In Hindu cosmology, the Kshira Sagara (Sanskrit: क्षीरसागर, IAST: Kṣīra Sāgara; Tamil: Tiruppāṟkaṭal; Malayalam: Pālāḻi; Telugu: Pala Samudram) or Ocean of Milk is the fifth from the centre of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha. According to Hindu scriptures, the devas and asuras worked together for a millennium to churn this ocean in order to acquire amrita, the nectar of immortality. The episode is mentioned in the Samudra Manthana chapter of the Puranas, a body of ancient Hindu legends. The Kshira Sagara is described as the place where the deity Vishnu reclines over his serpent-mount Shesha, accompanied by his consort, Lakshmi.
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Kshira Sagara in the context of Narayana
Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: Nārāyaṇa) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the celestial ocean, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is also known as Purushottama, and is considered the Supreme Being in Vaishnavism.
Kshira Sagara in the context of Padma (Vishnu)
Padma (Sanskrit: पद्म, romanized: Padma, lit. 'Lotus') is one of the four attributes borne by Vishnu in his iconography. It is associated with Vishnu's abode upon water, as well as his role in creation and birth.
Kshira Sagara in the context of Divya Desams
Divya Desam (Sanskrit: दिव्यदेशम्, Tamil: திவ்ய தேசம்) or Vaishnava Divya Desams are the 108 Vishnu and Lakshmi temples that are mentioned in the works of the Alvars, the poet-saints of the Sri Vaishnava tradition. By comparison, the Paadal Petra Sthalam are the 276 Shiva temples glorified in the works of the Shaiva Nayanars.
Of the 108 temples, 105 are in India, one is in Nepal, and the last two are believed to be outside the earth, in Tirupparkatal/Kṣīra Sāgara and Vaikuntham. In India, they are spread across the states of Tamil Nadu (84), Kerala (11), Andhra Pradesh (2), Gujarat (1), Uttar Pradesh (4), and Uttarakhand (3). Muktinath, Saligramam is the only Divya Desam outside of India, in Nepal. Tamil Nadu is home to the most number of Divya Desams with 25 of them being located in the Chennai Metropolitan Area. The Divya Desams are revered by the 12 Alvars in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses. The Divya Desams follow either Tenkalai or Vadakalai modes of worship.