Born from the mouth of the sleeping Balarama (sun god's brother) it devoured all but Balarama's head.
Shesha is the king of all nagas according to Hindu mythology and one of the primal beings of creation. He is sometimes called Ananta Shesha which means "Endless Shesha" as he is said to hold all the planets in the universe on his hoods. He is usually depicted as a massive coiled serpent with as many as five to one thousand heads, sometimes wearing an ornate crown on each head. The heads are not only venomous but spew fire as well.
Shesha is used by Vishnu as a bed, and he is often found sleeping upon his back. Shesha will also constantly be found singing about the glories of Vishnu from all his many mouths.
One story of Shesha tells of when he challenged the devas, claiming that only the great Hindu Triad could defeat him. Only the god of wind, Vayu, accepted his challenge. Shesha wrapped himself around a large mountain and told Vayu that he would be the winner should he destroy the mountain. Vayu created powerful storms, but Shesha simply enlarged himself and swallowed up the storms. Vayu, weakened from his attempts to defeat Shesha, was overpowered and swallowed by the serpent causing all living things to lose the ability to breathe. Luckily Vishnu told Shesha to release Vayu, Shesha obeyed, and in doing so the mountain he was wrapped around instantly crumbled.
At the end of each Kapla (time period allotted to the earth) the serpent destroys all creation.
