The Story Of Neelkanth

Har Har Mahadev ! In search of ‘Amrit’ for all, he drank the poison alone !

There are multiple matches for Neelkanth story, including the story of Lord Shiva’s blue throat and the Neelkanth Mahadev Temple in Rishikesh:

• Lord Shiva’s blue throat according to Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva drank poison that emerged from the ocean during the Samudra Manthan or churning of the ocean. The gods were afraid the poison would destroy the world, so they asked Lord Shiva to drink it, and his wife Parvati held his throat to stop the poison from spreading. The poison turned Shiva’s throat blue, earning him the name Neelkanth, which means “blue throat”. The symbolism of Shiva’s blue throat is that he stored the world’s poisons in his throat.
• Neelkanth Mahadev TempleAccording to Shruti-Smriti Puran, Lord Shiva consumed the “Kalkut” poison, one of 14 ratnas obtained by the Devas and Asuras while churning the ocean for Amruta. The poison was capable of destroying the world, so Shiva meditated for 60,000 years at the confluence of the Pankaja and Madhumati rivers to counteract its effects. After his penance, Shiva installed a “throat” shaped shivaling beneath the Panchpani tree, where the temple’s current Garbha Gruh is located. The Neelkanth Mahadev Temple is a highly revered Hindu shrine in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.