Sheshnag: Why did Lord Vishnu's beloved Shesh Nag abandon his mother?

 

Rishi Kashyapa son Sheshnag: Sheshnag was born first in the clan of snakes. Therefore, he is considered the first snake of the universe. Sheshnag has 1 thousand hoods on which he has carried the weight of all the universes including the planets. He also has a special role in the creation and destruction of the universe, the description of incarnations is also found in Mahabharata, Ramayana and many other Puranas. But once it happened that Shesh Nag got angry with his mother's deceit and abandoned her, after which he went to the shelter of Lord Vishnu forever.

Birth of Sheshnag

Prajapati Kashyap, the son of Brahma, had two wives. Kadru and Vinata, who were the daughters of Daksh Prajapati. Once pleased, Rishi Kashyap asked Vinata and Kadru to ask for a boon of their choice. After which Kadru asked for a boon of getting a thousand snakes as bright as her as sons and Vinata asked for a boon of only 2 powerful sons. After getting the boon, Kadru gave birth to 100 snakes. Shesh Naga was the first to appear among the snakes. Birds originated from Vinita.

Sheshnag abandoned his mother and brothers

Although Kadru and Vinata were the daughters of Daksha Prajapati, Kadru was jealous of Vinata. Once she defeated Vinata in a game by deceit and made her a slave. When Sheshnag saw that his mother and brothers had cheated his aunt Vinata, he became very sad. He left his mother and brothers. Then he started doing penance on Gandhamadana mountain.

Boon received from Brahma Ji

Sheshnag pleased Brahmaji by performing austerity. He said to Brahmaji who had come to grant him a boon, "O Lord! All my brothers are dim-witted. Hence I do not want to live with them. They hate mother Vinata and her sons." Pleased with this selfless devotion of Sheshnag, Brahmaji blessed him that his intellect will never deviate from Dharma. He also said that the earth keeps moving continuously. Hence you should hold it on your hood in such a way that it becomes stable. It is said that since then Sheshnag has been carrying the weight of the earth.

Thousand-hooded Sheshnag and his incarnations

Since Sheshnag's mother's name is Kadru, he is also known as Kadrunandan and Anant, Adisesha, Kashyap etc. Many other snakes are also mentioned in religious texts. Such as Vasuki, Takshak, Karkotaka, Dhananjay etc. All of them are his younger brothers. Sheshnag took many incarnations along with Lord Vishnu. According to the Mahabharata text, Sheshnag was incarnated as Lakshman in Treta Yuga and then as Balram Ji in Dwapar Yuga.