Kurmavatara (Kurma means a turtle) means the incarnation of Lord Vishnu as a turtle. It was the second incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu helped the gods and demons churn the milky sea and remove the nectar in this incarnation. Lord Vishnu further made sure that the demons did not get the nectar.

The Story of Kurmavatara:

One day, Indra, the king of the gods, was going on his elephant when he came across the sage Durvasa. Sage Durvasa gave Indra a divine garland as a gift, which was given to him by Lord Shiva. Indra put this garland on the trunk of an elephant. The elephant threw the garland on the ground and trampled it. Sage Durvasa was a quick-tempered sage. He got angry with Indra for disrespecting his gift and cursed him that he would be deprived of all his wealth.

Gods then went to Lord Vishnu for advice. Vishnu told them to do Samudra Manthan (churning of the sea) to take out nectar, but he also told them that this was impossible without the help of demons. So, he advised them to behave diplomatically with demons and get the nectar out of the ocean. Indra then met Bali, and they agreed on doing Samudra Manthan and equally distributing the nectar amongst the gods and demons.

For doing Samudra Manthan, they needed a rod, a rope, and a platform on which the rod would move. Hence, Mountain Mandar was selected as a rod, Vasuki (an enormous serpent) as a rope, and Lord Vishnu transformed himself into a big tortoise (Kurmavatara), the back of whom would serve as a platform for Mountain Mandar. To do Samudra Manthan, the gods had to pull Vasuki from one side and the demons from the other. Demons refused to grab Vasuki’s tail as they considered it insulting. So, the gods started pulling Vasuki from the tail side and the demons from the head side. As the churning began, big fire flares started coming out of Vasuki’s mouth, and demons repented on their decision.

The first thing that came out of this was Halaahal (the lethal poison). The poison was so lethal that it could kill all living beings. Because of this, the gods and demons started praying to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva collected and drank all the poison, but did not allow it to enter his stomach. He accumulated it in his throat. So, his throat turned blue. Therefore, Lord Shiva is also known as Nilkanth.

After this, 14 Ratnas came out of the ocean:

1. Kamadhenu – a cow that provides the desired things.

2. Uchchaihsravas – the divine seven-headed horse.

3. Airavat – a four-tusked elephant.

4. Kaustumb mani – the costliest gem.

5. Kalpavriksha – a tree fulfilling one’s wishes.

6. Apsaras – nymphs like Rambha, Menaka, Punjisthala.

7. Laxmi – the goddess of wealth, who accepted Lord Vishnu as her husband.

8. Vaaruni – a form of wine.

9. Chandra (Moon).

10. Parijat – a divine tree.

11. Shankha, the conch.

12. Dhanwantari, the physician of the gods.

13. Amrit (the nectar from which one becomes immortal) in a golden pot.

14. Sharanga – a mighty bow.

When Amrit came out, the gods and demons started fighting over it. Demons snatched the pot of nectar. Lord Vishnu transformed himself into a beautiful woman, Mohini, who mesmerized the demons and started giving nectar to the gods. A demon, Rahu, took the form of a god and drank some nectar, but Vishnu cut his head with the Sudarshan Chakra before the nectar could reach his stomach.

Thus, god drank the nectar and became immortal. On the other hand, demons could not drink the nectar and were defeated by the gods.

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Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurma