Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 45: The Churning of the Milk Ocean
Text 1.45.49
यदा क्षयं गतं सर्वं तदा विष्णुर्महाबलः।
अमृतं सोऽहरत् तूर्णं मायामास्थाय मोहिनीम्॥
yadā kṣayaṁ gataṁ sarvaṁ tadā viṣṇur mahā-balaḥ
amṛtaṁ so ’harat tūrṇaṁ māyām āsthāya mohinīm
yadā = when; kṣayam gatam sarvam = all was destroyed; tadā viṣṇuḥ = Viṣṇu; mahā-balaḥ = the greatly powerful; amṛtam = the nectar; saḥ aharat = took away; tūrṇam = and quickly; māyām āsthāya mohinīm = employed His wonderful potency Mohinī.
When all was destroyed, the greatly powerful Viṣṇu employed His wonderful potency Mohinī and quickly took away the nectar.
1 The churning of the milk ocean takes place in every day of Lord Brahmā, with some variation in each day of Brahmā. Therefore, each Purāṇa describing this incident does so with some difference in details.
Mohinī generated lust and bewilderment. By His wonderful potency, He exhibited the form of an extraordinary woman, cheated them and took away the nectar. Māyām āsthāya mohinīm also indicates that He exhibited His potency of disappearing from all, a potency that bewilders everyone, and took away the nectar. The historical events [pertaining to the churning of the milk ocean] as found in the Purāṇas should be understood to have taken place in various days of Lord Brahmā.1