Shesha | |
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King of the Serpents [1] | |
![]() Ananta Shesha | |
Other names | Sheshanaga, Ananta, Adishesha, Sankarshana |
Affiliation | Vaishnavism |
Abode | Kshira Sagara |
Personal information | |
Parents | |
Siblings | Many including Manasa, Vasuki and Takshaka |
Consort | Nagalakshmi |
Children | Sulochana |
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Vaishnavism |
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Shesha (Sesa), also known as Sheshanaga (Sanskrit: शेषनाग; Sesanaga) or Adishesha (Adi Sesa), is a serpent god (Naga) and Nagaraja (King of all serpents) and a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the planets of the universe on his hoods and to constantly sing the glories of Vishnu from all his mouths. He is sometimes referred to as Ananta Shesha, "Endless-Shesha", or Adishesha, the "First Shesha". It is said that when Adishesa uncoils, time moves forward and creation takes place; when he coils back, the universe ceases to exist.
The Narayana form of Vishnu is often depicted as resting on Shesha. Adishesha is considered as one of the two mounts of Vishnu alongside Garuda. He is said to have descended upon Earth in the following human forms or incarnations: Lakshmana, brother of Vishnu's incarnation Rama during the Treta Yuga, and according to some traditions, as Balarama, brother of Vishnu's incarnation Krishna during the Dvapara Yuga. According to the Mahabharata (Adi Parva), his father was Kashyapa and his mother Kadru, though in other accounts, he is usually a primordial being created by Vishnu.
The term "shesha" in Sanskrit texts, especially those relating to mathematical calculation, means "remainder"— that which remains when all else ceases to exist.
He is married to Nagalakshmi name is shirsha. She is daughter of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi and adopted daughter of Naga guru . She have two sister name chandratara and shirsdoon wife of Vasuki and three brother name Sudarshana Chakra
,Shank and Kamadeva.They have two daughterSunayana and Sulochana (wife of Indrajit). She have three avatar name Urmila, Joysamati and Revati. She is also known as Kshira Sagara.
Form
Adishesha is generally depicted with a massive form that floats coiled through space, or upon the Ocean of Milk, to form the bed upon which Vishnu lays. Sometimes, he is depicted as a five-headed or seven-headed or a ten-headed serpent; but more commonly as one thousand-headed, or five thousand-headed, or even as many as a one million-headed serpent; sometimes with each head wearing an ornate crown.
His name means "he who remains", from the Sanskrit root śiṣ, because even as the world is destroyed at the end of each kalpa, Shesha remains as he is.
In the Bhagavad Gita chapter 10, verse 29, Krishna describes 75 of his common manifestations, and declares, "anantaś ca asmi nāgānāṁ": Of the nagas, I am Ananta.
As per the Mahabharata, Adishesha was born to the sage Kashyapa and his wife Kadru. Kadru gave birth to a thousand snakes, of which Shesha was the eldest. After Shesha, Vasuki, Iravati and Takshaka were born, in that order. A lot of Shesha's brothers were cruel and were bent upon inflicting harm on others. They were even unkind to Garuda, who was Kashyapa's son through Vinatha, sister of Kadru. (Kadru and Vinatha were daughters of Daksha).
Shesha, disgusted by the cruel acts of his brothers, left his mother and kin, and took to austere penances. He lived on air and meditated in places including Gandhamadhana, Badrikashrama, Gokarna, Pushkara, and the Himalayas. His penances were so severe that his flesh, skin, and muscles dried up and merged with his frame. Brahma, convinced of Shesha's will, asked Shesha to request a boon. Shesha asked that he be able to keep his mind under control so that he could continue to perform ascetic penances. Brahma gladly accepted the request. Brahma then asked a favour of Shesha: to go beneath the precarious earth and stabilise it. Shesha agreed and went to the netherworld and stabilised Bhumi with his hood. He is believed to support her even today, thus making Patala his perennial residence.[2]
Mahavishnu and Sankarshana
Shesha is usually depicted as floating in the ocean of the changing world, forming the bed of Mahavishnu.
In the Bhagavata Purana, Shesha is named Sankarshana, the tamasic energy of Lord Narayana himself, and is said to live deep within the inner layers of Patala, where there are many serpents with gems on their heads and where he reigns as its ruler. He is said to have existed before the creation of the universe. When the universe is towards its end, he creates the 11 Rudras from the serpents to destroy the universe for a new one to be created.
Sankarshana is also one of the four vyuha forms of Vishnu, the other three being Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha.
In some accounts, Sankarshana expands himself as Garbhodakshayi-Vishnu in the beginning of the universe to create Brahma. In other words, Lord Sankarshana is believed to be Lord Narayana himself.
In the first few chapters of the Puranas, it is also said that Lord Sankarshana preached the Bhagavata to the Four Kumaras, who in turn passed on this message. At some point, the message was passed to sage Maitreya, who in turn preached it to Vidura.
Avatars
Adisesha is believed to have taken 5 incarnations on earth. During the Satya Yuga, he came down in his original form to form a seat for Vishnu's avatar of Narasimha, who had incarnated to slay the impious Hiranyakashipu.
During the Treta Yuga, Sesha took birth as Lakshmana, as Lord Vishnu's (as Rama) brother. Lakshmana is a very prominent character in the Ramayana, along with Hanuman and Sita.
During Dvapara Yuga, he is a stated to have incarnated as Balarama again as a brother to Lord Vishnu (as Krishna). This is often disputed by other line-ups of the Dasavatara, where Balarama is also considered to be an incarnation of Vishnu. During the Kali Yuga, he took birth as Patanjali Maharishi, Ramanujachaya and Manavala Mamunigal.[3] He was not accompanied by God during the Kali Yuga. Instead, he incarnated alone to spread devotion among the people, being a peaceful incarnation.
It is considered in Sri Vaishnavism that Lord Balarama is an incarnation of both Lord Vishnu and Adishesha.
In a story from the Puranas, Sesha's younger brother Vasuki loosens Mount Mandara to enable it to be used in the churning of the ocean by the devas and the asuras.
The capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, is named after the King of the Serpents and is translated as "The Sacred City of Ananta".
Quotations
- "The foremost manifestation of Lord Vishnu is Sankarṣana, who is known as Ananta. He is the origin of all incarnations within this material world. Previous to the appearance of Lord Shri Krishna, this original Sankarsana will appear as Baladeva, just to please the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna in His transcendental pastimes." Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.1.24
- "Sri Anantadeva has thousands of faces and is fully independent. Always ready to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He waits upon him constantly. Sankarsana is the first expansion of Vasudeva and because he appears by his own will, He is called svarat, fully independent. He is therefore infinite and transcendental to all limits of time and space. He Himself appears as the thousand-headed Shesha." Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his Krishna-Sandarbha
- "Sankarsana of the quadruple form descends with Lord Shri Rama as Lakshmana. When Lord Shri Rama disappears, Shesha again separates himself from the personality of Lakshmana. Shesha then returns to his own abode in the Patala regions and Lakshmana returns to His abode in Vaikuntha." A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
- In the Bhagavad-Gita, when in the middle of the battlefield Kurukshetra, Shri Krishna explaining his omnipresence, says: "Of Nāgas, I am Ananta" indicating the importance of Ananta Shesha.
Narasimha, the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu seated on the coils of Shesha, with seven heads of Shesha forming a canopy. statue at Vijayanagara.
Maha Vishnu sheltered by the five-headed Shesha, Parsurameswar Temple, Bhubaneswar.
In Culture
The Palliyodam, a type of large snake boat built and used by Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple in Kerala for the annual water processions of Uthrattathi Jalamela and Valla Sadhya has the legend that it was designed by Lord Krishna and were made to look like Shesha.[4]
On the SCP Foundation wiki, the winning article for the SCP-3000 contest is titled Anantashesha. The article features SCP-3000, a gargantuan serpentine entity swimming in the Bay of Bengal with anomalous abilities, based on the fact that Shesha "would linger past the end".[5]
Other names
- Sheshanaga (Sesha the serpent)
- Adishesha (the first Sesha)
- Anantashesha (Endless Sesha)
- Ananta (endless/infinite)
- Alternative spellings: Sesa, Sesha, Śeṣa
- Shesha Sayana or Nagar Syana means Vishnu who sleeps (Sayana) on Sheshanaga
See also
References
- ^ Handa 2004, p. 91.
- ^ Mbh, Adi Parva
- ^ "Manavala Mamunigal". acharya.org. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "Explained: What is a Palliyodam, and why a Kerala actor was arrested for photoshoot on it". thenewsminute. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ A Random Day; Ben "djkaktus" Sisson; Joreth (25 March 2017). "SCP-3000 - Anantashesha". SCP Foundation. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
Bibliography
- Handa, Om Chanda (2004), Naga Cults and Traditions in the Western Himalaya, Indus Publishing, ISBN 978-8173871610