The elusive amrita churning of the ocean

The earliest story of the grand churning of the ocean of milk, samudra-manthan, for the nectar of immortality, amrita, is found in the Mahabharata. There is no artwork in India to match the grand Angkor Wat corridor in Cambodia that shows devas and asuras holding the serpent-king Vasuki with Vishnu overseeing the entire enterprise. In the story of samudra-manthan, Vishnu takes the form of Mohini and offers to distribute amrita fairly between devas and asuras. Vishnu splits the world by placing devas above the sky and asuras below the earth in patala. When Lakshmi finally appears from the ocean of milk, she chooses as her husband not Indra, the king of devas, but Vishnu.