Why Are The Gods Immortal?

We all know that the Gods are immortal. But, what made them so? All Hindu Gods and Goddess are believed to be ruling the universe since eternity. But there must be something that made the Gods immortal and not their rivals the Asuras (demons). Let us peep into some popular Hindu beliefs and stories behind it.

• The story of Samudra Manthan begins with Lord Indra, the king of all Gods. He was once travelling on his elephant Airavat. He came across a sage named Durvasa. The sage offered him a garland that was emblematic of fortune. But, he put it on the tusk of his elephant, who put it down, irritated by the smell of the flowers.
• The sage got enraged and cursed Indra that he and all the other Hindu Gods would lose all their power. They began losing all battles and as a remedy Vishnu suggested Samudra Manthan, that would give out Amrita (a drink that makes one immortal). The Gods could be immortal if they drank this.

Samudra Manthan

• All the Gods and demons in collaboration with each other decided to churn the ocean waters and share the Amrita between them. Mount Mandarachala was used as the churning rod, and Vasuki, the king of serpents as the churning rope in Samudra Manthan. Vishnu took the form of a tortoise and placed himself beneath the mountain.
• The Gods took hold of the tail of the snake and the devils took hold of the mouth. As a result many of the demons became the victims of the poison of the snake.
• Three things came out of the Samudra Manthan. One is the Halahala (poison), 9-14 ratnas and Amrita, that could make the Gods immortal.
• The kind Lord Shiva was approached, as the Halahala was so poisonous that it could create massive destruction if fell on earth. Hence, he took in the Halahala and his throat became blue because of that. He is also called the Neelkantha for the same reason.
• The ratnas were divided equally between the demons and Hindu Gods alike.
• Lord Vishnu took the form of a beautiful woman named Mohini . And the Amrita was given to all the Hindu Gods. After drinking it the Gods became immortal.
• On the other hand Vishnu beheaded Rahukethu as he had already drunk the Amrita by deceit. As it had already gone down his throat his head lived on and became immortal.

These are the explanations found in the old Hindu religious books as the reason behind God's immortality.