Anantasana (;

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: ), Sleeping Vishnu Pose or Vishnu's Couch Pose, Eternal One's Pose, or Side-Reclining Leg Lift is an

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...

in modern

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of asana, postures, often connected by vinyasa, flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by pranayama, breathing exercises, and frequently ending with savasana, relaxation lying down or ...

Etymology and origins

A sculpture of sleeping Vishnu Hindu deity at Museum CSMVS Mumbai

The name comes from the Sanskrit words '' anantā'' () meaning "without end" or "the infinite one", for the thousand-headed serpent

Shesha Shesha (), also known by his epithets Sheshanaga () and Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod ( naga) and king of the serpents ( Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the ...

upon which

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

rested at the bottom of the primordial ocean, and āsana () meaning "posture" or "seat". A different reclining pose named Anantasana is described and illustrated in the 19th century ''

Sritattvanidhi The ''Sritattvanidhi'' (, "The Illustrious Treasure of Realities") is a treatise written in the 19th century in the Mysore Palace, Karnataka on the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. One of its sections includes instru ...

''. The modern pose is described in the 1966 ''

Light on Yoga ''Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika'' (Sanskrit: योग दीपिका, "Yoga Dīpikā") is a 1966 book on the Iyengar Yoga style of modern yoga as exercise by B. K. S. Iyengar, first published in English. It describes more than 200 yoga postu ...

''.

Description

Anantasana is entered from a lying position. The head is supported with one hand, the upper arm on the ground on that side; the other hand and leg are stretched straight up, the fingers grasping the big toe of the raised foot. The supporting arm, body, and lower leg are in a straight line.

In culture

ON 26 December 2024, Chethan Kulkarni held Anantasana for a record duration of 30 minutes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anantasana Reclining asanas Core strength asanas Asymmetric asanas