Who Drank The Poison Which Emerged From The Churning Of The Ocean?

 Hare Krishna

All Glories To Sri Guru And Sri Gauranga!

So who really drank the poison from the ocean after the historic samudra manthana?

Well some people say it is the greatest of the devotees Shiva while others say it is Vayu.

We must always rely on shastras and acharyas to come to a conclusion on any topic, and the same rule will also be applied here.......

Let us see what the shrutis say,

(keśisūkte - Ṛg Veda 10.136.7) says ‘Vāyu’ is the one who consumed the Halāla through Śiva:

vāyurasmā upāmanthat pinaṣṭi smā kunannamā । keśīviṣasya pātreṇa yad rudreṇāpibat saha ॥

Now let us see what the smritis have to say,

Śrī Padma Purāṇa 6.232.16 –18 says:

śrībhūmisahitaṃ devaṃ taptakāṃcanakuṇḍalam । ekāgramanasā dhyātvā sarvaduḥkhaharaṃ prabhum ॥ nāmarūpaṃ mahāmaṃtraṃ japtvā lakṣmyāsamanvitam । tadviṣaṃ tu mahāghoramādyaṃ sarvabhayaṃkaram ॥ nāmatrayaprabhāvācca viṣṇoḥ sarvagatasya vai । viṣaṃ tadabhavajjīrṇaṃ lokasaṃhārakārakam ॥

~ Śiva said — “Having meditated (i.e. when I meditated) with a concentrated mind upon that lord along with Mā Lakṣmī having earrings of gold purified by fire, remover of all miseries, and on my having muttered the great hymn of the name and form (Śrī Viṣṇu) along with Mahālakṣmī, all that poison, which was very fierce, which was the first one, which was fearful to all, which was (capable of) destroying all the worlds, was digested (by me) due to the three names of Śrī Viṣṇu, the omnipresent one.”

Śrī Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa also states the same (as quoted by Bhagwatpad Vijayīndra Tīrtha in his Śrī Nyāyamauktikamālā) —

taṃ dṛṣṭvā ghorasaṅkāśaṃ prādurbhūtaṃ mahāviṣam । dhyātvā nārāyaṇaṃ devaṃ hṛdaye garuḍadhvajam ॥

The same is also been said in Śrī Viṣṇu Dharma Up-Purāṇa :

“Due to the chanting of the three names of that all-pervading Śrī Viṣṇu, that terrible poison, which could have destroyed the worlds, was digested. It is only due to Lord Śiva’s meditating on Śrī Viṣṇu, that he was able to digest the terrible poison, right in his neck.”

In Śrī Garuḍa Purāṇa, Śiva says to Uma:

aprakāśamidaṃ devi guhyādguhyataraṃ padam । purāhamabdhimathane patagendraviṣāvaham । avadhyaṃ garalaṃ ghoramañbhujamamṛtaṃ yathā ॥

~ Śiva said — “O Devi, this is not a well known fact! At the time of Samudra-mathana, before consuming poison, I meditated on the Śrī Viṣṇu (It is due to his mercy that) I was able to drink it as easily as I had the nectar (ghoramañbhujamamṛtaṃ).”

Well after looking at the veda and the puranas, one may say as the masses would likely say it is shiva who drank the poison so it is shiva who drank it, but to simply blindly believe what the masses believe in is a folly, other might say vedas, are higher than the puranas so it is vayu, but again this is yet another fallacy, so we must look into what the acharyas have to comment on this....

Let us see what Bhagavatpada Madhvacharya says in his Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya:

11 “Then, due to extreme weight, that golden mountain Mandara sunk to the Patala; At that time, You, in your avatara as Kurma, lifted the mountain, which could not be lifted by anyone else, easily on your back”.

12 “When You, the best amongst all, entered the churning rope Vasuki, and also entered the top, bottom and inside of the mountain, the strength of the devatas and asuras increased; Due to their arrogance, they started churning the ocean real fast such that it started harming the oceanic creatures”.

13 “When all of them got tired, You, the One without tiredness, started churning the ocean all by Yourself with excitement, in order to obtain the immortal nectar; At that time, the poison which could swallow the whole world emerged; As per Your orders, Vayu took that poison”.

14 “Kalakoota is the embodiment of Kali; Due to Brahma’s boon, nobody could stop it; None could even touch it; Vayu picked up a portion of the same, squeezed it, reduced its intensity and gave it to Shiva”.

15 “Shiva drank it, and fell down unconscious as soon as it reached his neck; He got up due to the power of Lord Hari’s hand touch; His neck became dark then”.

16 “After that, Vayu, keeping your orders in front, placed the poison in a golden bowl and drank it himself without reducing its intesity; It got digested for him”.

17 “Shiva got a head ache due to the drinking of a small quantity of the Kalakoota; Kali[kaliyuga], who was residing in the poison remaining in his hand, spread all over the world; Vayu did not undergo any distortion after drinking that poison”.

CONCLUSION:

It is clear from acharya's words that it was vayu who drank the poison which came out as a result of churning. Both the shrutis and the smritis are true in this regard, shiva did drink poison but a very small fraction compared to vayu. And it was vayu who drank the remaining major portion of the poison which was released as service to the lord. This again gives us yet another important lesson, i.e., it is impossible to understand vedanta and scriptures without the a bonafide guru and also the importance of having a guru.

Hare Krishna!

ṣri kṛṣnārpaṇamasṭu