Long ago, the gods and their rivals, the asuras, wanted amrita, the drink that makes you live forever. It was hidden deep in the ocean. To get it, they had to churn the whole ocean, the way you churn milk to make butter.

They used a mountain as the churning stick, and Vasuki, the king of serpents, as the rope. The gods pulled one end and the asuras pulled the other, back and forth, for a very long time.

Wonderful things rose out of the sea: the moon, a white horse, a shining jewel, and the goddess Lakshmi. But then something terrible came up too. A poison called Kalakuta spread over the earth. It blazed like fire, and its fumes made the whole world faint.

Everyone was afraid. Brahma, the creator, asked Shiva for help, and Shiva agreed. To save every living being, he drank the poison himself.

He did not let it go down. He held it in his throat, and it turned his throat blue. That is why Shiva is called Nilakantha, which means the blue-throated one. Pictures of Shiva often show him with a blue neck.

Many at the churning hoped to gain something. Shiva was the one who took the bad part, so the rest of the world could be safe. Sometimes being strong means carrying a hard thing so others don't have to.