Chapter 1: Indra and the Sage

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One day, as Indra was riding his elephant Airavata through his kingdom, he came across the great Sage Durvasa Muni. The sage presented Indra with a great gift. The gift was a special garland that had been given to Durvasa Muni by the goddess Shiva. The garland was a religious offering and was the dwelling of Sri, the goddess of fortune.

When Indra, the King of Svarga, was presented with this gift, he placed the garland on trunk of Airavata, in an effort to prove that he had control over his ego. But Airavata knew that Indra had no control over his ego, so he threw the garland on the ground and began to trample it. This infuriated Durvasa Muni, and he placed a curse on Indra and all of the other Devas. The curse took away all of their strength, energy, and fortune.

The Devas, now dealing with attacks from the Asuras (demons) and the curse of Durvasa Muni, lost control over the universe. In an effort to regain their powers, the Devas consulted with Lord Brahma.

Lord Brahma gave instructions to the Devas to regain their powers, form a truce with the Asuras, and once that truce is finalized the two groups must work together to perform the samudra manthan, or the churning of the ocean of milk. This churning will produce many things, one of which will be the Amrita, which will give the Devas their powers back.

But this great churning would not be an easy task...

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