The devtas along with the asuras had churned the Ksheer Sagar in order to obtain the Amrit.. here is the Aatmic intepretation.

Ksheer Sagar appears to be rough during the course of Samudra Manthan. That symbolises the mind. Our mind is the true battlefield, because it always have some type of turbulance. And it is always imbalanced. The Devtas and the Asuras on both sides symbolise the clash of positivity, and majesty that was lost, and negativity along with our alter ego. The mount Mandara is our intellect. Such will help us differentiate between good and bad. You see mount Mandara  is in the middle of them.

Then Vasuki symbolises energy, and our will power. We stretch our energy so much, to perform our deeds, that we become successful at the end. (Amruth Prapt). Then if we do it with false pride and impatience, then we are not so successful. (Vrisha Prapt). Ego is very poisonous to the mind. Only Bhagwan can remove the poison, because this is a poison with no physical antidote.

Whenever our intellect, Mandara Madya sinks in the ocean of thought, Bhagwan will establish it again, by holding it up. The tortoise(Kurma) has four legs, which can symbolise many things. Like: the universal truths. Satyam, Jnanam, Anantham, Brahma. Or the four Veda: Samhita, Rig, Atharva and Yajur. Such literature feeds the mind with knowledge, the hard shell of the turtle symbolises the foundation of truth and religion.