← Canto 1: Creation

Chapter 3: Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations

Verse 16 of 44
SB 1.3.16

सुरासुराणामुदधिं मथ्नतां मन्दराचलम् दध्रे कमठरूपेण पृष्ठ एकादशे विभुः

surāsurāṇām udadhiṁ mathnatāṁ mandarācalam dadhre kamaṭha-rūpeṇa pṛṣṭha ekādaśe vibhuḥ

Synonyms

surathe theists; asurāṇāmof the atheists; udadhimin the ocean; mathnatāmchurning; mandarācalamthe Mandarācalam Hill; dadhresustained; kamaṭhatortoise; rūpeṇain the form of; pṛṣṭheshell; ekādaśeeleventh in the line; vibhuḥthe great..

Translation

The eleventh incarnation of the Lord was in the form of a tortoise whose shell served as a pivot for the Mandarācalam Hill, which was being used as a churning rod by the theists and atheists of the universe.

Purport

Once both the atheists and the theists were engaged in producing nectar from the sea so that all of them could become deathless by drinking it. At that time the Mandarācalam Hill was used as the churning rod, and the shell of Lord Tortoise, the incarnation of Godhead, became the resting place (pivot) of the hill in the sea water.

Verse 16 of 44
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