Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 1
The Glories of Lord Ananta (Śeṣa/Saṅkarṣaṇa) and the Cosmic Foundation Beneath Pātāla
श्रीशुक उवाच तस्य मूलदेशे त्रिंशद्योजनसहस्रान्तर आस्ते या वै कला भगवतस्तामसी समाख्यातानन्त इति सात्वतीया द्रष्टृदृश्ययो: सङ्कर्षणमहमित्यभिमानलक्षणं यं सङ्कर्षणमित्याचक्षते ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca tasya mūla-deśe triṁśad-yojana-sahasrāntara āste yā vai kalā bhagavatas tāmasī samākhyātānanta iti sātvatīyā draṣṭṛ-dṛśyayoḥ saṅkarṣaṇam aham ity abhimāna-lakṣaṇaṁ yaṁ saṅkarṣaṇam ity ācakṣate.
Śrī Śukadeva sprach: O König, dreißigtausend Yojanas unterhalb von Pātāla weilt eine Ausdehnung (kalā) der Höchsten Persönlichkeit Gottes, genannt Ananta oder Saṅkarṣaṇa. Er ist der Lenker des ahaṅkāra, des „Ich“-Gefühls aus der Verbindung von Sehenden und Gesehenem; durch Seinen Anstoß wähnt sich die gebundene Seele Genießer und Herr der Welt.
There is a class of men akin to Māyāvādī philosophers who misinterpret the ahaṁ brahmāsmi and so ’ham Vedic mantras to mean, “I am the Supreme Brahman” and “I am identical with the Lord.” This kind of false conception, in which one thinks himself the supreme enjoyer, is a kind of illusion. It is described elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.8) : janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti. As explained in the above verse, Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa is the predominating Deity of this false conception. Kṛṣṇa confirms this in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) :
FAQs
This verse identifies Ananta as a plenary expansion (kalā) of the Supreme Lord residing at the base of the cosmic arrangement, revered by devotees and also known as Saṅkarṣaṇa.
The verse notes Ananta’s association with tāmasī in the context of cosmic function—He is situated in the lower foundational region and is described in relation to that mode, while remaining a divine expansion of Bhagavān.
It points to how the sense of “I” arises by identifying consciousness with what is perceived; spiritually, one can redirect that “I”-sense toward devotion—seeing oneself as the Lord’s servant rather than the center.