ANANTA The Serpent of Eternity, in Hindu mythology, on which Vishnu rests. Ananta has a thousand heads, all of which rise to form a canopy over the recumbent deity. As Balarma, the half-brother of Krishna, Ananta takes on human form, but as he is sitting beneath a tree, lost in thought, a serpent crawls from his mouth, and he is left disincarnate. In his serpentine form, Ananta spews forth venomous fire that destroys creation at the end of each kalpa. Having once made a truce, the gods and the demons used Ananta as a rope, which they twisted around Mount Mandara, and so churned the ocean for Amrita.