khmer sources

The widely known epic of Indian mythology, the Brahmanist legend of the Churning of the Sea of Milk, is as intrinsic to Khmer culture as it is on the subcontinent, and the mysterious but beautiful images of the story are commonly seen in Cambodian temples. In fact, Cambodia has adopted this religious epic, given it a distinctive flavor and made it the mother of those haunting Khmer icons, the Apsaras. Most temples in the kingdom will have some reference to the legend, whether it be a balustrade in the shape of a long snake held by dozens of gods and demons, a depiction of the three-headed elephant Ai Ravoan or a brightly painted scene of the churning pole balanced on the back of the god Vishnu's incarnation as a giant turtle. An entire gallery at Angkor Wat is dedicated to an incredibly intricate and beautiful rendition of the story, a work which has been called the greatest scene ever carved in stone.

The story is simple in its line and complex in its meanings. Several Brahmanist epics tell the story of Vishnu's second avatar, or incarnation, as Koromeak, the giant turtle, and how the goddess Lakshmi was born from the womb of the ocean. Why the gods began their churning is a matter for debate. Some say they
needed to recover precious jewels lost in a great deluge, some that they had grown weak and old and needed the elixir of life, amrita, to be churned from the sea to save them, and others that the sage Durvasa had given the god Indra a gift of a garland of ethereal flowers, which Indra had not respected and allowed to be trampled under his elephant's feet, causing Durvasa to curse him to become void of all riches. Shri, or Lakshmi, goddess of riches, then disappeared into Kshirasagar, the sea of milk, and needed to be recovered from its womb by the gods. For whatever reasons they decided to commence, however, it became obvious after a thousand years that the gods could not churn it successfully on their own. They sought the advice of Vishnu, and he advised them to collude with the demons. They agreed, and the divine mountain, Mount Mandara, was laid in the ocean, a churning pole placed on top and the great serpent Vasuki coiled around it. Gods took one end of Vasuki, demons the other and they proceed to twist the snake back and forth to churn the sea. The bas-relief at Angkor Wat shows this scene, with 92 giants, or demons, at Vasuki's head (the giants have the bulging eyes and the helmets) and 88 gods (they can be distinguished by their Khmer-shaped eyes and conical helmets) at his tail. Vishnu appears in both his four-armed human incarnation and as the sacred turtle, Koromeak, in the depiction. What is most haunting from the scene is the depiction of the ethereal Apsaras, floating above the sea and dancing for the gods and demons alike. The Sea of Milk legend also appears at other temples in the complex, although each period has a different style and way of carving the main characters. "Carvings of the Churning of the Sea of Milk are seen in all temples of the Angkorian period until the end of King Jayavarman VII's reign in 1220AD," Chan Pheak Kdei, Director of Cultural Tourism Development of the Ministry of Tourism, says. "But the style of carving differs through the 11th, early 12th and 13th centuries. And of all the carvings of this legend, only the piece on Angkor Wat's eastern wall has the most beautiful, low bulging styles, with all the gods in depicted in character as they are portrayed in their divinity tales, or legends."

The legend explains that the Sea of Milk was once a Sea of Smoke. One day, a sacred cow emerged from the sea, radiating a light brighter than 1000 suns and appearing larger than the sacred mountain. Its light put the 1000 horses of the royal carriage to sleep, and the gods were forced to go to see Lord Vishnu to ask what could be done. Vishnu floated up to the level of the cow's face on his lotus flower, but when he looked, the cow had become a beautiful nymph. She said, "I will offer you three wishes". "I need only one,"
said Lord Vishnu, "Turn this sea of smoke into a sea of milk so that any being that drinks of it no longer feels hunger or thirst." She agreed, and that is how the Sea of Milk began. As the gods and demons churned to find treasures, a celestial cow, the divine four-headed horse named Ochai Svarak (the horse also represents the five Buddhist commandments not to kill, steal, to take someone's wife, to lie or to drink alcohol) emerged, along with the three headed elephant Ai Ravoan, and a nymph called Sriel Ksei, but before they could find the amrita elixir of life or the goddess Lakshmi, the churning stick faltered and became unstable. The group of gods had moved to hold the serpent's belly instead of his tail, and he began to sway, creating a storm that could destroy the universe. Preah Indra and Preah Brahman could not stop it so Preah Vishnu invited the monkey king Viroskab from Nokor Hem Voan Kiri. The monkey king respected only Preah Vishnu, but he agreed to hold Vasuki steady so work could continue. His efforts made his body red like fire, so he was renamed Mohaa Chumpou, or the Great Pink. Another disaster quickly followed. Mount Mandara began to sink and neither the gods nor the giants, nor even Vasuki could stop it. To make things worse, the snake felt sick from the churning, and vomited venom called halek halak into the water which threatened to kill gods and demons, or giants, alike. Preah Shiva saved them from this, using his hand to scoop up the venom and then swallow it. The venom burnt his throat to a very dark red, and the group offered him the new name of Preah Nilton because of this. To save Mount Mandara, Vishnu turned himself into the turtle Koromeak and swam underneath the stick so that stability could return and churning could recommence. But there was a problem with one of the demon giants, who wanted to outsmart the gods. The gods and giants had agreed that if amrita was found at the giant's end of the snake, the giants could drink it and take its powers of immortality, and vice versa. One giant, named Reahou Asoret, had decided he would not help churn, but wait outside to see when the amrita came out so he could run to drink it immediately, before anyone else. Vishnu was suspicious and asked the sun and moon to watch him carefully while they worked. Suddenly, the churning produced the sacred water of amrita and an Apsara, or celestial dancer, at the same time. But the sacred water emerged at the side of the giants and the Apsara appeared with the gods. Vishnu ordered the Apsara, called Dilotama, to dance and trick them into watching her, and they were captivated. At that moment, Reahou Asoret seized the amrita and drank. The sun and moon yelled a warning to Vishnu, and Vishnu threw his sharpened discus at the thieving giant, severing his head and hands before the water could reach his stomach. That's why to this day Reahou Asoret has only a head and hands-because the water of life only reached as far as these parts. Furious that the sun and moon had betrayed him, Reahou Asoret made a vow of revenge "It does not matter, sun and moon," he told them. "From this day on, I will swallow you at night when we meet at night and I will swallow you in the daytime when we meet in the daytime." Reahou Asoret then became the deity in charge of eclipses, and is often pictured with the sun in his hands, ready to swallow it, and that is why we have eclipses to this day.