Why Anantha Is Carrying the Earth on His Hoods
We know that Mother Earth is resting on the hood of Ananta, Adi Shesha.
Do you know the story behind this?
Kadru and Vinata were two wives of Kashyapa Prajapati.
All the serpents including Ananta were sons of Kadru.
Garuda and Aruna are Vinata’s sons.
Kadru was always jealous of Vinata.
Once, Ucchaihshravas, the divine horse, was going through the sky.
Kadru told Vinata, 'What do you think is the colour of that horse?'
Vinata said, 'White.'
Kadru said, 'Its tail is black.'
By this time, the horse was gone.
'Tomorrow we will see when it comes again.'
Kadru knew very well that even the tail was white. She had a plan.
She told Vinata, 'If I am right, you will become my slave.
If you are right, then I will become your slave.'
She called her children, the serpents, and told them,
'Tomorrow, when the horse comes, you all go and hang by its tail. Then it will look black from here.'
Many of the serpents who were righteous refused to be part of this dishonesty.
Kadru cursed them — her own sons — that they would die in fire.
This curse was the reason for the Sarpa Yajna of Janamejaya.
Ananta was among those who refused to be part of her plan.
Some of her sons got scared and did as she told.
The tail turned black. Vinata became Kadru's slave.
We will not get into that now.
Ananta felt so disgusted about what his mother and some of his brothers did that he left home and started doing tapas.
He was ashamed that he was born into the Naga Vamsha itself.
He did tapas in the Himalayas, Gandhamadana, Pushkara — all the punya teerthas —
consuming only air in the place of food.
He became just skin and bones. Intense tapas.
But tapas causes generation of heat.
The whole world started heating up because of Ananta's tapas.
Brahmaji appeared before him.
'Why are you doing such intense tapas? Others are getting affected because of this.
You are supposed to be a noble soul. You are supposed to act in everyone's welfare.
Here, everyone is suffering because of the heat your tapas is producing.'
Ananta said, 'I don't know what to do. I am so disgusted with my brothers.
I don't want to see their face ever again. I want to go away from them forever.'
Brahmaji said, 'I will bless you with that.
We will also devise something, doing which you will also be perpetually doing something in the interest of the whole world.
The Earth, ever since creation, is unstable. It is floating here and there.
Because of this, earthquakes happen. Nothing is able to take root on the surface of Earth, because it keeps on shaking.
You go down and hold her on top of your hood so that she becomes stable, and beings can live comfortably.
I will ask Earth to open up and provide you the path to go down to Patala.
After you reach Patala, you can start holding her on top of your hood.
And you will never have to see your brothers again.'
This is how Ananta became the support for Mother Earth.
Ananta expressed his gratitude to Brahmaji and did as he told.
Ananta is also known as Adishesha.
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