Kurma

Kurma is the second avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, traditionally depicted as a tortoise or turtle. The name comes from the Sanskrit kurma, meaning tortoise. In many lists of Vishnu’s ten principal incarnations (the Dashavatara), Kurma sits after Matsya (the fish) and before Varaha (the boar), underscoring a theme of cosmic stabilization and support.

According to Puranic accounts, Kurma appears during the Samudra Manthana, the churning of the Ocean of Milk. The gods and demons use Mount Mandara as the churner, with the serpent Vasuki as the rope. To prevent the mountain from sinking, Vishnu assumes the form of a giant tortoise and supports Mandara on his back at the ocean’s bottom. As the churning continues, the nectar of immortality, along with many beings and treasures, emerges. A poisonous substance, Halahala, also appears; to save the cosmos, Shiva drinks the poison, his wife Parvati restraining him to prevent harm, and his throat turns blue.

Iconography typically shows Vishnu atop the Kurma’s back during the churning, sometimes with the gods and demons at the mountain’s sides and the serpent Vasuki coiled around it. The Kurma incarnation is often interpreted as a symbol of steadiness, foundation, and the balance required for creation and renewal.

Beyond theology, kurma denotes the general term for a tortoise in Sanskrit and related languages. In some culinary traditions, a similarly named dish (korma) exists, but that usage is distinct from the mythological Kurma.