Dual Vratās: Anantapadmanābha & Umā Maheśwara

Our own everythingness rests over the primordial snake, ādi-ananta-seshā ( 1️⃣ - ♾ - 0️⃣ ) while our own nothingness wears another massive serpent 🐍 Vāsuki <वासुकि> around his neck as an ornament! Recollect that it’s the same Vāsuki who volunteered to be the gripping belt for our rajasik & tamasik gunas <devās & asurās> to churn <mantana or manana> our mind in their search for immortality <a-mrita>, which essentially means de-identification from our robotic 🤖 toolset 🧰, in general, & our body, in particular. 

Only our own nothingness 0️⃣ could & can effortlessly handle the emergence of challenging situations <poison☠️> from the inevitable churning of our own emotional ocean 🌊 to further our evolution. On the other side of the same coin, it’s only our own everythingness ♾ which could & can effortlessly bear such a massive load required to accomplish any significant task, worthy of accomplishment. This is akin to how our early evolution as a turtle 🐢 <kūrmāvatārā> bore the brunt of the load. 

Hence to perceive either our nothingness 0️⃣ or our everythingness ♾ alone is to be half blind to the reality of life, living half a life! No wonder then that the penance to speed up the recognition of our everythingness <Ananta-padma-nābha Vratā> & the penance to speed up the recognition of our nothingness <Umā Maheśwara Vratā> coincide today. 

🕉 shanta-aakaram bhujaga-shayanam, padma-nabham suresham!

अनन्तं वासुकिं शेषं पद्मनाभं च कम्बलं

शन्खपालं ध्रूतराष्ट्रं च तक्षकं कालियं तथा

एतानि नव नामानि नागानाम च महात्मनं

सायमकाले पठेन्नीत्यं प्रातक्काले विशेषतः

तस्य विषभयं नास्ति सर्वत्र विजयी भवेत

ll इति श्री नवनागस्त्रोत्रं सम्पूर्णं ll

Here’s just an excerpt of the lyrics from the Uma Maheśwara stotram. For the the full hymn in the author’s voice, listen to the audio by clicking on the play button below the image on the top: