Sheshanaga, Shesha-naga, Śeṣanāga: 5 definitions

Introduction:

Sheshanaga means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

The Sanskrit term Śeṣanāga can be transliterated into English as Sesanaga or Sheshanaga, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Hinduism

Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)

Source: ISKCON Press: Glossary

Śeṣanāga (शेषनाग).—An expansion of Lord Balarāma or Saṅkarṣaṇa who takes the form of a many-hooded serpent and serves as Lord Viṣṇu’s couch and other paraphernalia. He also holds the millions of universes on His hoods.

Vaishnavism book cover
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Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).

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General definition (in Hinduism)

[«previous next»] — Sheshanaga in Hinduism glossary
Source: WikiPedia: Hinduism

Sheshanaga is also considered a dasa (servant) as well as also a manifestation, or avatar, of Lord Maha Vishnu himself. Ananta Sheshanaga is said to have descended to Earth in four human forms or avatars:

  1. Lakshmana, brother of Lord Sri Rama,
  2. Balarama, brother of Lord Sri Krishna,
  3. Ramanuja
  4. and Manavala Mamunigal.

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

[«previous next»] — Sheshanaga in Jainism glossary
Source: The University of Sydney: A study of the Twelve Reflections

Śeṣanāga (शेषनाग) refers to the “serpent Śeṣa”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “On the earth even the lord of the snakes [com.—even the serpent Śeṣa (śeṣanāgaḥ)] with a thousand trembling mouths is not able to describe clearly the entire power of the doctrine. Those who have adopted a heterodox doctrine, lacking in [knowledge of the highest] reality, proclaim various doctrines. They are not aware of the reality of things because they are not competent to examine that [doctrine]”.

General definition book cover
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Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Sheshanaga in Sanskrit glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Śeṣanāga (शेषनाग):—[=śeṣa-nāga] [from śeṣa] m. the serpent Śeṣa (See above)

2) [v.s. ...] Name of the mythical author of the Paramārtha-sāra, [Catalogue(s)]

[Sanskrit to German]

Sheshanaga in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

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