Illustration: Anastasia Stročkova
WHAT IS A WORLD TURTLE?
Stories about the World Turtle vary a bit depending on who’s telling them. Often it’s depicted as a giant turtle with the entire world on the top of its shell. In Hindu mythology there are different versions of this creature. In one story the world is balanced on top of four elephants, which stand on the shell of the turtle named Akūpāra. In other stories we find Kurma, the turtle form of the god Vishnu. He carries the sacred mountain Mandara on his back, to save it from sinking.