Once upon a time, due to the curse of Sage Durvasa, the Devas (Gods) became weak and hence lost the battle with the Asuras (Demons). The Gods then went to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu instructed them to ask the Asuras to join them to obtain the Nectar Of Immortality by churning the milky ocean (Samudra Manthan) and share it among themselves. The Gods obeyed the command of Vishnu and approached the Asuras. The Asuras readily agreed as they were also eager to become immortal. But for churning the ocean they needed a churning rod and a rope. For this, they used the Mandara mountain as the rod and a snake named Vasuki as a rope. Before the churning process began, they fought for the head of the snake. After sometime, the Gods gave up and agreed to hold the tail because Lord Vishnu had instructed them to do so. Then the churning process began. The Asuras were poisoned by the fumes emitted by the snake and their strength began to diminish. Despite this, both of them pulled back and forth causing the mountain to rotate just like a game of tug of war. But, the Mandara mountain kept sinking into the ocean. So, Lord Vishnu had to take the form of tortoise (Kurma Avatar) to support the mountain on his back. This churning process released a number of things. The first thing that came out was the Halahala poison. This was so poisonous that it could destroy the entire creation! The terrified Gods then approached Lord Shiva for protection. Lord Shiva then consumed the poison. The poison was stuck in his throat and his throat turned blue. This is why he is called Neelakanta. Then the Gods and Demons started the churning process again and obtained Goddess Lakshmi, Apsaras(celestial damsels), Varuni(wine), Kamadhenu(cow), Airavata(elephant), Uchhaishravas(horse), Kaustubha Gem, Parijatha Tree, Sharanga(bow), Soma(moon), Shankha(conch), Umbrella, Earrings and finally Dhanvantari(Celestial Physician) came with the Nectar of Immortality in his hand. Then a battle ensued between the Gods and the Demons. Then Garuda took the nectar and flew away from the battlefield. Then Lord Vishnu took the form of Mohini, a beautiful damsel and distracted the Demons. She then took the nectar and started distributing it to the Gods. Swarbhanu (rahu-ketu) disguised himself as a God and drank it. This was noticed by the Sun and the Moon God and they informed Mohini (Lord Vishnu) about it. She became angry and cut the head of Swarbhanu with Sudarshan Chakra (this is the discus of Lord Vishnu). However, some of the nectar had managed to go down his throat and he did not die. From that day, the head was called Rahu and his body was called Ketu. Finally, after Lord Vishnu distributes the nectar to all the Gods, they became immortal and defeated the Demons.
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