Ocean of Milk

The **Ocean of Milk** is a cosmic ocean filled with milk located in the Otherworld of Hindu Mythology. It is known as "Kshira Sagara" in Sanskrit, 'Kshira' meaning 'milk' and 'Sagara' meaning 'ocean'.

## History

### Churning of the Ocean

When the sage Durvasa curses the gods to lose their immortality, they became weak. Lord Vishnu said that the only thing to cure them was the *amrita*, the elixir of immortality, hidden somewhere in the ocean. So they called upon the asuras, promising them a share of the *amrita*.

Mount Mandara was used as a churning rod and was supported Vishnu's second incarnation, the turtle named Kurma. The Naga King Vasuki was used as a rope, the asuras held his head while the devas held his tail. When they began the churning, the most vicious poison in the world, halahala ("HAL-lah-HAL-lah"), burst into the air. Upon request, Shiva drank it all, Vasuki got stuck in his teeth and was later used as a necklace. Many things came out of the ocean besides the *amrita* and halahala:

* Uchchaihshravas, the king of horses
* The moon (Chandra)
* Kalpavriksha, the tree that grants wishes
* Goddesses including Varuni (wine), Kamadhenu (mother of cows), Jyestha (poverty) and Lakshmi (wealth and good fortune)
* Kaustubha, the world's most valuable ratna (jewel)
* Dhanvantari, the god of medicine
* Sharanga, Vishnu's bow
* Shankha, Vishnu's conch
* An umbrella taken by Varuna
* The earrings of Aditi, the mother goddess

When the churning was finished, Vishnu transformed into Mohini, an enchantress, to sneakily distracted the asuras for a while so that the Devas could consume the *amrita*. One asura named Rahuketu pretended to be a deva, although he was successful in getting the *amrita*, Mohini beheaded him. This lead to him being split into two separate entities, Rahu and Ketu. Jambavan, the bear king was also present during the churning, he learned of the all-curing plant, Vishalyakarni.

## *The Pandava Quintet*

### *Aru Shah and the End of Time*

Aru Shah arrived at the island where the Ocean of Milk was churned by the flying on the recently freed Vahanas. She arrived at the place where it was churned, it was the tourism headquarters of the Otherworld. She found a cauldron made of vapor containing something the size of her shoe, she also met of with Mini and made up with her. Mini explained if the cauldron was touched, the whole cave will explode, it happens once a year. So she hit the chandelier of fire with stones so it will fall into the poison and turn it to gas. The thing was a small turquoise goblet with a silver liquid, Aru drank from it then spat out a key of bones. This was the the sip of old age, the third and final key to enter the Kingdom of Death. Using the other keys they got, Aru and Mini enter the kingdom from there through a door that appeared.

## Appearance

The Ocean of Milk as white *as* milk. A small stone island stuck out of the middle like a lump of oatmeal in a cereal bowl, this was once the pedestal from which the ocean was churned. It sand dunes on the shore and a large tunnel entrance yawned past. Inside that an abandoned office space, marble cubicles had been cut into either side of the tunnel. But they were all unoccupied, Some contained cork boards pinned with photographs and headsets made of gold and studded with diamonds had been left behind on each desk. There were also vending machines that sold "seven hours of sleep," "a good daydream," "a *very* good daydream", "a shot of eloquence," and a miniature antibacterial hand sanitizer.

Posters covered with a thin layer of dust still adorned the tunnels. A gleaming city of gold was featured on one of them. Scrawled across it were the words:

> *"Come visit the City of Lanka! The premier destination of dreams and nightmares! Service: Gold! Food: Gold! Entertainment: Not gory, but definitely has moments of gore!"*
>
>

Another poster advertised an underwater city with a very attractive naga model, who was winking and baring shiny fangs:

> *"The City of Snakes! Come for the scenery, stay for the slithering beauties!"*
>
>

One part of the tunnel was boarded up. A large sign proclaimed NO TOUCHING! and CAUTION: UNDER RENOVATION. A bitter smell wafted between the planks of wood hammered over the opening. But there was enough space under the boards for someone the height as Mini to squeeze through. On the other side was a narrow alley that opened up to a cave. The smell was coming from a cauldron made of vapors that was claw-footed bathtub in the center of the space, it was transparent enough that blue liquid could be seen sloshing angrily inside it. Just behind the cauldron crouched a huge statue of shocked Shiva, he bent over the cauldron with his mouth wide open. A giant chandelier of fire hung from the ceiling. It looked weirdly shiny, as if the whole thing were encased in glass like a chemistry vial full of blue and gold flames.

From underneath, the Ocean of Milk had pale sand and a rolling sea that looked like a creamy sky. It smelled like an ice cream truck parked outside of a Hindu temple. Sticking out the sand were treasures that cast long shadows like part of Kalpavriksha and skin of Vasuki. There was a golden dome holding a labyrinth containing the *amrita*.

## Trivia

* Some sources say that moon originated from the soul of Purusha, the primordial human, instead.
* Some versions say that Airvata, Indra's other vahana, emerged from the ocean of milk. But that would be impossible as most versions say that Airvata was *why* the ocean was churned.
* The two posters seen in *Aru Shah and the End of Time* foreshadow locations visited in two sequel books.
	+ In *Aru Shah and the Song of Death*, the group journeys through Naga-Loka to find the thief who stole Kamadeva's bow and arrow
	+ In *Aru Shah and the City of Gold*, the group journeys through Lanka, the City of Gold to complete the three trials presented to them by Lord Kubera.