Nilakanth

(“blue-throated”) Epithet of the god
Shiva; also the name of a manifestation
of Shiva who is enshrined at the
Nilakanth Mahadev temple outside the
city of Rishikesh in the state of Uttar
Pradesh. Shiva is present at Nilakanth in
the form of a linga, the pillar-shaped
object that is his symbolic form. The
mythic charter for this epithet (and for
the establishment of the temple as well)
is drawn from the tale of Churning the
Ocean of Milk. The gods and demons
churn the ocean to produce amrta, the
nectar of immortality thought to be the
finest essence of the ocean. Yet their
action produces not only the amrta, but
also its antithesis, the halahala poison.
This is an event of great peril; the poison
is so powerful that if left unchecked, it
can destroy the earth. When this poison
appears, the gods and demons are
unable to figure out a way to contain it.
Shiva takes care of the poison by holding
it in his throat, but the force of the poison is so great that it turns his throat
blue. See also Tortoise avatar and
ocean, churning of the.