Amongst the Hindu trinity of Deities – Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer, and Shiva, the Destroyer – Vishnu is known for manifesting in the shape of ten Avatars, the divine coming on earth in material form. The second of those forms was Kurma the Tortoise.

This manifestation came to pass at the time when the gods and demons had agreed to cooperate in the mighty task of churning the vast primordial ocean of milk in order to extract Amrit, the elixir of eternal life. An entire mountain, Mount Mandara, was the churning pole, and the serpent king Vasuki agreed to serve as the churning rope, wrapped around the mountain and pulled back and forth by the gods on one shore and the asuras on the other. But the mountain was not stable, sinking deep into the ocean, and at first all the efforts were in vain.

Then Vishnu manifested in the Avatar of Kurma the Tortoise, and diving into the ocean, supported the peak of the inverted mountain on his shell, so that the churning could proceed.

Since then, the Tortoise has been known as the sign of firmness and steadiness. It is said to be the foundation on which sacrificial fires are built, and it is the unyielding intention required for true meditation.