Namaste All,

Nilakantha is one of the epithets of Lord Shiva. The literal meaning of Nilakantha is “blue-throated.” There is a very famous Puranic legend called the churning of the cosmic ocean, where the Devas and Asuras decide to churn the cosmic ocean to extract amrita (nectar of immortality). They use the mountain Mandara as the churning stick, and the king of the serpents, Vasuki, as the rope. Vishnu in His Kurma Avatar acts as a base to support the mountain on His back. As they churn away, 14 items come out of the ocean, one of which is a deadly poison known as halahala or kalakuta. Lord Shiva drank the poison in order to save the universe, but Devi held His throat so He doesn’t swallow it. The poison made His throat blue, hence the name Nilakantha.



This story is filled with esoteric meaning. I would like this thread to be a discussion of the deeper meaning of this legend. The first question is: what does Nilakantha represent?

OM Shanti,
A.