Ananta Muni
Ananta, simply known as Ananta, Sanskrit: अनन्त, Telugu: అనంతుడు, Hindi: अनंत.
Ananta has other meanings too: see all meanings of Ananta.
Ananta Muni is a brāhmaṇa in the Kalki Purāṇa. He was the son of the muni Vidrumuḍu and his wife Soma, and he lived in the city of Purī. He was born a napuṃsaka (a person who is neither male nor female). Through his father’s prayer, Parameśvara Śiva gave him paurusha (manhood). Later he saw the power of Vishṇumāyā directly. A whole second lifetime rose and ended inside one sea-bath.
He told his life to the kings and ṛshis (seers) who had gathered with Kalki and Padmāvatī at Siṃhala Dvīpa. They had asked him a deep question about the nature of strītva (womanhood) and purushatva (manhood). The Kalki Purāṇa tells his story in the Dvithīyāmśa, Chapters 4 and 5.
Birth and childhood
Ananta was born in Purī to the muni Vidrumuḍu and his pativratā (devoted and faithful) wife Soma. Vidrumuḍu knew all the Vedas and the dharmaśāstras (texts of law). He worked for the good of others. Soma was known for her deep pātivratya (faithfulness to her husband). The child born to them in their old age was a napuṃsaka. This gave both parents deep grief.
Vidrumuḍu went to the śiva-vana (a forest sacred to Śiva). There he did a full pūjā (worship) of Parameśvara with dhūpa (incense), dīpa (lamp) and gandha (fragrance), and he made a heartfelt prayer. Parameśvara Śiva appeared before him with Pārvatī and asked what he wished for. Vidrumuḍu said, “Grant my son paurusha.” Śiva glanced at Pārvatī with a smile and gave the vara (boon). The child was changed. When Vidrumuḍu came home, he found his son Ananta had become a purusha (a man). He was filled with great joy.
First marriage and the deaths of his parents
When Ananta was twelve years old, his parents arranged his vivāha (marriage). He married Māniṇī, the very beautiful daughter of Yajñarātu. Ananta entered the gṛhastha-āśrama (the householder’s stage of life) and was wholly devoted to his wife.
After some time his aged parents died. He performed all the śrāddha rites (rites for the departed), fed brāhmaṇas, and kept the proper mourning with his friends. Overcome with grief, he turned entirely to the service of Śrī Vishṇu.
The dream teaching of Bhagavān Vishṇu
Ananta pleased Bhagavān Vishṇu through japa (repeating a name or mantra), pūjā and constant Hari-bhajana (singing of Hari). In a svapna (dream), Śrī Hari appeared and taught him. The bonds of snēha-moha (affectionate attachment), such as “this is my father, this is my mother”, are made by māyāśakti (the power of illusion). Through them a jīva (living being) meets śoka (sorrow), moha (delusion), bhaya (fear), udvega (anxiety), vārdhakya (old age) and maraṇa (death).
Bhagavān Vishṇu said that one must serve one’s parents while they live. After they leave, one must not torment oneself with grief. Then Bhagavān Vishṇu disappeared.
Ananta woke up and left Purī with Māniṇī. They went to live at the Purushottama temple, and he built an āśrama on its right side. He served Bhagavān Vishṇu there for twelve years. During this time a deep wish arose in him to see Śrī Hari’s māyā (power of illusion) with his own eyes.
The vision of māyā
On a Dvādaśī day Ananta went to the sea to take the pāraṇa bath (the bath that goes with breaking a fast). He entered the water. Huge waves caught him, fish and crabs bit him, and the currents dragged him under and threw him about. At last he lost consciousness. The winds cast him onto the southern shore of the sea.
There Vṛddhśarma found him. He was a dharmic and wealthy brāhmaṇa who was finishing his sandhyāvandana (the prayers at the junctions of the day). Out of compassion he took Ananta to his home. Vṛddhśarma saw that Ananta was a brāhmaṇa who followed the path of the Vedas. He gave his daughter Cārumatī to Ananta in vivāha. She was beautiful, golden in complexion and full of virtue.
Through Cārumatī, Ananta had five sons: Jaya, Vijaya, Kamala, Vimala and Budha. He became very prosperous.
For the vivāha of his eldest son Budha, he went to the sea again to perform the tarpaṇa (offering of water) to the devas, the ṛshis and the pitṛs (ancestors). When he came out of the water, he found himself standing again at Purushottama-kshetra. His original friends and relatives from his earlier life stood around him. He understood with wonder that the whole lifetime had been a vision of māyā made by the unfathomable power of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The rescue, the second marriage, the five sons and the wealth had all passed in the time of one sea-bath.
The paramahaṃsa and the ten indriya-devatās
At that very moment a paramahaṃsa (a supreme renunciate) came to the shore. He confirmed that Ananta’s experience was true and taught him about Vishṇumāyā.
- At pralaya (the dissolution), all three worlds merge into Parabrahma.
- When creation begins again, Bhagavān Vishṇu divides his tejas (radiance) into Purusha and Prakṛti.
- From this arise mahattattva, then ahaṃkāra, then the three guṇas, then the five tanmātrās, then the five bhūtas.
- All beings in the brahmāṇḍa (the cosmic egg) that results live under the influence of māyā. They stay in the illusion that “this body is me, and what belongs to this body is mine”.
After the paramahaṃsa had taught him, Ananta told of his own experience with the ten indriya-devatās (the devas who rule the senses). He had been doing tapas (austerity) in the forest to conquer his indriyas (senses). The ten devatās appeared before him in bodily form. They were Dik, Vāyu, Sūrya, Varuṇa, Aśvinī, Agni, Indra, Upendra (Vishṇu), Mitra and Prajāpati. They told him not to harm them through tapas.
They taught him that the true conquest of the manas (mind) does not come from forcing the body. It comes through nishkāma bhakti (devotion with no wish for reward) to Śrī Hari. They said, “By the darśana of Kalki alone you will attain bhava-bandha-vimukti“, which is freedom from the bond of worldly existence.
Ananta followed their teaching and gave himself to the bhakti of Śrī Hari. In time he came to see Kalki. This was the moksha that the indriya-devatās had promised him. He touched Kalki’s divine feet and heard his divine words. Then he left in ānanda (joy).
Sources
- Kalki Purāṇa, Dvithīyāmśa, Chapter 4
- Kalki Purāṇa, Dvithīyāmśa, Chapter 5