It's Vishnu's job to keep the world in running order and protect the innocent. His ten incarnations are the best-known avatars. Surprisingly, the human form is not his only uniform. He'll assume whatever shape is called for under the circumstances.
For example, when the demi-gods and demons wanted to churn the Milky Ocean to produce the nectar of immortality (see Chapter 12, " Meet the Hindu Gods"), they found a mountain they could use as a churning rod and a gigantic snake they could use to spin the rod. But there was no base strong enough to rest the mountain on. Vishnu obligingly assumed the form of a huge turtle, and the churning rod, Mount Meru, was balanced on his shell.
This myth may seem less odd when you learn that in Hindu astronomy the bare shell of the turtle refers to the south celestial pole, a comparatively vacant part of the sky where there are few bright stars. The churning motion represents Earth's precessional cycle, an astronomical phenomenon the Vedic sages often referred to.
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