043.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 12: Santi Parva: Section CCCXLIV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> '''Book 13:''' XVII (17),<ref name=":15" /> LXXXIV (84),<ref name=":40">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m13/m13b049.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 13: Anusasana Parva: Section LXXXIV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>
|5.102 states the churning of the ocean produced a [[wine]] called [[Varuni]], the goddess of wine.
|-
| colspan="3" |Translations are by [[Kisari Mohan Ganguli|K.M. Ganguli]], unless otherwise stated.
|}
 
{{quote|<poem>The gods then went to the king of tortoises ['Kurma-raja'] and said to him, 'O Tortoise-king, thou wilt have to hold the mountain on thy back!' The Tortoise-king agreed, and [[Indra]] contrived to place the mountain on the former's back. And the [[Deva (Hinduism)|gods]] and the [[Asura]]s made of Mandara [Mountain] a churning staff and [[Vasuki]] the cord, and set about churning the deep for [[amrita]]...
 
But with the churning still going on, the poison Kalakuta appeared at last. Engulfing the Earth it suddenly blazed up like a fire attended with fumes. And by the scent of the fearful Kalakuta, the three worlds were stupefied. And then [[Shiva|Siva]], being solicited by [[Brahman]], swallowed that poison for the safety of the creation. The divine Maheswara held it in his throat, and it is said that from that time he is called Nilakantha (blue-throated).</poem>|source=Mahabharata (translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-1896), Book 1, Astika Parva, Chapter XVIII (18)|sign=}}
[[File:Samudra-Manthan-The-Churning-of-the-Ocean-of-Milk.jpg|alt=|thumb|322x322px|Churning the [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]].]]
Although academics such as N. Sutton state 'there is no indication' that Kurma is an [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]] in the [[Mahabharata]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rFyUHC-ORp4C&q=tortoise+in+the+mahabharata&pg=PA162|title=Religious Doctrines in the Mahābhārata|last=Sutton|first=Nicholas|date=2000|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|isbn=978-81-208-1700-5|pages=162|language=en}}</ref> [[Narayana]] (i.e. [[Vishnu]]) does list the tortoise as one of His incarnations.<ref name=":6" />
 
Other academics such as M. Vettam have also ascribed the name 'Kurma' to one of the 1,000 serpent-sons of [[Kadru]] (daughter of [[Daksha]] and one of 13 wives of [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]]),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft|title=Puranic encyclopaedia : a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature|last=Mani|first=Vettam|date=1975|publisher=Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass|others=Robarts - University of Toronto|pages=[https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft/page/444 444]}}</ref> although this is actually 'Kumara',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01066.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section LXV|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> which translates to '[[Nāga]]' (snake), 'youth', and 'son'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kumara|title=Kumara, Kumāra, Kumārā: 19 definitions|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2009-04-12|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?tran_input=kaumAra&direct=se&script=hk&link=yes&mode=3|title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit: 'kumara'|website=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> Although Kurma is only briefly mentioned as the pivot for the mountain-churning-rod, there are numerous references throughout to tortoises and churning:
 
* Tortoises extending and retracting their limbs are mentioned [[Allegory|allegorically]] in regards to drawing in the senses from external objects,<ref name=":19" /><ref name=":21" /><ref name=":26" /> hiding weaknesses,'''<ref name=":18" />''' withdrawing desires,<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":27" /><ref name=":28" /> [[Cosmology|cosmological]] creation and destruction,<ref name=":23" /> [[reincarnation]], and understanding<ref name=":24" />
*Linking to the [[Samaveda|SamaVeda]], The 'ocean of life' is stated to have sorrow for water, anxiety and grief for lakes, disease and death for alligators, heart-striking fears as huge snakes, and [[Tamas (philosophy)|tamasic]] (ignorant or destructive) actions as [[tortoise]]s<ref name=":25" />
*The '[[Veena|Vina]] of melodious notes' of [[Narada]] is stated to be made out of a tortoise-shell<ref name=":20" />
* Churning is mentioned throughout - additionally to dairy products such as milk - in regards to producing beauty,<ref name=":29" /> notably the sticks and churning staff used by ascetic [[Brahmin]]s,<ref name=":30" /><ref name=":31" /> desires generated in the mind,<ref name=":33" /> knowledge gained from reading [[Vedas|Vedic]] scriptures,<ref name=":34" /><ref name=":35" /> [[karma]],<ref name=":36" /> authorship of the [[Mahabharata]],<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":38" /> and cosmological creation and destruction<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":40" />
 
{{quote|[<nowiki/>[[Narayana]] to [[Narada]]:] I am [[Vishnu]], I am [[Brahma]] and I am [[Indra|Sakra]], the chief of the gods. I am king [[Vaiśravaṇa|Vaisravana]], and I am [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]], the lord of the deceased spirits. I am [[Shiva|Siva]], I am [[Soma (deity)|Soma]], and I am [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] the lord of the created things. And, O best of regenerate ones, I am he called [[Dhatri]], and he also that is called Vidhatri, and I am [[Yajna|Sacrifice]] embodied.|source=Mahabharata (translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-1896), Book 3, Vana Parva (Markandeya-Samasya Parva), Chapter CLXXXVIII (188)}}
 
[[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] - synonymous with Kurma - is also mentioned throughout as [[Prajapati]]. This includes in relation to the [[Samudra manthan]], most notably in the legend of [[Garuda]], the son of Kasyapa and [[Vinata]] (and later the mount of [[Vishnu]]), created through [[Yajna|sacrificial rituals]] with the help of [[Indra]] and ''Valikhilya'' [[Rishi]]s. While seeking the [[Amrita]] produced by the churning of the ocean to free himself and his mother from slavery by [[Kadru]] (another wife of Kasyapa) and her 1,000 serpent-sons, Garuda is told by Kasyapa to eat two quarrelling [[Supratika#Vibhvasu and Supratik|Rishi brothers]] incarnated as a quarrelling Elephant and Tortoise to gain enough energy. Later, Garuda battles Indra and the celestials and extinguishes a raging fire to obtain the [[Amrita]]. In agreement with Indra, Garuda tricks the serpents to achieve freedom without giving them the Amrita; due to licking the drops left behind, the serpents develop forked tongues.'''<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" />''' Other details include:
 
* Kasyapa, the son of [[Marichi]], is father of the [[Deva (Hinduism)|gods]] and [[asura]]s, the 'Father of the worlds'.<ref name=":11" />
*There are two accounts of Kasyapa lifting the Earth out of the waters through [[Yajna|sacrifice]] (after being awarded it by [[Parashurama|Parasurama]]) similar to the legend of [[Varaha]]. In the first, the Earth is raised as an altar,<ref name=":12" /> while in the second the Earth is held on the lap ('uru') of Kasyapa and is given the name '[[Parvati|Urvi]]'.<ref name=":13" />
* Although given knowledge by [[Brahma]] to neutralise poisons,'''<ref name=":7" />''' Kasyapa was prevented from saving King [[Parikshit|Parakshit]] by a snake called [[Takshaka]] disguised as a [[Brahmin]]; Takshaka later bit and killed the king.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" /> The story of Parakshit features in the [[Bhagavata Purana]], where Takshaka is a snake-bird.
*[[Vamana]], the dwarf [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]], is another of Kasyapa's progeny; 'The other wives of Kasyapa gave birth to [[Gandharva]]s, horses, birds, [[Cattle|kine]], [[Kimpurusha Kingdom|Kimpurushas]], fishes, and trees and plants. [[Aditi]] gave birth to the [[Âdityas|Adityas]]'.<ref name=":14" />
*Also known as [[Tarkshya]],<ref name=":15" /> Kasyapa cast off his body to pervade the Earth in spirit form and made her rich in abundance.<ref name=":16" />
*Kasyapa encounters an emancipated sage who 'was as unattached to all things as the wind' (e.g. like a ''Vātaraśanāḥ'' [[Muni (Saint)|Muni]]) and worships him.<ref name=":17" />
*
 
==== Bhagavad Gita ====
{{quote|One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness.|source=Mahabharata (translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-1896), Book 6, Bhagavad Gita Parva, Chapter XXVI (25) /
Bhagavad Gita (translated by  Swami Prabhupada), Chapter 2, Verse 58<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/2/58/|title=Bg. 2.58|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref>|sign=}}The same allegory is mentioned frequently throughout the Mahabharata (see above), of which the [[Bhagavad Gita]] is a part (Book 6).
 
==== Harivamsa ====
{{quote|When the [[Deva (Hinduism)|gods]] and [[Asura]]s, assembled for (churning) for ambrosia, [[Vishnu]], in the shape of a tortoise in the ocean, held up the Mandara mountain.|source=Harivamsha (translated by M.N. Dutt, 1897), Chapter LXXVII (30), verse 41<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/AProseEnglishTranslationOfHarivamsh|title=A Prose English Translation Of Harivamsha|last=Dutt|first=Manmatha Nath (editor)|date=1897|pages=325}}</ref>|sign=}}
 
P. Terry states that 'Probably the oldest sources for the ''[[avatar]]as'' are [the] [[Harivamsa]] and [[Mahabharata]]', but incorrectly believes Kurma is not listed in the Harivamsa as an avatar of [[Vishnu]] (see quote, above).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Ep3CgAAQBAJ&q=harivamsa+tortoise&pg=PA16|title=Proofs of the Prophets--Lord Krishna|last=Terry|first=Peter|date=2009|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-0-557-24168-2|pages=16|language=en}}{{self-published source}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=February 2020}} Other details include:
 
* The [[allegory]] of the tortoise drawing in its limbs is mentioned in respect to withdrawing from sense-pleasures (XXX.17)
* [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] is mentioned primarily in regards to creating 'the great [[Parijata|Parijata tree]]' for [[Aditi]] to accomplish her vow of ''Punyaka'', the worship of [[Krishna]] to obtain a son,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/punyakavrata|title=Punyakavrata, Punyaka-vrata, Puṇyakavrata: 1 definition|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2019-01-27|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> resulting in the birth of [[Vamana#Origin|Vamana]], the dwarf avatar (e.g. CXXIV.57).
 
=== Ramayana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Ramayana]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Valmiki version 1''' (S. Ayyangar and M.N. Dutt translations)''':'''  Bala Kanda - XLV (45)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/Ramayana_201309|title=Ramayana|last=Dutt|first=Manmathnath|date=1891|pages=[https://archive.org/details/Ramayana_201309/page/n121 110]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ramayanaofvalmee035120mbp|title=Ramayana Of Valmeeki|last=Sreenivasa Ayyangar|publisher=A L V Press And Guardian Press Madras|others=BRAOU, Digital Library Of India|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ramayanaofvalmee035120mbp/page/n297 136]}}</ref> '''Valmiki version 2''' (H. P. Shastri and R.T.H. Griffith translations): Bala Kanda - 45;<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/The.Ramayana.of.Valmiki.by.Hari.Prasad.Shastri|title=The Ramayana of Valmiki, translated by Hari Prasad Shastri - 3 Volumes Combined - 1709 Pages, with complete Outline|last=Hari Prasad Shastri|pages=[https://archive.org/details/The.Ramayana.of.Valmiki.by.Hari.Prasad.Shastri/page/n106 92]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rama/ry045.htm|title=BOOK I: Canto XLV.: The Quest of The Amrit.|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> '''Adhyatma Ramayana''' (R.B.L.B Nath translation): Yuddha Kanda - X.47<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/TheAdhyatmaRamayana|title=The Adhyatma Ramayana|last=Rai Bahadur Lala Baij Nath|date=1979|pages=163}}</ref>
|There are [[Versions of Ramayana|multiple versions]] of the Ramayana. Many are attributed to [[Valmiki]].
|}
[[File:Garuda by Hyougushi in Delhi.jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|[[Garuda]], son of [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]].]]
{{quote|In former times [[Rama]] became a tortoise extending for a hundred thousand [[yojana]]s, and at the time of the [[Samudra manthan|churning of the ocean]] bore on his back the golden mountain [[Mount Meru|Sumeru]].|source=The Adhyatma Ramayana (translated by Rai Bahadur Lala Baij Nath, 1979), Yuddha Kanda, Chapter X, Verse 47}}
 
Swami Achuthananda states that although varied like other legends, '[[Vishnu|Vishnu's]] role in the Kurma [[avatar]] was limited compared to that in other avatars'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjSnDwAAQBAJ&q=kurma+ramayana&pg=PA20|title=Rama and the Early Avatars of Vishnu: plus Ramayana abridged|last=Achuthananda|first=Swami|date=2019-08-03|publisher=Relianz Communications Pty Ltd|isbn=978-0-9757883-4-9|pages=20|language=en}}</ref> The role of Kurma in the [[Samudra manthan]] is essentially the same in all cited versions of the [[Ramayana]], whereby after the mountain-churning-rod begins to sink into the ocean, [[Vishnu]] assumes the form of the gigantic tortoise, Kurma, as a pivot to hold it, while in another simultaneous incarnation also helps to turn the rod. Notably, the [[Adhyatma Ramayana]] (as quoted above) states Kurma to be an incarnation of [[Rama]]. Other details include:
 
* [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] is mentioned as being awarded the Earth by [[Parashurama|Parasurama]] (e.g. Adhyatma Ramayana: Yuddha Kanda: X.51)
* Rama visits the spot where [[Garuda]], a son of [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] and the mount of [[Vishnu]], attempted to eat the warring [[Supratika#Vibhvasu and Supratik|Elephant and Tortoise]] (incarnations of quarreling [[Rishi]] brothers), but took compassion on the '[[Vaikhanasas]], Mashas, Valakhilyas, Marichaipas, Ajas, and Dhumras' assembled there and flew away (e.g. Valmiki versions 1 and 2, Aranya Kanda: Chapter 35).<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/Ramayana_201309|title=Ramayana|last=Manmathnath Dutt|date=1891|pages=587–588}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rama/ry233.htm|title=BOOK III: Canto XXXV.: Rávan's Journey.|website=www.sacred-texts.com|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref>
 
== Maha-Puranas ==
{{Original research section|date=June 2020}}
J.W. Wilkins states that the 'probable' origin of Kurma is as an incarnation of [[Prajapati]] (i.e. [[Brahma]]) in the Shatapatha Brahmana (7:5:1:5-7), but as 'the worship of Brahma became less popular, whilst that of Vishnu increased in its attraction, the names, attributes, and works of one deity seem to have been transferred to the other'.<ref name=":42" />
 
In post-Vedic literature, including the [[Puranas]], Kurma is inextricably linked with the legend of the churning of the [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]], known as the [[Samudra manthan]]. Kurma is also directly linked with [[World Turtle|Akupara]], the so-called 'world-turtle' that supports the Earth, usually with [[Shesha|Sesa]].
 
=== Agni Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Agni Purana|Agni]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|2.12-13, 3, 21.2-4 23.12, 46.5-6, 49.1, 50.17, 56, 74.10-11, 74.44-45, 96.30, 98.6, 108.29-30, 123.9, 145.18-31, 213.1-4, 214.5-14, 215.35-37, 219.14-41, 270.3-4, 272.19b-20a, 293.43-46, 315.1-4, 330.18-22<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/AgniPuranaUnabridgedEnglishMotilal|title=Agni Purana Unabridged English Motilal|last=J. L. Shastri|first=G. P. Bhatt|date=1998-01-01}}</ref>
|
|}
 
{{quote|The celestials who were afflicted by the sighs of the serpent <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Vasuki]], used as a rope with the Mandara Mountain as a churning rod<nowiki>]</nowiki>, were comforted by [[Hari]] ([[Vishnu|Visnu]]). As the ocean was being churned the mountain being unsupported entered into the water. Then Visnu assumed the form of a tortoise and supported the (Mount) Mandara. From the [[Samudra manthan|milky ocean]] which was being churned, first came out the poison known as [[Halahala]]. That poison being retained by Hara ([[Shiva|Siva]]) in his neck, Siva became (known to be) Nilakantha (blue-necked). Then the goddess [[Varuni]] (The [[Shakti|female energy]] of the celestial god [[Varuna]]), the [[Parijata]] (tree) and the [[Kaustubha]] (gem) came out of the ocean.|source=Agni Purana (unabridged, translated by J. L. Shastri, G. P. Bhatt, N. Gangadharan, 1998), Chapter 3, Verses 7-9|sign=}}
[[File:Durvasa Shakuntala.jpg|thumb|200x200px|[[Durvasa]], the sage that curses [[Indra]] in many accounts of the [[Samudra manthan]].]]
In the [[Agni Purana]], the churning of the ocean of Milk takes place after the curse of the sage [[Durvasa]]s (on [[Indra]]), due to which 'the celestials [<nowiki/>[[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]]] were deprived of all their prosperity' and being defeated by the [[Asura]]s, seek refuge with [[Hari]]. In this account of the [[Samudra manthan]], poison ([[Halahala]]) is generated by the churning which is drunk by [[Shiva]]. [[Vishnu]] later assumes the form of a 'beautiful damsel' ([[Mohini]]) to trick the Asuras into giving away the [[Ambrosia]] ([[Amrita]]). Requested by Shiva, Vishnu again assumes the Mohini form, causing Shiva to behave 'like a mad man' with lust before 'knowing her as illusory' (3). Focusing on temple construction, prayer, and worship, other details include:
 
* Kurma is stated to be the second [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]] (49.1).
* The [[Shaligram|Salagrama]] stone for Kurma is described as black in colour with circular lines and an elevated hinder part (46.5-6)
*[[Vishnu]] is stated to reside in [[Bharata Khanda|Bharata]] in the form of Kurma (108.29-30) and is presiding deity over [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]], sage of the Vyahrtis (mystical utterances;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/vyahriti|title=Vyahriti, Vyāhṛti: 10 definitions|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2014-08-14|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-20}}</ref> 215.35.37)
 
=== Bhagavata Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Bhagavata Purana|Bhagavata]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|1.3.16,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/3/16/|title=ŚB 1.3.16|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> 2.7.13,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/2/7/13/|title=ŚB 2.7.13|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> 5.9-10,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/8/5/9/|title=ŚB 8.5.9|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/8/5/10/|title=ŚB 8.5.10|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-25}}</ref> 5.18.29-30,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/5/18/29/|title=ŚB 5.18.29|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/5/18/30/|title=ŚB 5.18.30|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> 8.4.17-24,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/8/4/17-24/|title=ŚB 8.4.17-24|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> 8.5.10,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/8/5/10/|title=ŚB 8.5.10|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> 8.7.8,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/8/7/8/|title=ŚB 8.7.8|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> 8.7.10,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/8/7/10/|title=ŚB 8.7.10|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> 10.2.40,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/2/40/|title=ŚB 10.2.40|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> 10.40.17-18,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/40/17-18/|title=ŚB 10.40.17-18|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref> 12.13.2<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/12/13/2/|title=ŚB 12.13.2|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref>
|The legend of the [[Samudra manthan]] is covered in Canto 8, chapters 5-10.
|}
 
{{quote|In this sixth manvantara millennium, Lord [[Viṣṇu]], the master of the universe, appeared in His partial expansion. He was begotten by Vairāja in the womb of his wife, Devasambhūti, and His name was [[Vishnu|Ajita]]. By churning the Ocean of Milk, Ajita produced nectar for the demigods. In the form of a tortoise, He moved here and there, carrying on His back the great mountain known as Mandara.|source=Bhagavata Purana (translated by Swami Prabhupada), Canto 8, Chapter 5, Verses 9-10|sign=}}
[[File:Mohini Samudra manthan.jpg|left|thumb|270x270px|[[Mohini]] (centre), the enchantress avatar of [[Vishnu]] distributing the [[Amrita]] to the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] (left), after taking it from the infatuated [[Asura]]s (right).]]
In the [[Bhagavata Purana]], Kurma is described as an incarnation of Ajita (Sanskrit अजित, meaning 'unsurpassed', 'invincible', and 'undefeated'),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=ajita&direct=au&anz=100|title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit: 'Ajita'|website=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=2019-12-25}}</ref> a partial expansion of [[Krishna]] born to the [[Saptarishi]] Vairaja and his wife Devasambhuti during the reign of the sixth [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]], [[Chakshusha]] (8.5.9-10).
 
The churning of the ocean of Milk takes place after the curse of the sage [[Durvasa]] (on [[Indra]]), due to which 'the three worlds were 'poverty stricken, and therefore [[Yajna|ritualistic ceremonies]] could not be performed'. The [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] seek refuge with [[Krishna]] at His abode 'on an island called [[Kshir Sagar|Svetadvipa]], which is situated in the [[Kshir Sagar|ocean of milk]]' (Canto 8: Chapter 5). Krishna instructs the Devas to form a pact with the [[Asura]]s (led by [[Mahabali|Bali]]) to churn the ocean of milk and warns them about the emergence of the poison, Kalakuta. Later, 'observing that most of the demons and demigods had been crushed by the falling of the mountain' to be used as a churning rod, Krishna brings them back to life, lifts the Mandara mountain, and carries it on the back of Garuda to the Ocean of Milk (Canto 8: Chapter 6). The Ocean is churned with [[Vasuki]] as a rope, the sleepy Kurma as the base who 'extended for eight hundred thousand miles like a large island' and felt a 'pleasing sensation' at being scratched, and Ajita Himself personally helping. Poison is generated, to which [[Shiva]] 'compassionately took the whole quantity of poison in his palm and drank it' as an example of voluntary suffering for others; the remaining poison was drunk by animals with poisonous bites such as [[scorpion]]s and [[Cobra]]s (Canto 8: Chapter 7).
 
Churned with a renewed vigor by 'the sons of Kasyapa', the Ocean of Milk produces auspicious beings, including [[Lakshmi]] and [[Dhanvantari]] - 'a plenary portion of a plenary portion of Lord [[Vishnu|Visnu]]' - with the nectar of immortality ([[Amrita]]; Canto 8: Chapter 8). After the demons steal the nectar, [[Vishnu]] incarnates as [[Mohini]]-[[Murti]], who despite warning the lustful and infatuated demons not to trust Her, is still given the Amrita which She distributes to the Devas (Canto 8: Chapter 9). Vishnu leaves and a battle ensues between the Devas and Asuras. On the cusp of defeat, the Devas appeal to [[Vishnu]] for help once again, who reappears and helps to defeat the Asuras (Canto 8: Chapter 10). Other details include:
 
* Kurma is listed as the 10th and 11th incarnations of [[Krishna]] (1.3.16 and 2.7.13)
* [[Vishnu]] is stated to live in the form of a tortoise (kūrma-śarīra) in a land called Hiraṇmaya-varṣa<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/hiranmayavarsha|title=Hiranmayavarsha, Hiraṇmayavarṣa, Hiranmaya-varsha: 4 definitions|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2017-03-02|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-25}}</ref> (5.18.29)
* Kurma is described as 'the reservoir of all transcendental qualities, and being entirely untinged by matter... [is] perfectly situated in pure goodness' (5.18.30)
*Relating to the tortoise symbollsing the sun  it is stated that the 'sun-god marks the path of liberation' (8.5.36)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/8/5/36/|title=ŚB 8.5.36|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-26}}</ref>
*Vishnu invigorates the Devas with [[Sattva]] (goodness), the Asuras with [[Rajas]] (passion), and Vasuki with [[Tamas (philosophy)|Tamas]] (ignorance), according to their natures (8.7.11)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/8/7/11/|title=ŚB 8.7.11|website=vedabase.io|language=en|access-date=2019-12-26}}</ref>
 
{{quote|When the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as Lord Kūrma, a tortoise, His back was scratched by the sharp-edged stones lying on massive, whirling Mount Mandara, and this scratching made the Lord sleepy. May you all be protected by the winds caused by the Lord’s breathing in this sleepy condition. Ever since that time, even up to the present day, the ocean tides have imitated the Lord’s inhalation and exhalation by piously coming in and going out.|source=Bhagavata Purana (translated by Swami Prabhupada), Canto 12, Chapter 13, Verse 2}}
 
=== Brahma Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Brahma Purana|Brahma]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|1.120-127, 1.164-165, 1.217-218, 10.39-46, 16.57, 69.176; '''Gautami-Mahatmya:''' 4.48, 42.4-7, 52.68-73<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/brahma_purana_english_full|title=Brahma Purana - Parts I - IV|last=Motilal Banarsidass|date=1955-01-01}}</ref>
|}
 
{{quote|Devas and Asuras after mutual consultation came to an agreement that they should churn the ocean. O Mahesa, while they were churning there merged Kalakuta (a virulent poison). Excepting you [<nowiki/>[[Shiva]]] who else could have been competent to swallow it?|source=Brahma Purana (unknown translator, 1955), Gautami-Mahatmya, Chapter 42, Verses 4-7}}
 
As quoted above, the legend of Kurma is only briefly mentioned in the [[Brahma Purana]], although it is stated that the 'Devas were not able to conquer [[Danava (Hinduism)|Danavas]] in battle' before [[Shiva]] in this account of the [[Samudra manthan]] - not [[Narayana]]/[[Vishnu]] - is approached for help (Gautami-Mahatmya: 42.3). Kurma is however mentioned in prayers and obeisances throughout, such as by [[Kandu]] (69.176) and [[Indra]] (Gautami-Mahatmya: 4.48). Other details include:
 
* [[Vishnu]] resides in [[Bharatas (tribe)|Bharata]] (also meaning 'to be maintained') in form of the tortoise (16.57)
* The first step of the [[Vamana]] avatar to take back the three worlds from [[Mahabali|Bali]] was 'After standing firmly on the back of the tortoise' (Gautami-Mahatmya: 4.48)
 
=== Brahmanda Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Brahmanda Purana|Brahmanda]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Part 2:''' ([[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]]) 1.53.54, 1.119-124a, 3.56, 3.65-69a, 3.84, 3.104-106;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart2|title=Brahmanda Purana - English Translation - Part 2 of 5|last=G.V.Tagare|date=1958}}</ref> '''Part 3:''' (Tortoise) 68.96; (Kasyapa) 47.60-61, 71.238;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart3|title=Brahmanda Purana - English Translation - Part 3 of 5|last=G.V.Tagare|date=1958}}</ref> '''Part 4:''' 9-10, 29.91-92<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart4|title=Brahmanda Purana - English Translation - Part 4 of 5|last=G.V.Tagare}}</ref>
|No notable mentions in parts 1 or 5<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart1|title=Brahmanda Purana - English Translation - Part 1 of 5|last=G.V.Tagare|date=1958}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/BrahmandaPuranaG.V.TagarePart5|title=Brahmanda Purana - English Translation - Part 5 of 5|last=G.V.Tagare|date=1959}}</ref>
|}
 
{{quote|In the middle of the ocean of Milk, the exceedingly lustrous lord in the form of [the] Primordial Tortoise became the basis and support of the Mandara mountain that was rotating therein. [[Vishnu|Madhava]] pulled [[Vasuki]] [used as a cord or rope] speedily in the midst of all [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] by assuming a separate form and from the midst of [[Daitya]]s by assuming another form.
 
In the form of [[Brahma]] (KSrma - Tortoise...) he supported the mountain that had occupied the ocean. In another form, that of the divine sage (i.e [[Narayana]]), he enlivened Devas and rendered them more powerful and robust frequently with great brilliance.|source= Brahmanda Purana (translated by G.V.Tagare, 1958),  Part 4, Chapter 9, Verses 60-65|sign=}}
[[File:Samudramanthan.jpg|thumb|300x300px|A depiction of the [[Samudra manthan]].]]
In the [[Brahmanda Purana]], the churning of the ocean of Milk takes place after [[Brahma]] curses [[Indra]] for killing the powerful [[Asura]] [[Asceticism|ascetic]] [[Trisiras|Visvarupa]], the grandson of [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] (and potential challenger to his position). The curse causes ruin to the Earth and to the [[Brahmin]]s (who become covetous and atheistic), while the weakened [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] are attacked by the [[Asura]]s and forced to flee to [[Narayana]] for refuge.  In this account of the [[Samudra manthan]], no poison is produced or consumed by [[Shiva]], and it is stated that the [[Daitya]]s became known as 'Asuras' due to rejecting [[Varuni]], the goddess of wine, after her emergence from the ocean ('a-sura' meaning 'without sura', or alcohol; Part 4: 9). Notably, the manifestation of the [[Mohini]] avatar of [[Vishnu]] during the battle between the Devas and Asuras over the nectar ([[Amrita]]) is stated to be identical in form to the goddess [[Goddess Maheshwari|Mahesvari]] (Part 4: 10).
 
=== Brahmavaivarta Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Brahma Vaivarta Purana|Brahmavaivarta]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Brahma Khanda''': XXVI.91-104, XXX.1-10; '''Prakriti-Khanda:''' XXXIV, XXXVIII, 39; '''Ganapati Khanda:''' 31; '''Krsna-Janma Khanda:''' 6, 21, 22, 46, 55, 73, 87, 129<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.142284|title=The Brahma Vaivarta Puranam (Brahma and Prakrti Khandas)|last=Sen|first=rajendra Nath|date=1920}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/357106450BrahmavaivartaPurana2SanskritTextWithEnglishTranslationPdf|title=Brahmavaivarta Purana (Volume 1: Brahma, Prakrti, and Ganapati Khandas, and Volume 2: Krsna-Janma Khanda)|last=Nager|first=Shanti Lal}}</ref>
|Roman numerals indicate the Nath translation; numerical digits indicate the Nager translation (two parts), which does not provide verse numbers (some pages of the Nath translation are also missing verse numbers).
|}
 
{{quote|...lord [[Hari]] directed [[Brahma]] to churn the above sea [the [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]] or 'ksiroda sea'] with a view to discover the celestial goddess of fortune [<nowiki/>[[Lakshmi]]] and to restore her to the gods... After a long time, the gods arrived at the margin of the sea. The Mandar Mountain they made as their churning pole, the tortoise god as their basin or cup, the god [[Ananta (infinite)|Ananta]] as their churning rope. In this way they began to churn the ocean...|source=Brahmavaivarta Purana (translated by R.N. Sen, 1920), Prakriti Khanda, XXXVIII (38), Verses 51-55|sign=}}
[[File:Hindu representation of the earth 02.jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|A [[Hinduism|Hindu]] representation of the Earth supported by a [[Tortoise]] and the Quarter-Elephants, surrounded by a [[Nāga|Naga]],]]
In the [[Brahma Vaivarta Purana|Brahmavaivarta Purana]], two accounts of Kurma relating to the [[Samudra manthan]] are given. In the first, the churning of the ocean of Milk takes place after [[Indra]] is cursed by the sage [[Durvasa]] for arrogance, resulting in the gods and the people of Earth being 'deprived of their glory' (Prakriti-Khanda: 36/XXXVI). The account of the churning itself consists of only a few verses, without mention of the emergence of poison or the appearance of the [[Mohini]] avatar (38/XXXVIII).
 
In the second account, [[Four Kumaras|Sanatkumara]] encounters Kurma at the ocean of milk after the churning took place, where the 'vast tortoise of the size of a hundred [[Yojana]]s was lying there. He looked terrified, shaking, grief-stricken and dry' due to being driven out from the water by a fish called Raghava, an [[epithet]] usually associated with the [[Rama]] avatar (Krsna-Janma Khanda: 87).
 
Kurma is also mentioned repeatedly as the support of the Earth along with the [[Naga (Hinduism)|Naga]] [[Shesha|Sesa]] or [[Ananta (infinite)|Ananta]]. Generally, it is stated that the Earth rests on the head or hood of a Naga, the Naga rests on the head of Kurma, and Kurma is supported by the Wind ([[Vayu]]) at the command of or supported itself by [[Krishna]] (Prakriti Khanda: XXXIV, Ganapati Khanda: 31,  and Krsna-Janma Khanda: 6, 21, 22, 29, 46, 55, and 73). There are variations, such as where the air supports water which supports Kurma (Prakriti Khanda: XXXIV). In these accounts, Krishna is stated to take the form of a tortoise from his ''amsha'' (part)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/amsha|title=Amsha, Aṃsa, Aṃśa, Amsa: 15 definitions|last=www.wisdomlib.org|date=2014-08-03|website=www.wisdomlib.org|access-date=2019-12-21}}</ref> and in the form of Sesa carries the entire universe on His head (Krsna-Janma Khanda: 22); Sesa states he is also from the ''amsha'' of Krishna, rests on the head of Kurma 'like a small mosquito on the elephant head', and that there are 'innumerable' [[Brahma]]s, [[Vishnu]]s, [[Shiva]]s, Sesas, and Earth-globes beside the tortoise (i.e. a Multiverse; Krsna-Janma Khanda: 29). Other details include:
 
* A worship ritual is described including the worship of Kurma in a 'triangular [[mandala]]' (i.e. a symbol; Brahma Khanda: XXVI.91-104)
* It is stated 'As a gnat mounts the back of the elephant, so this god [<nowiki/>[[Ananta (infinite)|Ananta]]] is mounted on the back of Kurma (tortoise). This kurma is a digit of the digits of [[Krishna|Krisna]]' (Brahma Khanda: XXX.1-10)
 
=== Garuda Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Garuda Purana|Gaurda]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Part 1:''' 1.24, 15, 28.5, 32.18, 53.1, 86.10-11, 114.15, 126.3, 142.2-3, 143.2-4;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.20541|title=THE GARUDA-PURANA PART. 1|last=N.A.|date=1957|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 2:''' 194.13, 196.9, 234.24;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.21508|title=THE GARUDA-PURANA PART. 2|last=N.A.|date=1957|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 3:''' 30.37, 32.45; '''Brahma Moska Kanda:''' 15, 24.89, 26.14-15 <ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12942|title=THE GARUDA-PURANA PART. 3|last=N.A|date=1957|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref>
|Part 3 (Brahma Moska Kanda) 1.51-52 classifies Puranas.
|}
 
{{quote|Taking the form of a Tortoise he [<nowiki/>[[Vishnu]]] lifted the mountain Mandara on his back for the benefit of all. At the time of churning the milky ocean, he took the form of the first physician [[Dhanvantari]] and holding the vessel full of Nectar rose up from the ocean. He taught the science of medicine and health with its eightfold sub-divisions to [[Sushruta|Susruta]]. [[Hari]] took the form of a lady [i.e. [[Mohini]]] and made [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] drink nectar.|source=Garuda Purana (translated by 'a board of scholars', 1957), Part 1, Chapter 142, Verses 2-5|sign=}}
[[File:Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Chamba - Vishnu on Ananta, the Endless Serpent - 2018.155 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|280x280px|[[Vishnu]] resting on [[Ananta (infinite)|Ananta]]-[[Shesha|Sesa]], with [[Lakshmi]] massaging His feet.]]
In the [[Garuda Purana]], two accounts of Kurma relating to the [[Samudra manthan]] are given, both of which are brief and almost identical (Part 1: 142.2-5 and Part 3: 15.16-18). Notably, the second account explicitly names the 'pretty damsel' ('lady' in the first) as [[Mohini]], and is itself within a chapter that lists other avatars of Vishnu to include prince [[Sānanda samādhi|Sanandana]] and [[Aitareya Brahmana|Mahidasa]], expounder of the [[Pancharatra|Pancaratra]] philosophy. Other details include:
 
* Kurma is stated to be the 11th overall incarnation of [[Vishnu]] (Part 1: 1.24), and the second of His ten primary avatars ([[Dashavatara]]; Part 1: 86.10-11 and Part 3: 30.37)
* 'Kurma' is one of the thousand names ([[Vishnu Sahasranama|Sahasranama]]) of [[Vishnu]] (Part 1: 15)
* Relating to sacred rites ([[Vrata]]s). 'In the middle [of the mystical diagram] the ''Adharasakti'' (the supporting power), Kurma (the tortoise) and [[Ananta (infinite)|Ananta]] (Lord Visnu's serpent bed) should be worshipped' (Part 1: 126.3)
* Kurma is associated with the south-west (196.9); [[Vishnu]] 'the base' (of all) as well as [[Ananta (infinite)|Ananta]] and Kurma  (Part 2: 234.24)
* Relating to the support of existence, it is stated that 'Above the pedestal, to [[Lakshmi|Laksmi]] called [[Shakti|Sakti]], the support of the universe. Above the pedestal, to [[Vayu]] and Kurma. Above that to [[Shesha|Sesa]] and Kurma' (Part 3: Brahma Moska Kanda: 24.89)
 
=== Kurma Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Kurma Purana|Kurma]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|1; (Kasyapa) 15.5-15; Krishna: 25.67-73<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/kurmapuranaTRkashirajtrust1972|title=Kūrmapurāṇa (Kashiraj Trust edition with English translation)|last=Gupta|first=Anand Swarup|date=1972}}</ref>
|Kurma is the narrator of this [[Puranas|Purana]]. 15.5-15 names the 13 daughters of [[Daksha]] given to [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] as wives to be [[Aditi]], [[Diti]], Arista, [[Surasa]], Surabhu, [[Vinata]], Tamra, [[Krodhavasa]], Ira, [[Kadru]] and [[Muni (Hinduism)|Muni]].
|}
 
{{quote|In the past the Gods together with the [[Daitya]]s and [[Danava (Hinduism)|Danavas]] churned the Ocean of Milk for the sake of nectar by using the Mandara (mountain) as the churning rod. At that time lord [[Vishnu|Visnu]], the slayer of Jana in the form of a Tortoise held the Mandara (mountain) for the purpose of rendering benefit to the Gods. On seeing the indestructible lord Vishnu in the form of a Tortoise, the Gods and the great sages headed by [[Narada]] were also highly pleased. In the meantime (out of the Ocean) came out Goddess Sri ([[Lakshmi|Laksmi]]) the beloved of [[Narayana]]; and lord Visnu, Parusottama, betook her (as his spouse).|source=Kurma Purana (translated by A.S. Gupta, 1972), Part 1, Chapter 1, Verses 27-29|sign=}}
 
The translator, Gupta, states in the introduction that the [[Kurma Purana]] is named as such 'because is was narrated by Kurma first to [[Indradyumna|Indrayumna]] and then to the sages and the gods'. Otherwise, this [[Puranas|Purana]] does not seem to elaborate or expand on the legend or characteristics of the Kurma avatar or [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]]. However, notably, there is an account of Brahma travelling across the waters and to his surprise encountering Krishna, which seems to parallel the account of [[Prajapati]] encountering the Tortoise in the [[Taittiriya Shakha|Taittirtya Aranyaka]] (relating to the Black [[Yajurveda|YajurVeda]], see above).
 
=== Linga Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Linga Purana|Linga]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Part 1:''' 8.58-26, 8.63-67, 55.58-61, 63.22b-26, 67.15-24, ;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/LingaPuranaJ.L.ShastriPart1|title=Linga Purana - English Translation - Part 1 of 2|last=J.L.Shastri|date=1951}}</ref> '''Part 2:''' 17.37-38, 24.21, 48.30-32, 96.17-22, 96.46-50, 98<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/LingaPuranaJ.L.ShastriPart2|title=Linga Purana - English Translation - Part 2 of 2|last=J.L.Shastri|date=1951}}</ref>
|Part 2 continues up to chapter 108 and then starts at chapter 1 again.
|}
 
{{quote|O lord [[Vishnu|Visnu]], you have incarnated for the happiness of the world... You held aloft the Mandara mountain in the form of a tortoise...|source=Linga Purana (translated by J.L.Shastri), Part 2 Chapter 96, Verses 17-22|sign=}}
 
It seems that the [[Linga Purana]] does not relate the legend of [[Samudra manthan]], although a brief mention is made, as quoted above. Other details include:
* Kurma is mentioned as the seat of [[Shiva]] in ritual worship (Part 2: 24.21), and it is stated that the skull of Kurma is strung on the necklace of Shiva (Part 2: 96.46-50)
* Kurma is one of the 10 primary avatars of [[Vishnu]] ([[Dashavatara]]) for the good of the world; other [[avatar]]s are due to the curse of [[Bhrigu|Bhrgu]] (Part 2: 48.30-32)
 
=== Markandeya Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Markandeya Purana|Markandeya]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|XXXIX.31-35, XLVII.7, LIII, LIV.31, LXVIII.21, LXVIII.23<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.163375|title=Markandeya Puranam.|last=Dutt|first=Manmatha Nath|date=1896}}</ref>
|
|}
It seems that the [[Markandeya Purana]] does not relate the legend of [[Samudra manthan]], although the Kurma incarnation of [[Vishnu]] is briefly mentioned (XLVII.7), and an entire chapter is dedicated to describing the lands and people related to Kurma, as narrated by the sage [[Markandeya]] (LIII). Other details include:
 
* It is stated 'Like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs, he, who, restraining his desires, lives with his mind centered in the souls, sees the Divine soul in the human soul' (XXXIX.31-35) and 'Even as the tortoise withdraws unto itself all its lines, so having drawn unto him people's hearts, he himself exists with his own mind perfectly restrained' (LXVIII.23)
* Vishnu resides in [[Bharata Khanda|Bharata]] as the tortoise (LIV.31)
* It is stated 'The man, who is looked on by the [[Nidhi]] the Kacchapa (tortoise), becomes possessed of the quality of [[Tamas (philosophy)|Tamas]]' (LXVIII.21)
 
=== Matsya Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Matsya Purana|Matsya]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|X.6-7, XLVII.41-45, LIV.15, XCIII.124, CCXV.67-68, CCXLVI.53-65, CCXLIX-CCLI,<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.135360|title=The Matsya Puranam|last=Taluqdar|first=a|date=1916}}</ref>
|}
 
{{quote|<poem>...the turtle [Kurma] said - "When I can easily hold all the three regions on my back, how can I feel the weight of this Mandara mountain?" [[Shesha|Sesa]] said "I can coil round the three regions what difficulty can therefore be in my coiling round this Mandara mountain?" Afterwards all the Devas and the demons hurled Manarachala into the milk-ocean, after which Sesa coiled round it, and Kurma (turtle) placed Himself underneath it as the support of the mountain...
 
When all the Devas and the demons were overcome with fatigue in churning the ocean, [[Indra]] caused the rains and cool wind to refresh them. But, in spite of all that when the Lord [[Brahma]] found them giving way to fatigue, He shouted out "Go on churning. Those who persevere are undoubtedly blessed with the highest prosperity".</poem>|source=Matsya Purana (translated by A. Taluqdar, 1916), Chapter CCXLIX (249), Verses 25-36 and 55-57|sign=}}
[[File:Godofayurveda.jpg|left|thumb|210x210px|[[Dhanvantari]].|alt=]]
The [[Matsya Purana]] dedicates several chapters to the legend of the [[Samudra manthan]], which itself contains several notable variances. In this account, the [[Daitya]]s led by [[Mahabali|Bali]] repeatedly defeat the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] led by [[Indra]] due to being resurrected by the sage [[Shukra|Sukra]] (son of [[Bhrigu|Bhrgu]]) when killed, using a mantra provided by [[Shiva]]. Advised by [[Brahma]], the Devas secure an alliance with Bali in [[Patala]], the agreement of Mandarachala (king of the mountains) to be used as a churning rod, and the agreement of [[Shesha|Sesa]] and Kurma - said to be 'endowed with 1/4 of Vishnu's power... to support the Earth' - as the rope and base of the churning rod, respectively. Unable the churn the Ocean of Milk by themselves, the Devas and Asuras approach [[Vishnu]] 'absorbed in deep meditation' in [[Vaikuntha]] for help, who agrees (CCXLIX).
 
After producing several auspicious items (e.g. the [[Kaustubha|Kaustubha Gem]]) and beings (e.g. [[Lakshmi]]), several 'venomous insects and terrible beings' are produced along with 'hundreds of poisonous things' such as [[Halahala]], before the emergence of a powerful poison-being called Kalakuta that wishes to destroy both the Devas and Demons. After challenging them to either swallow him or 'go to Lord [[Shiva]]', the latter is approached and swallows the poison-being before returning to his abode (CCL). The [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]] being churned once again produces more auspicious beings and items, including [[Dhanvantari]] with the nectar of immortality ([[Amrita]]), before [[Vishnu]] 'assumes the form of a bewitching damsel' ([[Mohini]]) to take the nectar from the Asuras and give it to the Devas. The Asuras are then destroyed by Vishnu in battle using His 'terrible [[Sudarshana Chakra|Chakra]]' (CCLI). Other details include:
 
* The [[Samudra manthan]] is stated to have taken place in the fourth of twelve wars between the Devas and Asuras (XLVII.41-45)
* A verse of a mantra referencing Kurma is related to the throat and the feet (LIV.15)
* It is stated 'He should guard his limbs of body and keep them secret just as a tortoise' (CCXV.67-68)
 
=== Narada Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Narada Purana|Narada]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Part 1:''' 2.37, 10.3-4;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12945|title=THE NARADA-PURANA PART. 1|last=N.A|date=1950|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED, DELHI DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 2:''' 44.26b-28a, 50.89-91, 54.11, 56.739b-745, 59.36, 62.53;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.20659|title=THE NARADA-PURANA PART. 2|last=N.A.|date=1950|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 3:''' 82.6-7, 89;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.21516|title=THE NARADA-PURANA PART. 3|last=N.A.|date=1952|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 4:''' 119.14-19, '''Uttara Bhaga:''' 8.7-11;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12976|title=THE NARADA-PURANA PART. 4|last=N.A|date=1952|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 5:''' '''Uttara Bhaga:''' 52.29b-35, 68.4<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12978|title=THE NARADA-PURANA PART. 5|last=N.A|date=1952|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref>
|The Narada Purana focuses on worship and rituals.
|}
 
{{quote|It was this [Mandara] mountain that was formerly lifted up by [[Hari]] (in the form of [the] Divine Tortoise) and used for churning (the milk ocean) by the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] and [[Danava (Hinduism)|Danavas]]. Sindhu (the ocean) which extends to six hundred thousand Yojanas is the deep pit made by this mountain. This great mountain was not broken even when it rubbed against the physical body of the Divine Tortoise. O leading king, when it fell into the ocean all the hidden parts of the ocean were exposed by the mountain. O Brahmanas, water gushed out from this mountain [and] went up through the path of the Brahmanda (Cosmic Egg). Great fire was generated by this mountain due to attrition when it came into contact with the bony shell of the (Divine) Tortoise... It was for a great period of time viz. ten thousand years than this mountain ground and rubbed the armlets of the discus-bearing Lord.|source= Narada Purana (unknown translator), Part 4, Uttara Bhaga, Chapter 8, Verses 7-8 and 11|sign=}}
[[File:Narad - Vintage Print.jpg|thumb|280x280px|[[Narada]] with his [[Veena]] (or Vina).]]
In the [[Naradiya Purana|Narada Purana]], a brief synopsis of the [[Samudra manthan]] is given by [[Brahma]] to [[Mohini]], as quoted above (Part 4: 8.7-11). There are two other notable mentions of this legend. The first is by [[Shaunaka|Saunaka]] who said 'When there was an impediment at the time of churning the ocean for the sake of nectar, he [Kurma] held the mount Mandara on his back, for the welfare of the gods. I seek refuge in that Tortoise' (Part 1: 2.37). In the second, it is stated 'it was when the milk-ocean was churning that [[Kaumodaki|Kamoda]] was born among the four jewels of Virgins' (Part 5: Uttara Bhaga: 68.4). Other details include:
 
* Several [[Allegory|allegories]] of the tortoise drawing in its limbs are given, including in relation to the creation and withdrawal of living beings (Part 2: 44.26b-28a) and withdrawing the sense organs (Part 2: 50.89-91, and 59.36)
* The division of the Earth - ''Kurma-vibhaga'' - is in relation to the [[Hindu astrology|Jyotisa]], an auxiliary text of the [[Vedas]] (Part 2: 54.11 and 56.739b-745)
*Kurma is one of the ten primary avatars ([[Dashavatara]]) of [[Vishnu]] (Part 4: 119.14-19)
 
=== Padma Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Padma Purana|Padma]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Part 1:''' 3.25b-29, 4, 5.81-87, 13.146b, 13.180, 13.186, 14.22-27;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/padma_purana_part1_english|title=Padma Purana Part 1 Srishti Khanda Motilal Banarsidass 1988|last=N. A. Deshpande|date=1988-01-01}}</ref> '''Part 2:''' 41.38-44a, 47.77-78, 47.85, b-8649.120-122a, 53.3, 75.90;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/padma_purana_part2_english|title=Padma Purana Part 2 Srishti Khanda Motilal Banarsidass 1989|last=N. A. Deshpande|date=1989-01-01}}</ref> '''Part 5:''' 8-10;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.21800|title=THE PADMA-PURANA PART. 5|last=N.A|date=1952|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 6:''' 78.28-43;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.22055|title=THE PADMA-PURANA PART. 6|last=N.A|date=1952|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 7:''' 5.12-20, 30.11-15, 66.44-54, 71.23-29b, 71.169-188, 71.244-264, 78.16-29;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12949|title=THE PADMA-PURANA PART. 7|last=N.A|date=1952|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 8:''' 97.6b-8, 120.51b-73;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12952|title=THE PADMA-PURANA PART. 8|last=N.A|date=1952|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 9:''' 228.19-24, 229.40-44, 230.3-11, 231–232, 237.15-19;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12954|title=THE PADMA-PURANA PART. 9|last=N.A|date=1956|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 10:''' 6.175-190, 11.80-89, 11.92b-101, 17.103-117<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.21961|title=THE PADMA-PURANA PART.10|last=N.A.|date=1956|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref>
|No notable mentions in parts 3 or 4<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.21960|title=THE PADMA-PURANA PART. 3|last=N.A.|date=1951|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12948|title=THE PADMA-PURANA PART. 4|last=N.A|date=1952|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref>
|}
 
{{quote|[[Vishnu|Visnu]] himself, remaining in the ocean in the form of a tortoise, nourished the gods with unusual lustre... the goddess [[Varuni]] became (manifest), Her eyes were rolling about due to intoxication... [she said:] "I am a goddess giving strength. The demons may take me". Regarding Varuni as impure, the gods let her go. Then the demons took her. She became wine after being taken (by them)... Then the deadly poison (came up). By it all gods and demons with (other) deities were afflicted. Mahadeva [<nowiki/>[[Shiva]]] took and drank that poison at his will. Due to drinking it Mahadeva had his throat turned dark blue. The [[Nāga|Nagas]] drank the remaining poison that had come up from the White [Milky] Ocean.|source=Padma Purana (translated by N.A. Deshpande, 1988), Part 1, Chapter 4, Verses 41-56}}
[[File:Raja Ravi Varma, Goddess Lakshmi, 1896.jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|The Goddess [[Lakshmi]], consort of [[Vishnu]] also known as 'Sri'.]]
In the [[Padma Purana]] three accounts of the [[Samudra manthan]] are given, all beginning with [[Indra]] being cursed by [[Durvasa]]s for arrogance. In the first, narrated by [[Pulastya]], as a result of the curse the 'three worlds, along with Indra, were void of affluence... [and] the [[Daitya]]s (sons of [[Diti]]) and [[Danava (Hinduism)|Danavas]] (sons of [[Danu (Asura)|Danu]]) started military operations against [the] gods', forcing them to seek refuge with [[Vishnu]]. [[Vasuki]] is used as a rope to churn the ocean. Notably, during the churning, [[Varuni]] (Goddess of Wine) is upon emerging rejected by the gods and accepted by the [[Asura]]s, the opposite of the account given in the [[Brahmanda Purana]] (to explain the meaning of 'Asura'). Unnamed poison also emerges which is drunk by [[Shiva]], before the emergence of [[Dhanvantari]] with the nectar of immortality ([[Amrita]]) as well as [[Lakshmi]]. Although the Asuras take the nectar, Vishnu assumes the form of [[Mohini]] to trick them and give it to the gods. The Asuras are destroyed, with the Danavas since then becoming 'eager for (the company of) ladies' (Part 1: 4).
 
{{quote|O gods, Indira (i.e. [[Lakshmi|Laksmi]]), due to whose mere glance the world is endowed with glory, has vanished due to the curse of the [[Brahmin|Brahmana]] (viz. [[Durvasa]]s). Then, O gods, all of you, along with the demons, having uprooted the golden mountain Mandara and making it, with the king of serpents going round it, the churning-rod, churn the milky ocean. O gods, from it Laksmi, the mother of the world will spring up. O glorious ones, there is no doubt that because of her you will be delighted. I myself, in the form of a tortoise, shall fully hold the (Mandara) mountain (on my back).|source=Padma Purana (translated by N.A. Deshpande, 1988), Part 5, Chapter 8, Verses 19b-23}}
[[File:Dashavatara.jpg|thumb|280x280px|the [[Dashavatara]], or ten principle [[avatar]]s of [[Vishnu]].]]
In the second account, narrated by [[Sūta|Suta]], as a result of the curse the 'mother of the worlds' ([[Lakshmi]]) disappears, and the world is ruined by drought and famine, forcing the gods - oppressed by hunger and thirst - to seek refuge with [[Vishnu]] at the shore of the [[Kshir Sagar|Milky Ocean]] (Part 5: 8). [[Ananta (infinite)|Ananta]] ([[Vasuki]] in the first account) is used as a churning rope. On [[Ekadashi]] day, the poison Kalakuta emerges, which is swallowed by [[Shiva]] 'meditating upon Vishnu in his heart'. An evil being called [[Alakshmi|Alaksmi]] (i.e. a-Laksmi or 'not [[Lakshmi|Laksmi]]') them emerges and is told to reside in places such as where there is quarrel, gambling, adultery, theft, and so forth (Part 5: 9). The churning continues and auspicious beings and items emerge, including 'the brother of Laksmi, [who] sprang up with nectar. (So also) [[Ocimum tenuiflorum|Tulasi]] [i.e. [[Lakshmi]]], Visnu's wife'. On this occasion, Vishnu assumes the form of [[Mohini]] merely to distribute the nectar amongst the gods, without mention of tricking the Asuras (Part 5: 10).
 
The third account, narrated by [[Shiva]], is very similar to the others except with a far greater emphasis on [[Lakshmi]], and although the poison Kalakuta emerges and is swallowed by Shiva, there is no mention of Alaksmi or the Mohini avatar (Part 9: 231–232). The [[Nāga|Naga]] used as a rope for churning is referred to as 'the Lord of the Serpents' (likely [[Ananta (infinite)|Ananta]]). Other details include:
 
* Kurma is mentioned as an avatar of [[Vishnu]] (Part 1: 3.25b-29), as a giver of boons (Part 1: 5.81-87), and is stated to have appeared during the fourth war between the Devas and Asuras (Part 1: 13.180); during the churning, [[Indra]] is stated to have vanquished [[Prahlada]] (Part 1: 13.186)
* Relating to Kurma as the [[World Turtle|world-turtle]], it is stated 'Due to truth (alone), the sun rises; also the wind blows; the ocean would (i.e. does) not cross its boundary nor would (i.e. does) the Tortoise avert (sustaining) the earth' (Part 2: 53.3); Kurma is also mentioned as the 'first tortoise', the prop of everything, cause of production of ambrosia, and the support of the Earth (Part 7: 71.169-188); finally, after raising the earth from the waters in the form of a boar ([[Varaha]]), it is stated that [[Vishnu]] placed it on the head of [[Shesha|Sesa]] before taking the form of Kurma (Part 9: 237.15-19)
* Kurma is named as one of the 10 primary avatars ([[Dashavatara]]) of [[Vishnu]] by [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]] (Part 7: 66.44-54), [[Brahma]] (Part 7: 71.23-29b), and [[Shiva]] (Part 9: 229.40-44)
* The [[Shaligram|salagrama]] of Kurma is described as 'raised, round on the surface, and is filled with a disc (like figure). Marked with Kaustubha, it has a green colour' (Part 8: 20.51b-73)
* Kurma is stated to reside in [[Vaikuntha]] (Part 9: 228.19-24); and is one of the 108 names of Vishnu (Part 10: 17.103-117)
* Shiva gives salutations to Kurma, who 'extracted the Earth along with mountains, forests and groves, from inside the water of the deep ocean' (Part 10:  6.175-190)
 
=== Shiva Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Shiva Purana|Shiva]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Part 2:''' 1.44-45, 16.5;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/SivaPuranaJ.L.ShastriPart2|title=Siva Purana - English Translation - Part 2 of 4|last=J.L.Shastri|date=1950}}</ref> '''Part 3:''' 11.19, 11.49-50, 16, 22;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/SivaPuranaJ.L.ShastriPart3|title=Siva Purana - English Translation - Part 3 of 4|last=J.L.Shastri|date=1950}}</ref> '''Part 4:''' 4.53, 10.38, 31.134-136, 37.35-39<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/SivaPuranaJ.L.ShastriPart4|title=Siva Purana - English Translation - Part 4 of 4|last=J.L.Shastri|date=1950}}</ref>
|Nothing notable in part 1<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/SivaPuranaJ.L.ShastriPart1|title=Siva Purana - English Translation - Part 1 of 4|last=J.L.Shastri|date=1950}}</ref>
|}
 
In the [[Shiva Purana]], neither of the two accounts of the [[Samudra manthan]] mention Kurma. Poison is generated by the churning in both accounts, although only in the first account is [[Shiva]] stated to have drank it (Part 3: 16). The second mentions the [[Mohini]] avatar of [[Vishnu]] incarnating at the 'behest of [[Shiva|Siva]]' (Part 3: 22). Other details include:
 
* It stated that 'On account of the [sexual] alliance of [[Shiva|Siva]] and [[Parvati]], the earth quaked with the weight along with [[Shesha|Sesa]] (the serpent) and Kacchapa (the tortoise [i.e. Kurma]). By the weight of Kacchapa, the cosmic air, the support of everything, was stunned and the three worlds became terrified and agitated' (Part 2: 1.44-45); Kurma supports the Earth (Part 3: 11.19)
* The skull of Kurma is stated to be in the necklace of [[Shiva]] (Part 3: 11.49-50)
* Kurma is named as one of the 10 primary avatars ([[Dashavatara]]) of [[Vishnu]] (Part 4: 31.134-136)
* One of the ten 'vital breaths' ([[prana]] or [[Vayu]]) is called 'Kurma' (Part 4: 37.35-36) and is stated to be for 'the activity of closing the eyes' (Part 4: 37.39; the [[Agni Purana]] states it to be for opening the eyes)
 
=== Skanda Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Skanda Purana|Skanda]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Part 1:''' 8.89, 9-12;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12961|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART. 1|last=N.A|date=1950|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 2:''' 47.12-15;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13010|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART. 2|last=N.A|date=1950|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 3:''' Uttarardha: 11.8-11;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.20835|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART. 3|last=N.A.|date=1951|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 4:''' Venkatacala Mahatmya: 11, 20.81, 36.20-26;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13009|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART. 4|last=N.A|date=1951|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 5:''' Purusottama-Ksetra Mahatmya: 15.30, 22.32-43;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.20756|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART. 5|last=N.A.|date=1951|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 6:''' Margasirsa Mahatmya: 3.23-29;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.20761|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART. 6|last=N.A.|date=1951|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 7:''' Vasudeva-Mamatmya: 9-14, 18.12-20, 27.32-33;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13008|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART. 7|last=N.A|date=1951|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 8:''' Setu Mahatmya: 3.81-82, 37.15-20, 46.31-36;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.22054|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART. 8|last=N.A.|date=1953|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 9:''' Dharmaranya Khanda: 19.16, 20.20-23;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.21994|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART. 9|last=N.A.|date=1953|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 10:''' Purvardha: 8.100, 29.17-168, 32.69-71, 41.102, 50;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13007|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.10|last=N.A|date=1953|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 11:''' Uttarardha: 51, 70.69;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13006|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.11|last=N.A|date=1955|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 12:''' Avantiksetra Mahatmya: 42.12-14, 44 63.83;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.22009|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.12|last=N.A.|date=1955|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 14:''' Reva Khanda: 7;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.100076|title=The Skanda-purana Part.14|last=Not Available|date=1957}}</ref> '''Part 15:''' Reva Khanda: 151.1-17, 181.56-65, 182.1-22;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.20778|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.15|last=N.A.|date=1957|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 17:''' Nagara Khanda: 144.117;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13004|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.17|last=N.A|date=1958|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 18:''' Nagara Khanda: 210, 262.21-22, 271.245-455;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13003|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.18|last=N.A|date=1960|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 19:''' Prabhasa-Ksetra Mahatmya: 7.17-37, 11.18, 32.100-103a, 81.23-24;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13002|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.19|last=N.A|date=1960|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 20:''' Prabhasa Khanda: 167.33, 199.11-12<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13000|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.20|last=N.A|date=1960|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref>
|Nothing notable in parts 13 or 16.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.20764|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.13|last=N.A.|date=1955|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. DELHI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13005|title=THE SKANDA-PURANA PART.16|last=N.A|date=1958|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI}}</ref> Part 15 relates that Hamsa, one of Kasyapa's sons, became the mount of [[Brahma]] (221.1-6)
|}
 
{{quote|As the Ocean of Milk was being churned, the mountain sank deep into [[Patala#Rasatala|Rasatala]]. At that very instant, the Lord of [[Rama]], [[Vishnu|Visnu]], became a tortoise and lifted it up. That was something really marvellous... The excellent mountain had [[adamant]]ine strength. It rolled on the back, neck, thighs, and space between the knees of the noble-souled tortoise. Due to the friction of these two, submarine [i.e. underwater] fire was generated.|source=Skanda Purana (Unknown translator, 1951), Part 1, Chapter 9, Verses 86 and 91}}
[[File:Watercolour painting on paper of Bṛhaspati, a Vedic deity holding a lotus flower.jpg|left|thumb|230x230px|The sage [[Bṛhaspati]], who curses [[Indra]] in some accounts of the [[Samudra manthan]].]]
In the [[Skanda Purana]] four accounts of the [[Samudra manthan]] are given. In the first, the churning of the [[Kshir Sagar|ocean of Milk]] takes place after [[Indra]] is cursed by the sage [[Bṛhaspati|Brhaspati]], resulting in the disappearance of [[Lakshmi]], misery to all, and ruin of the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]], defeated in battle by the [[Asura]]s who take their precious items such as gems to [[Patala]]. On the advice of [[Brahma]], Indra and the Devas make a pact with [[Mahabali|Bali]], leader of Asuras, to recover the gems from the Ocean of Milk. Unable to move the Mandara mountain to use as a churning rod, [[Vishnu]] is asked for help, who arrives on [[Garuda]], takes the mountain to the ocean, and incarnates as Kurma. [[Vasuki]] is used as the churning rope. The Kalakuta poison generated envelopes the Devas and [[Daitya]]s - causing ignorance and lust - before enveloping all existence (including [[Vaikuntha]]) and reducing the [[World egg|cosmic egg]] to ash (Part 1: 9). [[Shiva]] is approached for refuge, and the origin and need to worship [[Ganesha]] to 'achieve success in undertaking' is explained before Shiva drinks the poison (Part 1: 10). More information on Ganesha-worship is given before the churning resumes, producing many auspicious items and beings, including Lakshmi (Part 1: 11). [[Dhanvantari]] emerges with the nectar of immortality ([[Amrita]]), which is taken by the Asuras. Vishnu incarnates as [[Mohini]], and despite warning Bali that 'Women should never be trusted by a wise man' is still given the nectar which She gives to the Devas (Part 1: 12).
 
In the second account, Indra is again cursed by the sage [[Bṛhaspati|Brhaspati]] (Part 7: 8), resulting in the disappearance of [[Lakshmi|Laksmi]], and with her, an absence of 'Penance, Purity, Mercy, Truth... True [[Dharma]], Prosperity... Strength [and] [[Sattva]] (quality of goodness)'. Hunger, poverty, anger, lust, flesh-eating, and perverse-thinking abound, including belief that [[adharma]] is [[dharma]], and perverse interpretations of the [[Vedas]] to justify killing animals (Part 7: 9). [[Vishnu]] is approached for refuge by the Devas and instructs them to churn the [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]] (Part 7: 10). Indra forms a pact with the Asuras, [[Shesha|Sesa]] is used as a churning rope with the Mandara Mountain, and Vishnu incarnates as Kurma as the base. After a thousand years of churning the poison [[Halahala]] is generated and swallowed by Shiva; the drops that fell are taken by serpents, scorpions, and some [[Medicine|medicinal]] plants (Part 7: 11). The churning continues for another thousand years, producing auspicious items and beings, including Laksmi (Part 7: 12). [[Dhanvantari]] emerges with the pitcher of [[Amrita]] which is taken by the Asuras, and Vishnu assumes 'a marvellously beautiful feminine form that enchanted all the world' ([[Mohini]]). Despite warning the Asuras not to trust her, Mohini is given the Amrita which is handed to the Devas before the Asuras are destroyed in battle (Part 7: 13).
[[File:Raja Ravi Varma, Mohini (Oleograph).jpg|thumb|200x200px|[[Mohini]], the female enchantress avatar of [[Vishnu]].]]
In the third brief account, the churning takes place after 'a great loss of gems due to wicked souls' and the loss of righteousness. [[Vasuki]] is used as the churning cord as the Devas and Asuras 'placed the main plant of activity on the back of the (divine) tortoise and churned out the precious gems'. Many auspicious items and beings are generated, including Sura (alcohol; in other accounts [[Varuni]]) and [[Dhanvantari]]. Quarreling ensues between the Devas and Asuras, and Vishnu incarnates as 'the fascinating form of a woman' ([[Mohini]]) to beguile the demons as [[Indra]] gives them the Sura and via 'sleight of hand' takes the [[Amrita]]. Halahala poison is also generated which is consumed by [[Shiva]] (Part 12: 44).
 
In the fourth account, the legend is briefly retold by [[Vishvamitra|Visvamitra]]. The details are much the same as the previous accounts, with Vasuki as the cord as the 'Kacchapa (Tortoise incarnation of [[Vishnu|Visnu]]) held up (the mountain)', including the Kalakuta poison drunk by [[Shiva]] and the incarnation of [[Mohini]] to trick the Asuras. The notable exception is that the churning first produces a 'hideous' family of three of [[Samudra manthan|Ratnas]] (jewels); rejected by both the Devas and [[Danava (Hinduism)|Danavas]], they are accepted by Ka (i.e. [[Brahma]]; Part 18: 210).
 
Notably, reminiscent the account of [[Prajapati]] and the [[Tortoise]] in the [[Taittiriya Shakha|Taittiriya Aranyaka]] (see above), there is also an account, during the time of the universal dissolution, when [[Brahma]] 'assumed the form of a ''Khadyota'' ([[Firefly]], Glow-worm)' and moved about for a thousand divine years before finding 'the Lord [<nowiki/>[[Vishnu]]] asleep in the form of a tortoise'. Woken by Brahma, Vishnu 'got up ejecting the three worlds that had been swallowed at the time of the close of the [previous] [[Kalpa (aeon)|Kalpa]]' with all creation - including the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]], [[Danava (Hinduism)|Danavas]], moon, sun, and planets - being generated from and by Him. Vishnu also sees the Earth 'was in the great ocean perched on the back of the tortoise' (Part 14: Reva Khanda: 7). Other details include:
 
* Kurma is mentioned to have held the Mandara Mountain (Part 1: 8.89);
* After being resorted to by [[Tara (Devi)|Tara]] and 'Permeated by her, Kurma, the sire of the universe, lifted up the [[Vedas]]' (Part 2: 47.12-15)
* Exploring the [[Lingam|Linga]] of [[Shiva]], 'The primordial Tortoise that was stationed as the bulbous root of the Golden Mountain as well as its support was seen by Acyuta [Vishnu]'; It is also by Shiva's blessing that [[Shesha|Sesa]], Kurma, and others are capable of bearing the burden of that Linga (Part 3: Uttarardha: 11.8-11)
* After [[Varaha]] lifted the earth out of the waters, [[Vishnu]] 'placed the Elephants of the Quarters, the King of Serpents and the Tortoise for giving her extra support. That receptacle of Mercy ([[Hari]]) willingly applied his own [[Shakti|Sakti]] (power) in an unmanifest form as a support for them all' (Part 4: Venkatacala Mahatmya: 36.20-26); [[Bhrigu|Bhrgu]] also states Kurma supports the earth (Part 15: Reva-Khanda: 182.1-22); and [[Shesha|Sesa]] and Kurma are also later stated to stabilise the Earth (Part 17: Nagara Khanda: 144.117)
* Kurma is mentioned where [[Vishnu]] is stated to be the annihilator in the form of [[Rudra]] (Part 5: Purusottama-Ksetra Mahatmya:  22.32-43)
* Kurma is named as one of 12 incarnations of [[Vishnu]], who states to [[Brahma]]:
 
{{quote|When the sons of [[Kashyapa|Kasyapa]] (i.e. [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] and [[Asura]]s) will churn the ocean for (obtaining) nectar, I [<nowiki/>[[Vishnu]]], assuming the form of a tortoise, will bear on my back Mount Mandara used as the churning rod.|source=Skanda Purana (Unknown translator, 1951), Part 7, Chapter 18, Verses 12-20}}
 
* In the procedure for [[Puja (Hinduism)|Puja]] [[Mandala]] construction, [[Matsya]] and Kurma should be installed in the South-West and depicted as animals below the waist but in human form above (Part 7: Vasudeva-Mamatmya: 27.32-33)
*It is stated that the [[Lingam|Linga]] of [[Shiva]] evolved from 'the back of a tortoise (shell)' (Part 9: Dharmaranya Khanda: 19.16) and that 'The [[Bījā|Bija]] [origin] of Vahni (Fire) is accompanied by (the seed of) [[Vayu|Vata]] (Wind) and the Bija of Kurma (tortoise)' (Part 9: Dharmaranya Khanda: 20.20-23)
*It is stated that 'Like a tortoise that withdraws all its limbs, he who withdraws the sense-organs though the proper procedure of [[Pratyahara]] shall become free from sins' (Part 10: Purvardha: 41.102)
*[[Kumari (goddess)|Kumari]] - the [[Shakti]] of Kurma - has a noose in her hand and is located to the south of [[Lakshmi|Mahalaksmi]] (Part 11: Uttarardha: 70.69)
*'Kurma' is one of the thousand names ([[Vishnu Sahasranama]]) of [[Vishnu]] (Part 12: Avantiksetra Mahatmya: 63.83)
*Kurma is listed in the [[Dashavatara]], or ten primary incarnations of Vishnu (Part 15: Reva-Khanda, 151.1-7)
*[[Bhrigu|Bhrgu]] refers to a Ksetra (temple) that stands on Kaccapa (i.e. a tortoise) and states there will be a city named after Him, ''Bhrgukaccha'' (Part 15: Reva-Khanda: 182.1-22)
*The star constellations in the form of Kurma (i.e. the tortoise) are discussed, where it is also stated Kurma is stationed in [[Bharata Khanda|Bharata]] and faces the east (Part 19: Prabhasa-Ksetra Mahatmya: 7.17-37 and 11.18)
*A Holy spot called Prabhasa in [[Bharata Khanda|Bharata]] is located to the south-west of the shrine of Kurma (Part 20: Prabhasa Khanda: 167.33)
 
=== Varaha Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Varaha Purana|Varaha]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Part 1:''' 4.2-3, 8.43, 12.10, 40, 41.46-48, 48.17, 55.36-39, 113.21, 113.42;<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12962|title=THE VARAHA PURANA PART. 1|last=N.A|date=1960|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS, DELHI}}</ref> '''Part 2:''' 163.35, 211.69<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12972|title=THE VARAHA PURANA PART. 2|last=N.A|date=1960|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS, DELHI}}</ref>
|}
 
{{quote|...[''Kurmadvadasivrata'': In] the month of Pausa ([[Makara (month)|Makara]]) [[Amrita|amrta]] was churned from the ocean, and then lord [[Vishnu|Visnu]], on his own accord, became a Kurma (tortoise). The [[tithi]] Dasami on the bright half of this month is assigned to Visnu in the Kurma form.|source=Varaha Purana (Unknown translator, 1960), Part 1, Chapter 40, Verses 1-2|sign=}}
 
In the [[Varaha Purana]], the legend of [[Samudra manthan]] is only briefly mentioned, as quoted above. Other details include:
 
* Kurma is one of the 10 primary avatars ([[Dashavatara]]) of [[Vishnu]] (Part 1: 4.2-3, 113.42, and Part 2: 211.69)
* The feet of Vishnu should be adored as Kurma, and 'on [[Dwadashi|Dvadasi]] lord ''Kurma-Narayana'' should be propitiated by giving gifts to [[Brahmin]]s with [[Dakshina|daksina]]' (Part 1: 40.8)
 
=== Vayu Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Vayu Purana|Vayu]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|N/A
|The churning is mentioned in the context of why Shiva has a blue throat due to swallowing poison, albeit without mention of Kurma. There are no notable mentions in either parts.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12977|title=THE VAYU PURANA PART. 1|last=N.A|date=1960|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD, DELHI|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12977/page/n387 377]-382}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.20638|title=THE VAYU PURANA PART. 2|last=N.A.|date=1960|publisher=MOTILAL BANARSIDASS, DELHI}}</ref>
|}
In the [[Vayu Purana]], the legend of [[Samudra manthan]] is only briefly mentioned. Kurma is not mentioned in this account or seemingly at all in this [[Puranas|Purana]].  Otherwise, the [[allegory]] of the tortoise drawing in its limbs is made at least twice in regards to withdrawing passions and desires (Part 1: 11.19-22 and Part 2: 31.93).
 
=== Vishnu Purana ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Vishnu Purana|VIshnu]]
!References
!Notes
|-
|'''Volume 6 (Book 1):''' IV (pp.&nbsp;58), IX (pp, 135–151);<ref name=":43">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/worksbylatehorace06wils|title=Works by the late Horace Hayman Wilson (Vol. 6)|last=Wilson|first=H. H. (Horace Hayman)|date=1862|publisher=London : Trübner|others=Princeton Theological Seminary Library|pages=[https://archive.org/details/worksbylatehorace06wils/page/58 58] (Chapter IV), 135-151 (Chapter IX)}}</ref> '''Volume 7 (Book 2):''' II (pp.&nbsp;125)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/worksbylatehorac07wils|title=Works by the late Horace Hayman Wilson (Vol. 7)|last=Wilson|first=H. H. (Horace Hayman)|date=1862|publisher=London : Trübner|others=Princeton Theological Seminary Library|pages=[https://archive.org/details/worksbylatehorac07wils/page/73 73], 125}}</ref>
|The Vishnu Purana is in six books, here cited as part of the works of [[Horace Hayman Wilson|H.H. Wilson]]. Kurma is not mentioned in books 3, 4, 5, or 6.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/worksbylatehorac08wils|title=Works by the late Horace Hayman Wilson (Vol. 8)|last=Wilson|first=H. H. (Horace Hayman)|date=1862|publisher=London : Trübner|others=Princeton Theological Seminary Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/worksbylatehorace09wils|title=Works by the late Horace Hayman Wilson (Vol. 9)|last=Wilson|first=H. H. (Horace Hayman)|date=1862|publisher=London : Trübner|others=Princeton Theological Seminary Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/worksbylatehorace10wils|title=Works by the late Horace Hayman Wilson (Vol. 10)|last=Wilson|first=H. H. (Horace Hayman)|date=1862|publisher=London : Trübner|others=Princeton Theological Seminary Library}}</ref>
|}
[[File:Vishnu Laxmi and Serpent Anant.jpg|thumb|250x250px|[[Vishnu]] resting on [[Ananta (infinite)|Ananta]] on the [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]] with [[Lakshmi]] and [[Brahma]].]]
{{quote|In the midst of the milky sea, [[Hari]] himself, in the form of a tortoise, served as a pivot for the mountain, as it was whirled around. The holder of the mace and discus <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Vishnu]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> was present, in other forms, amongst the gods and demons, and assisted to drag the monarch of the serpent race <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Vasuki]], used as a rope<nowiki>]</nowiki>.|source=Works by the late Horace Hayman Wilson (Volume 6), Vishnu Purana (Book I), Chapter IX (9), pp. 143|sign=}}
 
In the [[Vishnu Purana]], the churning of the ocean of Milk takes place after the sage [[Durvasa]]s - stated by [[Horace Hayman Wilson|Wilson]] to be 'an incarnation of a portion of [[Shiva|Siva]]' (footnote 1, pp.&nbsp;135) - curses [[Indra]], resulting in the ruin of the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]], the Earth, and the general population, as 'all beings became devoid of steadiness' and morality. On the northern shore of the [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]], [[Hari]] is sought for refuge, and enjoins the Devas to churn the Ocean for [[Ambrosia]] with the [[Asura]]s, using the Mandara Mountain as a churning rod and [[Vasuki]] as the rope.
 
During the churning, [[Vishnu]] 'in the form of a tortoise [Kurma], served as a pivot for the mountain... [and] in other forms, amongst the gods and demons, [to] drag the monarch of the serpent race [to help churn the Ocean]'. Auspicious items and beings (e.g. [[Varuni]]) are first generated, before poison emerges 'of which the snake-gods ([[Nāga|Nagas]]) took possession' (i.e. not [[Shiva]]), followed by [[Dhanvantari]] with the [[Amrita]], and [[Lakshmi|Laksmi]]. The 'indignant [[Daitya]]s' seize the Amrita before Vishnu incarnates as [[Mohini]] to deceive them and give the Amrita to the Devas. A battle ensues, but the Asuras and defeated and flee to [[Patala]] (Book 1: IX). Other details include:
 
* Kurma is mentioned as an incarnation of [[Vishnu]] (Book 1: IV)
* Kurma is stated to reside in [[Bharata Khanda|Bharata]] (Book 2: II)
 
== Upa-Puranas ==
 
=== Kalki Purana ===
 
{{quote|During the Great Churning, when the gods and the demons failed to find a solid support to base their churner at, you assumed the form of the Koorma (Tortoise) to solve their problem and had the ocean properly churned.|source=Kalki Purana (translated by B.K. Chaturvedi, 2004), Chapter 10, Verse 23<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjPXRCCUvk4C&q=tortoise|title=Kalki Purana|last=Chaturvedi|first=B. K.|date=2004|publisher=Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd.|isbn=978-81-288-0588-2|language=en}}</ref>|sign=}}The [[Kalki Purana]] is a prophetic minor work set at the end of [[Kali Yuga]].
 
== Vedantas ==
 
=== Laghu Yoga Vasishtha ===
 
{{quote|In five creations has the earth disappeared and been got back by [[Vishnu]] in his Kurma (tortoise) Avatar. Twelve times has the [[Kshir Sagar|Ocean of Milk]] been churned. All these I was a direct  witness of. Thrice has [[Hiranyaksha]] taken away the earth to [[Patala]]. Six times has Vishnu incarnated as [[Parashurama|Parasurama]]... [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] has incarnated again and again in 100 [[Kali Yuga]]s.|source=Laghu Yoga Vasishtha (translated by K. Narayanaswami Aiyer, 1896), Nirvana Prakarana, Chapter 1 ('The story of Bhusunda')<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/LaghuYogaVasishtaEnglishTranslation|title=Laghu Yoga Vasishtha|last=K. Narayanaswami Aiyer|date=1896|pages=[https://archive.org/details/LaghuYogaVasishtaEnglishTranslation/page/n524 524]}}</ref>}}Bhusanda, quoted above, is described by Swami Parmeshwaranand as a 'dispassionate and large-hearted [[crow]]'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_6F0ZIBIL2ZAC|title=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas|last=Swami Parmeshwaranand|date=2001-01-01|publisher=Sarup & Sons|others=unknown library|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_6F0ZIBIL2ZAC/page/n239 233]|language=en}}</ref> In the [[Yoga Vasistha]], an influential [[Vedanta]] text, Bhusanda tells  the sage [[Vasishtha|Vasistha]] that events have repeatedly occurred before and will continue to do so forever - including the appearance of [[avatar]]s of Vishnu - albeit with variations. The ''Laghu'' Yoga Vasistha is a condensed version of the Yoga Vasistha.
 
==Temples==
 
[[File:Kurma at Saptashrungi.JPG|thumb|left|Kurma avatar at [[Saptashrungi]] of [[Shaktism]]|alt=|267x267px]]
[[File:Kurma Avatar on a brass chariot of Searsole Rajbari, West Bengal, India.jpg|thumb|Kurma Avatar on a brass chariot of Searsole Rajbari, West Bengal, India]]
 
=== Iconography ===
Kurma is depicted either [[Zoomorphism|zoomorphically]] as a tortoise, or more commonly in [[murti]]s and images  [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphically]] as half-man (above the waist) and half-tortoise (below the waist).
 
=== Locations ===
There are four temples dedicated to this incarnation of Vishnu in India:
 
* [[Kurmai]] (Chittoor District of [[Andhra Pradesh]])
* [[Sri Kurmam]] ([[Srikakulam District]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]])
* Gavirangapur (Chitradurga District of [[Karnataka]])
* Swarupnarayan (Goghat village in Hooghly district of West Bengal).
 
The name of the village mentioned above originates from the historical temple of Kurma called ''Varadarajaswamy'' (Kurmavatar of Lord Vishnu), regarding the deity of this village.<ref name="Singh1997">{{cite book|author=Nagendra Kr Singh|title=Encyclopaedia of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dobtZ61vCp0C&pg=PA774|access-date=5 October 2015|volume=1|year=1997|publisher=Centre for International Religious Studies|isbn=978-81-7488-168-7|page=774}}</ref>
 
==See also==
* [[Cultural depictions of turtles]]
* [[Dashavatara]] - the ten avatars of Vishnu, including Kurma
* [[Kashyapa]] – a Vedic sage whose name also means "tortoise, turtle"
* [[Kurmasana]] - yoga pose dedicated to Kurma
* [[Samudra manthan]] - myth of the churning of the ocean by Kurma
* [[World Turtle]] - the giant turtle who supports the earth
{{reflist|group=note}}
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}
 
===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|author=J. L. Brockington|title=The Sanskrit Epics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C |year=1998|publisher=BRILL Academic |isbn=90-04-10260-4}}
* {{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6}}
* {{cite book|author=Nanditha Krishna|title=Book Of Vishnu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9cSlaLMlgEC&pg=PA47|access-date=5 January 2013|year= 2009|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306762-7|ref=Krishna}}
* {{cite book|author= Nanditha Krishna|title= Sacred Animals of India|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=J3NU35nngxEC |year=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306619-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Rao|first=T.A. Gopinatha|title=Elements of Hindu iconography |volume=1: Part I|year=1914|publisher=Law Printing House|location=Madras}}
 
== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline|Kurma}}
 
 
{{VishnuAvatars}}
 
[[Category:Forms of Vishnu]]
[[Category:World-bearing animals]]
[[Category:Legendary turtles]]
[[Category:Animal gods]]
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