समुद्र मंथन

Prachin kaal mein ek baar Maharshi Durvasa ne Indra ko ek divya mala bhent ki. Indra ne abhimaan mein us mala ko apne Airavat hathi ke upar rakh diya. Airavat ne mala ko soond se utaarkar pairon tale kuchal diya. Durvasa Rishi ne krodhit hokar Indra ko shraap diya ki sabhi devtaon ki Lakshmi — shri, tej aur bal — nasht ho jayegi. Is shraap ke prabhav se Devlok par asuron ne aakraman kar diya aur devtaon ko swarg se nikaal diya.

Dukhi aur nirash devta Brahma ji ke paas gaye. Brahma ji ne unhe Bhagwan Vishnu ki sharan mein jaane ki salaah di. Bhagwan Vishnu ne kaha ki Kshirsagar (doodh ke samudra) ka manthan karo, usmein se Amrit niklega jise peekar tum amar ho jaoge aur apna khoya bal punah prapt kar loge. Parantu yeh karya akele devtaon se sambhav nahi tha, isliye Vishnu ji ne asuron se milkar manthan karne ka upaay bataya.

Devtaon ne asuron ke raja Bali se sandhi ki aur samudra manthan ka karya aarambh hua. Mandrachal parvat ko mathani banaya gaya aur Vasuki naag ko rassi ke roop mein prayog kiya gaya. Asur Vasuki ke mukh ki or khade hue aur devta poonchh ki or. Jab Mandrachal parvat samudra mein doobne laga to Bhagwan Vishnu ne Kurma (kachhue) ka avatar lekar parvat ko apni peeth par dhaaran kiya.

Manthan aarambh hote hi sabse pehle samudra se bhayanak Halaahal vish nikla. Yeh vish itna prabal tha ki sampoorn srishti ko nasht kar sakta tha. Sabhi devta aur asur bhaybheet ho gaye. Tab Bhagwan Shiv ne srishti ki raksha ke liye us vish ko apne kanth mein dhaaran kar liya. Vish ke prabhav se unka kanth neela ho gaya, jisse ve Neelkanth kehlaye. Mata Parvati ne Shiv ji ke kanth ko dabakar vish ko neeche jaane se roka.

Iske baad manthan se ek-ek karke chaudah ratna prakat hue — Kamadhenu (ichchhaapoorti karne wali gaay), Uchchaihshrava (divya ashva), Airavat (shwet hathi), Kaustubh Mani, Parijat Vriksha, Apsara Rambha, Devi Lakshmi, Varuni Devi, Chandrama, Kalpavriksha, Shankh, Dhanush, Dhanvantari (Ayurveda ke devta) aur ant mein Amrit Kalash.

Jab Dhanvantari Amrit Kalash lekar prakat hue to asuron ne bal prayog karke Amrit Kalash chheen liya. Asuron mein Amrit ke bantwaare ko lekar aapas mein vivaad hone laga. Tab Bhagwan Vishnu ne Mohini — ek atyant sundar stri — ka roop dhaaran kiya. Mohini roop mein Vishnu ne kaha ki ve sabko baraabar baant dengi. Asur unke saundarya par mohit hokar maan gaye.

Mohini ne chaturaai se devtaon ko Amrit aur asuron ko Varuni (madira) pilaana shuru kiya. Parantu Rahu naamak asur ne devtaon ki pankti mein baithkar Amrit pee liya. Surya aur Chandrama ne ise pehchaan liya aur Bhagwan Vishnu ko bataya. Vishnu ji ne apne Sudarshan Chakra se Rahu ka sir kaat diya. Amrit peene ke kaaran Rahu mara nahi — uska sir Rahu aur dhad Ketu kehlaya.

Devtaon ne Amrit paan kiya aur unmein punah bal aur tej aa gaya. Unhone asuron ko paraajit karke swarg par punah adhikaar kar liya. Devi Lakshmi ne Bhagwan Vishnu ko apna pati chuna aur unke vakshasthala par virajmaan hui. Is prakar Samudra Manthan ki katha hamein sikhaati hai ki achchhai aur burai ke sangharsh mein antatah dharm ki hi vijay hoti hai.

Samudra Manthan ki yeh katha Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana aur Mahabharata mein vistaar se varnit hai. Yeh katha hamein batati hai ki kathin parishram, dhairya aur Ishwar par vishwas se asambhav karya bhi sambhav hote hain. Jis prakar vish (kathinaiyon) ko sehan karne ke baad hi Amrit (safalta) prapt hota hai, usi prakar jeevan mein sankaton ka saamna karne ke baad hi sachcha sukh milta hai.