Adisesha - The Protector of the Universe

Dr. G Ramesh Babu

Adi means the first and foremost. Sesha means the infinite. Adisesha means the first and infinite God that protects one and all. In other words, Adisesha means the protector of the entire universe, i.e., the God Almighty Himself.

MThat’s why all the Hindus believe that Adisesha is Lord Vishnu Himself. Because of this, the avatar of Balram who is supposed to be the incarnation of Adisesha, is treated as one of the Dasavataras of Lord Vishnu. Adisesha is otherwise referred to as Anantanaga, the king of all Nagas. Ananta, Sesha, Sahasraphani, Naga are the other names of Adisesha. According to Bhagavatam, Adisesha is an avatar of the Supreme God “Sankarsana” which is one of the names of Lord Vishnu. Ananta-padmanabha means the Lord Vishnu who lies comfortably and takes rest in the form of Yoga on Adisesha. It is generally believed that Lord Vishnu will have his Yoganidra on Adisesha who is almost like his bed. This bed is referred to as Seshatalpam.

Vishnu is Viriat and Anata is svarat

The divine form of Adisesha is generally depicted with a massive form having five or seven or 14 heads. Annamayya, in one of his sankirtanas, referred to Adisesha with 1000 heads. He described as furnished hereunder:
“Adivo alladivo Sri Harivasamu
Padivela padagala seshulamayamu”
It is believed that Adisesha floats coiled in space, or on the universal ocean (Kshira-sagaram), to form the bed on which Lord Vishnu lies. Thus he is closely associated with Vishnu. His name Sesha also means “that which remains”. Even when the entire universe is destroyed at the end of the kalpa, Sesha remains as such. In other words, he is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.

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