kurma avatara
सर्वसत्त्वगुणविशेषणायानुपलक्षितस्थानाय
नमो वर्ष्मणे नमो भूम्ने
नमो नमोऽवस्थानाय नमस्ते ॥ ३० ॥
om namo bhagavate akūpārāya
sarva-sattva-guṇa-viśeṣaṇāyānu-palakṣita-sthānāya
namo varṣmaṇe namo bhūmne
namo namo ’vasthānāya namas te.
Salutations unto You, who have assumed the form of a tortoise, whose form consists of transcendental goodness.
Unto You, whose position is not discernible; are unaffected by time; the great one who can go everywhere; I bow to thee, again and again.
A short story of the kurma avatara
The devas and the daityas got together to churn the ksheera saagara to obtain amruta – the elixir of life. They used the mandara parvata as the churning rod, and vasuki – a divine serpent as the rope. However, the unsupported mountain sunk inside the ocean thus making the churning impossible.
The devas sought Maha Vishnu’s help to stabilize the parvata. Vishnu then assumed the Kurma avatara – a giant divine tortoise – and supported the parvata. The devas and daithyas then proceeded to churn the ocean and eventually obtain amruta.
Watch a 9 minutes video from the movie Dashavataara (kannada) that shows the context of Kurma Avatara and the climax of the avatara.