Churning the Milk Ocean [Hardcover]

Guruseva Dasi (Author)

Book Description

"Churning the Milk Ocean" is a young reader’s edition of the classic story from the Puranas of Ancient India.

When Indra, the king of the gods, is cursed by a sage, the gods appeal to Lord Vishnu who comes up with a plan to make them immortal.

Thus, on Lord Vishnu’s suggestion, the gods request their enemies, the asuras, to help churn the milk ocean to produce a wonderful nectar of immortality. The asuras agree, secretly planning to steal the nectar once it is produced.

During the combined churning, many wonderful substances were produced. After the nectar is finally produced, Lord Vishnu bewilders the asuras and the nectar is given to the gods.

"Churning the Milk Ocean" is also the history behind the Kumbha Mela (Pot Festival), celebrated in India every twelve years. During the struggle between the gods and asuras to keep the nectar of immortality produced from the churning, a few drops fell down to earth in four places (Prayag, Hardwar, Nasik, and Ujjain). To this day, the Kumbha Mela is held at each of these four sites. This festival is the largest gathering of human beings on the earth and represents India’s great spiritual culture.

Hardback, 9 by 11 inches, 40 pages, full color throughout.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Filled with many layers of meaning, rendered into an elegant English narrative...both children and adults will enjoy reading it. -- Vasudha Narayanan, Professor, Dept. of Religion, University of Florida

From the Publisher

An incredibly powerful and colorful portrayal of this ancient story that is familiar to most households in India. Guruseva Dasi’s sensitive and lively narration draws the reader into the heart of this pastime which glorifies the mystical worlds of the Puranic gods and goddesses.

"Churning the Milk Ocean" also includes the basics of the Vedic cosmology, offering a young reader access into ancient India’s understanding of our universe.

This cultural presentation is invaluable to any young reader regardless of culture, as it shares the universal themes of purity, weakness, greed, and the ultimate victory of goodness.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Bhavani Books (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971934800
• ISBN-13: 978-0971934801
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,570,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic Indian story retold, August 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Churning the Milk Ocean (Hardcover)

This children's version of a classic Indian story contains plenty of action and interesting characters to keep younger children interested. They will particularly like the lovely, colourful illustrations thoughout the book.