Who is in this story
The story
To regain their lost strength and the nectar of immortality, the devas and asuras agreed to churn the great ocean of milk together. They used Mount Mandara as the churning rod and the serpent Vasuki as the rope, while Vishnu took the form of the tortoise Kurma to steady the sinking mountain on his back.
The churning brought forth many treasures — the goddess Lakshmi, the wish-granting cow, the celestial physician — and also the deadly poison halahala, which Shiva drank to save creation. At last Dhanvantari rose bearing the pot of amrita, and gods and demons fell to contending for it.
