The sight is located within Angkor. To prepare for your visit, read the AsiaExplorers Angkor Travel Guide for useful information. Visitors to Angkor stay at the town of Siem Reap. If you are looking for budget accommodation in Siem Reap, use the Cambodia Budget Accommodation Guide to find a place to stay.
Churning the Ocean of Milk is the most famous bas-relief at Angkor Wat. It describes the Hindu creation myth from Bhagavata-Purana and is spectacularly depicted on one 49-meter panel. In Churning the Ocean of Milk, a rare cooperation came about between the devas (gods) and the demons (asuras) in pulling alternately on the giant naga Vasuki which is coiled around Mount Mandara. The purpose is to rotate the mountain to churn the cosmic Ocean of Milk to produce amrita, the elixir of immortality.
According to the Bhagavata-Purana, as soon as the amrita was produced, the devas took possession of it, and broke their promise to the asura to give them half, who then tried to steal it from the devas.
Middle section of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk gallery. To get the lighting right, I did a composite of four tiers.
On this gallery, we see the scene of the actual churning in the bas-relief. Walking from left to right again, we view in the first 5 meters the army of the asuras assembled with their horses and elephants. Then the churning scene starts. First we see Ravana, the giant multi-headed asura, holding the five heads of Vasuki, the giant naga (serpent or dragon). After that we see 92 identical asuras pulling in unison on the naga. On the lower tier we see marine creatures representing the Ocean of Milk. They are caught by the turbulence of the churning.
As we reach the centre of the panel, we see that these animals - fish, crocodile, turtle - are sliced into pieces because the churning is so violent. Mount Mandara is column-like, almost hidden behind the four-armed Vishnu who is directing the operations. Below Vishnu is his avatar (celestial vehicle), the turtle Kurma, who is supporting the mountain from sinking into the ocean. Above Vishnu we see Indra flying to keep the mountain steady. The churning created celestial nymphs, the apsaras, flying in two directions above.
As we continue walking to the right, we see the row of devas pulling Vasuki. There are 88 of them, and finishing the scene we see the great monkey god, Hanuman, holding Vasuki's tail. Please note that in the original Hindu Bhagavata-Purana, there are neither Hanuman nor Ravana in the story. Somehow the Khmers have made some improvisation by adding these Ramayana characters into the Vedic legend.
The Churning of the Ocean of Milk gallery at Angkor Wat.
Left: Ravana, the giant asura, holding on the head of Vasuki, heading the troop of asuras. Right: Hanuman, the monkey god, holding to the tail of Vasuki, heading the troop of devas.
Click thumbnail to visit the different sections of Angkor Wat
Battle of Kurukshetra
Churning the Ocean of Milk
East Gopura
Inner Sanctuary
North Gopura
Other Sections
South Gopura
Army of Suryavarman II
Angkor, Unesco World Heritage Site
AsiaExplorers provides you one of the most detailed documentation on Angkor, Unesco World Heritage Site, for you to explore from the comfort of your desktop.
Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?
The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!
If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.
Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.
AsiaExplorers is researched and written by Timothy Tye. Reasonable care is taken to check and verify the accuracy of the content. AsiaExplorers disclaims responsibility for any inconvenience, mishap, injury or death resulting from following the tips and advice provided directly or indirectly by this website. All pages may be printed out for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may use the information on this website on your blog or website so long as you place a dofollow link back to the page in AsiaExplorers where it appears. Photographs not credited to a third party belong to Timothy Tye and may not be reused in any form unless you are first given permission. Write in to inquire if interested. Third party photographs are governed by their respective licenses. To contact Tim, write to the following email address:
