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Legend of the Kumbh
According to the Garuda Puran, once upon a time, Sage Durvasa visited Lord Indra in Heaven and affectionately offered him a garland. Lord Indra passed on the garland to Airawat, the elephant, who crushed it under his feet. The furious sage cursed Lord Indra, taking away all his riches, virtues and power. On learning this, the demon king Bali attacked Lord Indra, snatching away all his possessions. In the struggle between the Gods and Demons, the demons were gaining. Seeing this, Lord Vishnu (the preserver of the universe) advised Lord Indra to regain his lost powers by acquiring amrit (the divine nectar of immortality) by churning the great sea, Ksheer Sagar. Mighty mountain Mandarachal was used as a churn staff. The formidable serpent king Vasuki became the rope to move the churn. Lord Vishnu, in the guise of a tortoise, gave support from the bottom of the ocean and Lord Brahma guided the churning from top. As the nectar pitcher (kumbh) emerged, Lord Vishnu handed it to his winged mount, Garuda, to take to Heaven. As the demons scrambled for the elixir, some of it spilled on earth at 4 places thereby sanctifying them forever. These places were Nasik (in the western state of Maharashtra, where the Godavari or Deccan Ganga flows), Ujjain ( a sacred city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh) , Haridwar ( in Uttaranchal, where the Ganges flows into the plains) and Allahabad ( in Uttar Pradesh, where the Ganges, Jamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet). Garuda's flight took 12 days - 12 years in human time. That is why the Kumbh is celebrated every 12 years, in rotation, at the above 4 locations.

In some versions of the story, it is Jayanta, the son of Indra, who takes away the pot of nectar instead of Garuda.