While plucking tulasī in Sri Ramanuja nandavanam, Ananthalvan was bitten by a serpent. He bathed as usual and continued the kainkarya. In the sanctum the Lord asked why he sought no remedy.
“Which poison, my Lord? The cobra that bit this body, or the living cobra of ahaṅkāra and mamakāra within me? The first can hurt flesh. The second can destroy the soul. For that, You alone are the vaidya.”
Srinivasa said He would be the loser if the body were abandoned. Then came the famous reply: if the biter proved stronger, he would bathe in the Virajā and stand before the Lord of Vaikuntha; if the bitten one proved tougher, he would bathe in Svāmi Puṣkariṇī and stand before Srinivasa. He revealed himself as an aṃśa of Ādiśeṣa, and took the Lord as Dhanvantari.