The Lord's Cosmic Repose
Śayana ('reclining,' 'sleep,' 'lying down') is the specific posture in which Viṣṇu is enshrined at several of the most important Divya Desams, most notably at Śrīraṅgam (Ranganātha), Tiruvanantapuram (Anantapadmanābha), and Tirupaṛkkaṭal (the cosmic Kṣīrasāgara, Mahāviṣṇu). The posture is called bhujaṅgaśayana (reclining on the serpent) or simply śayanam.
Theological Significance
The śayanam posture carries multiple layers of meaning: (1) the Lord's effortless sovereignty — He reclines in perfect ease while simultaneously sustaining all creation; (2) the state between cosmic dissolution and creation — Viṣṇu on the cosmic waters before creation begins; (3) the accessibility of the supreme — the reclining posture is intimate, even vulnerable-seeming, expressing the Lord's saulabhya; (4) Ādiśeṣa as the Lord's personal servant even in His repose — the Lord's servants share in His rest.
The Śayana Service
In temple ritual, the śayana service (last service of the day) is when the deity is 'put to sleep' for the night — laid down on a bed of flowers with appropriate mantras, the chamber doors closed, and the Lord left in His rest. This service is theologically rich: the Lord rests as a king rests, but His 'rest' is itself a cosmic event. The next morning's awakening (tiruvanandal or suprabhatam) is the corresponding greeting.
Āzhvār Experience
Nammāzhvār and Toṇḍaraḍippoḍi Āzhvār in particular respond intensely to the Lord's śayanam — the sight of the cosmic Lord in intimate repose activates both awe and tender protective love in the devotee.