How Sheshnaag came to hold the Earth on his head.

Kadru had 1000 snakes as her sons and she had cursed some of them when they had refused to comply with her wishes to wrap themselves round the tail of the celestial horse Uchchashrava to deceive their stepmother Vinta. Now the snakes were really worried about the consequence of the curse. One of the sons of Kadru was Sheshnaag who was tired of the wily and evil deeds of his other brothers. He separated himself from them and went to live alone in the valleys of the mountains Gandhmadan, Badrikashram, Gokarna and the Himalayas.

He meditated for a long time without eating or drinking anything. He would follow all the rituals carefully and visited all the holy places of the country. He prayed sincerely to the Gods specially Brahma. Brahma saw that Sheshnaag, due to his penance, has suffered a lot and become emaciated and his skin, veins and muscles had wasted away. Pleased with his perseverance and prayers, Brahma appeared before Sheshnaag and asked him, "Son, tell me the reason for your prayers. Why are you subjecting your body to such hardships? Why don't you do something to help mankind? What is it that you want so much which is driving you to such extreme measures?" Sheshnaag replied that he was really tired of the foolishness of his brothers and did not want to live with them anymore.

He said, "They hate each other as if they were enemies and are jealous of each other. They also hate Garuda and our stepmother Vinta. After all, Garuda is our brother and they should not cause so much unnecessary troubles to him. Therefore, tired of them, I have decided to stay away from them and am praying to you to grant me the wish that at least after my death I shouldn't have to live with them." Brahma answered that the deeds of the snakes are not hidden from him and by defying their mother they are in great trouble. Brahma also said that he had also thought of a suitable punishment for them and that Sheshnaag needn't worry about anything.

He said that he was happy with the prayers of Sheshnaag and granted him eternal intelligence and asked him to ask him anything that he wished for. Sheshnaag was overwhelmed and said, "O Father of this world, grant me this wish that my intelligence may be used for the pursuit of goodness, prayers and strength." Brahma granted Sheshnaag his wish and told him that he was very pleased with the way he had controlled his heart and senses and requested him to do a good deed for mankind.

He told him that the Earth, with all her villages, towns, forests, mountains and the seas is not stable and keeps shaking and that Sheshnaag should hold her in such a way that she stabilises herself and stops moving. Sheshnaag told Brahma that he would do as he was asked and would wear the earth on his head and stabilise her. As instructed, Sheshnaag went through the Earth, held her from all sides and placed her on his head. From that time Sheshnaag has been still and patiently carrying the Earth on his head.