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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.44.17

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 44: Story of Indra: Ocean churning and the struggle for nectar. The Devas and asuras churn the ocean for freedom from death, contend over its gifts and fight for the nectar, Indra’s side gains sovereignty

In the sequence: they decide to churn the ocean of milk for the elixir, using Mandara as the churning rod and Vāsuki as the rope

1.44.17

tato niścitya mathanaṃ yoktraṃ kṛtvā ca vāsukim
manthānaṃ mandaraṃ kṛtvā mamanthur amitaujasaḥ

Then, having resolved on the churning, and having made Vāsuki the churning-cord and Mandara the churning-stick, those of boundless might churned (the ocean).

Words: tato — then; niścitya — having resolved, decided; mathanaṃ — the churning; yoktraṃ — the churning-cord, rope; kṛtvā — having made; ca — and; vāsukim — Vāsuki (the serpent); manthānaṃ — the churning-stick; mandaraṃ — Mandara (the mountain); kṛtvā — having made; mamanthur — they churned; amitaujasaḥ — those of boundless might

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.