Editing Shesha (section)

== Origin and legends ==
According to the [[Mahabharata]], Shesha 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 (snake)|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 [[Vinata]], sister of Kadru. (Kadru and Vinata were daughters of Daksha).

Shesha, disgusted by the cruel acts of his brothers, left his mother and kin, and took on 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 (goddess)|Bhumi]] with his hood. He is believed to support her even today, thus making [[Patala]] his perennial residence.<ref>''Mbh'', Adi Parva</ref>

===Vishnu and Shesha===

Shesha is usually depicted as floating in the ocean of the changing world, forming the bed of a primordial form of Vishnu, i.e. [[Narayana]], [[Vāsudeva]] or in later Puranic Vaishnavism, [[Mahavishnu]].

In the [[Bhagavata Purana]], Shesha is named Sankarshana, the [[tamasic]] energy of 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]]s, or primitive forms of Vishnu, the other three being [[Vasudeva]], [[Pradyumna]], and [[Aniruddha]].

In [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism|Gaudiya]] accounts, Sankarshana expands himself as Garbhodakshayi-Vishnu in the beginning of the universe to create [[Brahma]]. In other words, Sankarshana is believed to be Narayana himself.

In the first few chapters of the [[Purana|Puranas]], it is also said that 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 (Mahābhārata)|Maitreya]], who in turn preached it to [[Vidura]].

===Marriage===
According to legends, Shesha is married to [[Nagalakshmi]]. As per the ''[[Garga Samhita (Vaishnavite text)|Garga Samhita]]'', she is considered to be the personification of the divine ocean called the [[Kshira Sagara]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Garga Saṁhita |date=2006 |publisher=Rasbihari Lal & Sons |isbn=978-81-87812-98-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nkv9PgAACAAJ&q=naga+lakshmi+garg+samhita |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Śrīgargasaṃhitā: Kīrtibhāṣāsārasahitā |date=2000 |publisher=Vyāsa Bālābakṣa Śodhasaṃsthāna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3PXAAAAMAAJ&q=%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%80 |language=sa}}</ref>