Ananya Bhāva — Exclusive Orientation Toward Bhagavān Alone
Ananya bhāva (Sanskrit: ananya = 'not-other' / exclusive + bhāva = disposition/feeling; 'the disposition of having no other') is the inner attitude of total, exclusive dependence on and orientation toward Bhagavān alone — without any other refuge, protector, goal, or means. It is the interior correlate of the prapatti's declaration: 'Bhagavān alone is my protector; there is no other recourse.'
The Logic of Ananya Bhāva: In prapatti, one of the five aṅgas is mahā viśvāsa — supreme faith that Bhagavān will protect. Ananya bhāva is the experiential side of this: the soul inwardly experiences having no other option. 'When a child is lost and terrified and cries out for its mother — that child is not weighing alternatives. The child knows only: I need my mother. That is ananya bhāva.'
Ananya in the Carama Śloka: The Gītā's Carama Śloka opens with maṃ ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja — 'seek refuge in Me alone.' The word ekaṃ (alone/singular) encapsulates ananya bhāva. 'Do not seek refuge in karma, jñāna, or any other path alongside Me — seek Me alone.'
Difference from Withdrawal: Ananya bhāva does not mean rejecting the world — it means holding the world's proper place (as Bhagavān's creation, not as ultimate refuge). The prapanna lives in the world, performs duties, maintains relationships — but holds Bhagavān as the only ultimate resort. 'A traveller may use many roads — but they have only one home to which they are returning.'