The Legendary Story: The Turtles As Symbols of Wisdom In Hindu Mythology

Some of us have heard of Earth legend above the back of a giant tortoise. The story of this legend may only be heard in animated films, in fact, it is unlikely to happen. But the historical fact of the classical period has proved it derived from the relief texts that mountains and floating islands have ever occurred. Some people believe that the Earth is on the back of a giant tortoise, this mythology is also written in several countries such as in America, India, China, and Japan.

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Earth Above the Back of Giant Turtles In Hindu Mythology

Turtles are one type of animal that is synonymous with a symbol of wisdom and knowledge, and is able to defend itself and symbolize water, moon, earth, time, eternity, and fertility. Creation is associated with tortoises and many beliefs that turtles support the burden of the whole world. Turtles as a symbol of steadfastness and tranquility in religion, mythology, and folklore from around the world. In the cosmological myth of some World cultures, tortoises carry the earth on their backs or sustaining the sky.

The story was originally written in Hindu literature, from Mixing the Sea of Bima where the gods and demons churned in the Sea of Bima to fight over Nectar of immortality. Lord Vishnu, the guardian of the god of the cosmic order has turned into a giant turtle called the awatara or Avatar Dates in the middle of the Sea of Bima. Above the shell of a giant tortoise is Mount Mandara or Mount Meru, used as a rotating stick to stir, and the snake Vasuki form a rope.

It can be said that this legend began when the gods approached Vishnu to memnita help, Vishnu then asked them to stir the ocean of milk after adding drugs to the sea. Mount Mandara or Meru is used as a rotating stick, Asura helps to lift the mountain in the Nectar exchange of immortality resulting from agitation of the universe.

The Vasuki snake is used by the Gods and Asuras as a rope. Dewa Indra asked Asura to be at Vasuki's head. But Asura suspects him of using Vasuki's poison which can slowly weaken them. Indra God called the clouds and covered the asuras and rakshasa, the fat of all animals in Mandara mountains with wood forest oil aims to make the sea thickened, eventually stirring Mount Mandara becomes greatest.

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The stirring caused the mountain to sink and then the god Vishnu changed the shape to Avatar Kurma floating mount dipundaknya. The nectar of eternity came out, Asura grabbed it. Then Lord Vishnu takes the form of an angel, a beautiful girl named Mohini, and seduces the Asuras so as not to let him take the water of immortality.

The asuras knew and the monster became angry, there was a war between the Gods with Asura and the monster. The battle took so long, then Lord Vishnu took out a chakra gun capable of grabbing the asuras and rakshasa. So finally the tirta amerta is on the side of the Gods.

As the stirring of the ocean, Halahala's lethal poison begins to spread, a poison that can kill all living things. Lord Shiva drank the poison so that his neck became blue, after which came the gods, animals and plants, and other objects such as Sura, Apsara, Kostuba, Uccaihsrawa, Kalpawreksa, Kamadhenu, Airawata, and Lakshmi (goddess of fortune and prosperity). And last came Dhanwantari carrying a jar containing Tirta Amerta (Nectar of Eternity).

References:

1. Kurma Avatar of Vishnu, below Mount Mandara, with Vasuki. A Ming-era bixi turtle with a blank stele near the temple of Yu the Great, part of the "Qingchuan Pavilion" complex in Wuhan. Prasat Phnom Da, style d'Angkor Vat, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
2. India through the ages, by Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam, ed.
3. Chinese Mythology A to Z. By Jeremy Roberts (2010). New York: Chelsea House Publishers.