Long ago, the three worlds were poor: the heavens, the earth and the worlds below. The holy fires were not lit. The devas were weak and sad. A great sage had cursed them, and the asuras had beaten them in battle.
Indra, king of the devas, went up Mount Sumeru with the others to Brahma, the creator. How could good fortune come back? Brahma thought of the Lord, and his face grew bright. “Let us go to him,” he said. “He will bring us good fortune.”
Brahma led them all to an island in the Ocean of Milk, and there he prayed. Then the Lord Vishnu appeared, as bright as thousands of suns rising at once. The light was so bright that the devas could not even see themselves!
The Lord’s voice rumbled like clouds. “Make peace with the asuras. Churn the Ocean of Milk for its nectar: whoever drinks it lives forever. Use Mount Mandara as the stick, and Vasuki the snake as the rope. When gifts come up, do not be greedy.”
So the devas went to Bali, the king of the asuras. Bali’s captains wanted to fight, but Bali stopped them. Indra spoke kindly and told him the plan. And the asuras said yes!
Together they pulled up Mount Mandara, a mountain of gold, and carried it, shouting. But it was too heavy. Crash! It fell, and many were hurt. Then Vishnu came, riding his great bird, Garuda. One kind look, and all were well again, not even a bruise.
Vishnu lifted the great mountain with one hand and set it on Garuda’s back. Then he climbed up too, and away they flew to the Ocean of Milk, with the devas and asuras all around them.
Next they called Vasuki, the king of snakes. “You will have a share of the nectar,” they promised. Then round and round the mountain they wound him, like a long, long rope.
Vishnu and the devas took hold of Vasuki’s head. But the asuras would not agree. They wanted the head, the better end. Vishnu smiled. Without a word, he let them have it, and he took the tail instead.
Then they began to churn. Pull! Push! Round went the mountain. But nothing held it up from below, and slowly it sank into the sea. Glug, glug. Everyone’s face fell.
Then Vishnu became a giant tortoise. He dived deep and lifted the mountain on his back, a back as wide as an island. As the mountain rolled round and round, it only felt to him like a pleasant back-scratch!
At the same time, Vishnu was also high on top of the mountain. He held it steady with his hand. He was below it and above it at once! Brahma, Shiva and Indra showered flowers, and the sea swirled.
Then Vishnu took hold of Vasuki with his own strong arms and churned with everyone. He was dark as a rain cloud, and his earrings flashed like lightning. Round and round, on and on, the churning went.
At last, the first gift rose: Surabhi the cow. The sages took her, for the holy fires needed her milk and ghee. Next came a horse as white as the moon. Bali wanted it, and Indra remembered the Lord’s words and let him.
Up rose Airavata, a white elephant with four tusks. A shining jewel rose too. And then came a flower that grants every wish: the parijata! Dancers of heaven came, glittering in gold.
Then, flashing like lightning on a white marble mountain, someone rose from the sea. It was Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune! The devas wanted her. The asuras wanted her. Everyone wanted her.
Indra brought her a seat. Then great elephants lifted jugs of Ganga water and poured it over her, while the sages chanted. Lakshmi sat calm and lovely, with a lotus in her hand.
The ocean gave her yellow silk to wear, and Varuna, lord of the waters, gave her a garland of flowers.
Lakshmi walked among them all, holding a garland of lotus flowers. Bees hummed around it. Her ankle bells jingled softly, and she smiled shyly. She looked at each one carefully. Whom would she choose?
She thought, “This one lived a holy life, but he still gets angry. This one is strong, but he cannot stop the years from passing. This one knows what is right, but he is not kind to everyone.” Nobody had every good quality.
Everyone wanted Lakshmi. But Vishnu did not reach out for her. He already had every good quality, and he needed nothing. So Lakshmi chose him. She walked straight through the crowd to him, the lotus garland in her hands, the bees humming.
Gently, she placed the garland on his shoulders. Then she stood beside him, smiling shyly, and the bees hummed on.
Lakshmi’s home is on Vishnu’s chest, close to his heart. Her kind look can make the three worlds rich. And when she looked at the devas, they were filled with goodness, and they were glad.
Conches sounded, drums boomed and flowers fell. Only the asuras were sad. Soon the churning would bring up a healer with a jar of nectar, but that is another story. And Lakshmi stayed beside Vishnu, close to his heart, looking out kindly on the three worlds.
For grown-ups
Where this story comes from
This story is retold from the Bhagavata Purana (also called the Srimad-Bhagavatam), Canto 8, chapters 5 to 8: from 8.5.15, where the three worlds have lost their good fortune, to 8.8.29, after Lakshmi chooses Vishnu. Page 24 adds one line for 8.8.31-34, where a healer, Dhanvantari, rises with a jar of nectar. The English wording we checked is the A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada translation on vedabase.io. In this text Lakshmi is the goddess of fortune (8.8.8). Her kind glance can increase the wealth of the three worlds (8.8.25), and she chooses Vishnu because only he has every good quality (8.8.19-23). Lakshmi Puja on the new-moon night of Diwali is a custom that many families keep. These chapters give no date and do not mention Diwali. As a custom, families invite into their homes the goddess whose kind look, as this story shows, brings good fortune. Our Lakshmi Puja Vidhi page tells how families do the puja at home. It is a faithful simplification. We shortened and skipped scenes, and we name them below. We did not add events, and we did not change anyone's reasons. The speeches are simplified, not word-for-word. Lakshmi's thoughts on page 20 are a short paraphrase of 8.8.20-21. They are not a quotation. The Lord's words on page 4 about the nectar, “whoever drinks it lives forever”, simplify 8.6.21: nectar “which a person who is about to die may drink to become immortal”. On page 1, “the heavens, the earth and the worlds below” is our plain explanation of “the three worlds”. These verses do not list them. Page 15 keeps the order of the text: the elephant, the jewel, the wish-granting flower, then the dancers (8.8.4-7). We checked this telling against one edition only.
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Three things this telling leaves out, and why
- The poison, and Shiva who drank it (8.7.18-46). Before any gift rose, the churning first brought up a terrible poison, halahala. It spread everywhere. The devas, with Vishnu, went to Shiva for help. Shiva took the poison in his palm and drank it to protect every living being, and it left a blue mark on his throat (8.7.42-43). We left this out to keep the book gentle at bedtime. For the same reason, the story does not say why the churning started again “with renewed vigor” (8.8.1). Page 13 shows the churning going on, and page 14 says the first gift rose “at last”.
- How the devas lost their strength (8.5.15-16). The verses say that the asuras attacked the devas with serpent weapons, and that many devas fell and died. They also say the devas had been cursed by the sage Durvasa. The story says only that a great sage had cursed them and that they had lost a battle. The verses name the curse but tell no story about it. The story of the curse is told in the Vishnu Purana, Book 1, chapter 9 (H. H. Wilson's translation), and this translation's purport to 8.5.15-16 tells it too: Durvasa gives Indra a garland; Indra puts it on his elephant (in the Vishnu Purana, Airavata); the elephant throws it to the ground; and Durvasa curses Indra. In the Vishnu Purana, the three worlds then lose their strength and their good fortune. That story is not in these verses, so no page tells it, and no page says that Lakshmi left heaven.
- The falling mountain (8.6.35-37). The verses say that the golden mountain fell and crushed many devas and asuras, and that Vishnu glanced at them and brought them back to life, with no bruises. The story says that many were hurt and that one kind look made them all well again.
- Bali's captains (8.6.28). The verse says Bali's commanders were about to kill the devas. The story says they wanted to fight, and that Bali stopped them.
- The Lord's full advice (8.6.19-25). The Lord tells the devas to make a truce “according to the logic of the snake and the mouse” (8.6.20), that the asuras will do the work while the devas gain the result (8.6.22-23), and not to fear the poison or be angry (8.6.25). Page 4 keeps the plan and the rule the story pays back later: do not be greedy (8.6.25; Indra keeps it on page 14).
- Vasuki's fiery breath (8.7.14-15). The verses say that smoke and fire from Vasuki's mouths made the asuras weak, “like sarala trees burned by a forest fire”, and darkened the devas, until rain clouds cooled them. We left it out as a frightening picture.
- The sea creatures (8.7.13, 18). The verses say that the alligators, sharks and whales were badly disturbed. Page 12 says only that the sea swirled.
- Vishnu in the churners (8.7.11). The verse says Vishnu entered the asuras, the devas and Vasuki as the three qualities of nature, to give them strength. It is too hard for ages 6 to 9.
- The full welcome of Lakshmi (8.8.10-16). The rivers came as persons with water in golden pots; the earth brought herbs; the cows gave their five products; spring brought its flowers; Gandharvas sang, dancers danced, and the clouds beat drums and blew conches. Vishvakarma gave ornaments, Saraswati a necklace, Brahma a lotus, and the Nagas earrings. The story keeps the seat, the elephants' bath, the yellow silk and Varuna's garland. The illustrations may show the rest.
- Descriptions of beauty (8.8.7, 18). The translation adds a note on the heavenly dancers, and describes Lakshmi's body. The story keeps “dancers of heaven, glittering in gold”, Lakshmi's ankle bells and her shy smile.
- Shiva in Lakshmi's thoughts (8.8.22). One of the faults Lakshmi weighs is that Shiva lives in cremation grounds. The story does not name anyone she rejected, and the pictures do not show any named god among them.
- Varuni (8.8.30). After Lakshmi, Varuni, the goddess who controls drink, rises, and the asuras take her. Left out as not for this age.
- What comes next (8.8.31-46). Dhanvantari rises with a jar of nectar; the asuras snatch it and quarrel; Vishnu takes the form of Mohini. Page 24 gives one line to Dhanvantari and stops. That part of the churning belongs to another book.
- The name of the tortoise. Many families know the tortoise as Kurma, the tortoise form of Vishnu. These verses of this translation say “a tortoise” (8.7.8), so the story does too.
- Lakshmi Puja on Diwali night (custom, not in these chapters). Many families worship Lakshmi on the new-moon night of Diwali, often with Ganesha, and many also link the churning to Dhanteras through Dhanvantari. These are customs. Chapters 5 to 8 give no date and name no festival, so no page of the story mentions Diwali. Our guide, Purohit, can tell you how families in your tradition keep the night.
The devas' report to Brahma (8.5.17-18) is told as their question on page 2. Brahma's prayer at the Ocean of Milk (8.5.26-50) is one line on page 3: he prays. The Lord's appearing (8.6.1-2) is the light like thousands of suns (page 3). The form that Brahma and Shiva see (8.6.3-7) is left to the pictures, and Brahma's second prayer, after the Lord appears (8.6.8-15), is left out. The Lord's advice (8.6.16-25) is one speech on page 4. The truce (8.6.27-32) is page 5. Carrying the mountain, the fall and the healing (8.6.33-37) share page 6. The churning, the sinking, the tortoise and Vishnu on the summit (8.7.5-13) take pages 10 to 12; page 12 says Vishnu was below the mountain and above it at once (8.7.12-13). The verses say that the Lord appeared on the summit with thousands of hands (8.7.12). The story and the pictures show him with two arms, and page 12 says only that he held the mountain steady with his hand. The first gifts (8.8.1-7) take two pages, 14 and 15, and the eight elephants of the directions and the second gem, Padmaraga, are not named. The verses say that Vishnu wished to have the two gems to decorate his chest (8.8.6). The story leaves this out, so that page 21 keeps one clear reason for Lakshmi's choice: Vishnu needed nothing. Lakshmi's welcome (8.8.10-16) takes two pages, 17 and 18. Lakshmi's thoughts (8.8.19-22) give three of her examples on page 20. Her choice and the garland (8.8.23-24) take pages 21 and 22. The music and the flowers (8.8.26-27) and the asuras' sadness (8.8.29) share page 24. The text says the asuras became “depressed, bewildered and frustrated, and thus they became shameless”; the story says they were sad.
The question children ask here
“Why did Lakshmi choose Vishnu?” The text gives these reasons:
- Lakshmi looked at everyone carefully, and found a fault in each: one had done great austerities but had not conquered anger, one knew what is right but was not kind to all, and one was powerful but could not stop time (8.8.19-22);
- Vishnu has every good quality, and that makes him the most desirable (8.8.23);
- and the text says Vishnu is independent and “not in want of her” (8.8.23): he did not need her, and she chose him.
“Lakshmi looked for someone with every good quality. Only Vishnu had them all, and he did not even need her. So she chose him.”
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