Mandara (Sanskrit: मंदार) is the name of the mountain that appears in the Samudra manthan episode in the Hindu Puranas, where it was used as a churning rod to churn the ocean of milk. Mahadev's serpent, Vasuki, offered to serve as the rope pulled on one side by a team of asuras, and on the other, by a team of devas. The Puranas refer to various sacred places on the hill that are also believed to be the abode of god Krishna as Madhusudana or the destroyer of the demon called Madhu who was killed by Krishna and then covered by the Mount Mandara.