“And at length rose the great elephant, Airavata, of huge body and with two pair of white tusks. And him took Indra the wielder of the thunderbolt. But with the churning still going on, the poison Kalakuta appeared at last. Engulfing the Earth it suddenly blazed up like a fire attended with fumes. And by the scent of the fearful Kalakuta, the three worlds were stupefied. And then Siva, being solicited by Brahman, swallowed that poison for the safety of the creation.

In plain words: The great white elephant Airavata rose, and Indra took him. Then a terrible poison called Kalakuta came up, blazing like fire and making the whole world faint with its fumes. When Brahma asked, the god Shiva swallowed the poison to save all creation.