Divine Beings
Shesha
शेष
Ananta, Who Holds the Earth
Who was Shesha?
Shesha (शेष): Ananta, Who Holds the Earth, one of the divine beings in the Mahabharata. The eldest son of Kadru and the first of the snakes, who left his brothers because their hearts were set on harming Vinata's son and burned himself down with penances until Brahma came to ask what he wanted.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | शेष |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | Ananta, Who Holds the Earth |
| Faction | Divine Beings |
| Key traits | Steadfast, Solitary, Enduring, Righteous |
| Notable relationships | Mother: Kadru, Brother: Vasuki, Brother: Takshaka, Granter of his boon: Brahma |
| Featured in | 9 stories |
About Shesha
The eldest son of Kadru and the first of the snakes, who left his brothers because their hearts were set on harming Vinata's son and burned himself down with penances until Brahma came to ask what he wanted. He asked only that his mind stay fixed on virtue, and was set beneath the world to carry it, entering the earth through a crevice she opened for him. Narada names him to Matali in Bhogavati as the one who upholds the ground on his head, and the epic calls him Ananta, the endless.
In Their Words
Let me not see my brothers again, and let my heart never turn from virtue - that is the whole of my asking.
Shesha
Traits
- Steadfast
- Solitary
- Enduring
- Righteous
Story Appearances
Stories Featuring Shesha
7 further tales on this site name Shesha, in canonical reading order.
- The Lineages of Gods and DemonsVaishampayana recites the descent of every creature from Brahma and the daughters of Daksha
- The Grandsire Names the GodDuryodhana asks why he keeps losing and gets a theology instead
- The One Who Walked Before the CarVyasa tells Arjuna whose lance was breaking the ranks in front of him
- The Fourth Portion of VishnuSanatkumara tells the defeated Vritra what holds up the universe, and Bhishma tells Yudhishthira who Krishna is
- The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawn
- Balarama Returns to the SeaThe Serpent Leaves by the Mouth It Came From
- The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have been
Character Arc
- The LeavingWalks out of his mother's house to burn his flesh away in penance
- The BoonAsks Brahma for nothing but a mind that stays on virtue
- The BurdenGoes down through the earth and takes her weight on his head
Key Relationships
Places in Shesha's Story
Drawn from the stories Shesha appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Divine Beings.