सुरासुराणामुदधिं मथ्नतां मन्दराचलम् । दध्रे कमठरूपेण पृष्ठ एकादशे विभु: ॥ १६ ॥

surÄsurÄṇÄm udadhiá¹
mathnatÄá¹ mandarÄcalam
dadhre kamaṭha-rūpeṇa
pṛṣṭha ekÄdaÅ›e vibhuḥ

1 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: LSB(1)

 sura - the theists; asurÄṇÄm - of the atheists; udadhim - in the ocean; mathnatÄm - churning; mandarÄcalam - the MandarÄcala Hill; dadhre - sustained; kamaá¹­ha - tortoise; rÅ«peṇa - in the form of; pṛṣṭhe - shell; ekÄdaÅ›e - the eleventh in the line; vibhuḥ - the great.


Text

The eleventh incarnation of the Lord took the form of a tortoise whose shell served as a pivot for the MandarÄcala Hill, which was being used as a churning rod by the theists and atheists of the universe.

Purport

Once both the atheists and the theists were engaged in producing nectar from the sea so that all of them could become deathless by drinking it. At that time the MandarÄcala Hill was used as the churning rod, and the shell of Lord Tortoise, the incarnation of Godhead, became the resting place (pivot) of the hill in the seawater.