Śesha’s Thousand Hoods
Śesha is the great serpent king who carries all the worlds on his hoods. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tells how he came to have his thousand hoods and his strength to bear the earth. Pride rose in him, and Bhagavān Śiva struck his hoods with a trident. Nārada Maharshi then gave him the Shaḍaksharī mantra of Gaṇeśa. Śesha did tapas for a thousand years at Pravāḷa-kshetra, and Gaṇeśa gave him his thousand hoods.
Śesha’s pride and Bhagavān Śiva’s blow
This was in a time before Śesha took up his last work as the couch of Bhagavān Vishṇu and the bearer of the earth. The serpent king had become aware of his great nature: his ancient line, his power among the nāgas and his place in the cosmic order. A quiet pride rose in his heart.
Bhagavān Śiva is the highest yogī and sees the inner state of every being. He saw this pride and answered it at once. He threw his trident at Śesha’s hoods. The trident struck, and the hoods, which then numbered fewer than the thousand he would later have, were crushed. Śesha fell to the ground with his hoods shattered. His power was suddenly less, and his pride was gone in one moment of shock and pain.
To bear the whole weight of creation on his hoods needs pure, surrendered strength, and that strength comes only from the grace of Gaṇeśa. This is told in Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 90.
Nārada’s instruction
Nārada Maharshi came to the side of the wounded and humbled Śesha. He saw what Śesha needed: not comfort but a way to true power. He gave Śesha the Shaḍaksharī mantra of Gaṇeśa, the six-syllable mantra, and sent him to Pravāḷa-kshetra, where the holy conditions for such tapas were already in place. He told Śesha to do tapas there for a thousand years, with his mind fixed wholly on Gaṇeśa. This is told in Chapter 90.
The thousand years of tapas at Pravāḷa-kshetra
Śesha went to Pravāḷa-kshetra. Kārtavīryārjuna had already made this place holy by his own tapas, and the image of Pravāḷa Gaṇapati had been set up there. At this place of power Śesha began his thousand years of tapas and chanted the Shaḍaksharī mantra without a break. His old pride was wholly gone. In its place was full surrender to the will of Gaṇeśa.
For a thousand years the serpent king sat still, with his broken hoods drawn close to his body and his whole being fixed on the form of Gaṇeśa. The earth shook with the gathered power of this tapas, and the devas watched with wonder and respect. This is told in Chapter 91.
Gaṇeśa appears on the lion
When the thousand years were over, Gaṇeśa appeared before Śesha in a splendid form. He had ten arms, he rode on a lion (Siṃhavāhana, the lion as his vāhana), and he shone with the brightness of ten thousand suns.
Śesha was overcome by the sight. He bowed down in complete surrender and offered a stotra (hymn of praise) full of bhakti. This is told in Chapter 91.
The three varas
Gaṇeśa was deeply pleased with the honesty, the length and the quality of Śesha’s tapas. He gave three great varas (boons).
- One thousand hoods. Śesha’s crushed hoods were not only healed but made a thousand. He became Sahasravadana, the thousand-headed one, with hoods of unmatched strength and brightness.
- Strength to bear the earth. He received the strength to carry the weight of all the worlds on his hoods. This is Śesha’s last work in the cosmos, as Dharaṇīdhara, the bearer of the earth.
- Gaṇeśa always near. Gaṇeśa said that he himself would always be with Śesha. From that day Gaṇeśa would wear serpents as his ornaments: round his waist, on his neck and as his sacred thread. He would be known as Vyālabaddha (vyāla means serpent, baddha means adorned or bound), the Gaṇeśa who is adorned with serpents. In this way the bond between Gaṇeśa and the nāga was fixed for ever in the form of Gaṇeśa.
This is told in Chapter 91.
Dharaṇīdhara and the kshetra
In thanks, Śesha set up an image of Gaṇeśa at Pravāḷa-kshetra under the name Dharaṇīdhara, the earth-bearer, in honour of the vara he had received. This was at the same kshetra where Kārtavīryārjuna had set up Pravāḷa Gaṇapati. So Pravāḷa-kshetra is holy twice over: the place of two great tapas fulfilled, two appearances of Gaṇeśa and two lasting shrines of Gaṇeśa.
Śesha then took up his place in the cosmos. He became the śesha-śayyā of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the divine couch on which Bhagavān Vishṇu lies in the Kshīrasāgara (the ocean of milk). The thousand hoods give shade to Bhagavān Vishṇu, and the earth rests on Śesha’s body. All this work was possible because of the strength Śesha received from the grace of Gaṇeśa. This is told in Chapter 91.
Sources
- Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 90 (Śesha’s pride, Nārada’s instruction)
- Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 91 (the tapas, Gaṇeśa’s appearance, the varas, Dharaṇīdhara)