Nanju (ನಂಜು) in Kannada means poison; the name Nanjundeshwara means the God who Drank the Poison (halahala) which originated during the Great Churning of the Ocean of Milk; thus the town got the name Nanjangud which means the abode of Lord Nanjundeshwara.
Amrita features in the "ocean-churning" Samudra manthan legend, which describes how the devas, because of a curse from the sage Durvasa, begin to lose their immortality.
The Hindu scriptures Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana, and the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to Samudra manthan, which is directly related to the origin of Gosaikunda.
The Samudra manthan - wherein Devas and Asuras churn the ocean of milk, with Vishnu's Kurma Avatar (also standing on top of the mountain in his four-armed form) carrying a mountain as a pivot - is showcased at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.