Naga (mythology)

Nāga () is the Sanskrit and Pāli word for a minor deity taking the form of a very large snake, found in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. The use of the term nāga is often ambiguous, as the word may also refer, in similar contexts, to one of several human tribes known as or nicknamed "Nāgas"; to elephants; and to ordinary snakes, particularly the King Cobra and the Indian Cobra, the latter of which is still called nāg in Hindi and other languages of India. A female nāga is a nāgī.

Nagas in Hinduism

Stories involving the nāgas are still very much a part of contemporary cultural traditions in predominantly Hindu regions of Asia (India, Nepal, and the island of Bali). In India, nāgas are considered nature spirits and the protectors of springs, wells and rivers. They bring rain, and thus fertility, but are also thought to bring disasters such as floods and drought. According to some traditions nāgas are only malevolent to humans when they have been mistreated. They are susceptible to mankind's disrespectful actions in relation to the environment. Since nāgas have an affinity with water, the entrances to their underground palaces are often said to be hidden at the bottom of wells, deep lakes and rivers. They are especially popular in southern India where some believe that they brought fertility to their venerators. Some believed that the legends of nāgas may have originated with some kind of tribal people in the past.

Varuna, the Vedic god of storms, is viewed as the King of the nāgas. nāgas live in Pātāla, the seventh of the "nether" dimensions or realms ^*. They are children of Kashyapa and Kadru. Among the prominent nāgas of Hinduism are Manasa, Shesha or Sesa and Vasuki.

The nāgas also carry the elixir of life and immortality. One story mentions that when the gods were rationing out the elixir of immortality, the nāgas grabbed a cup. The gods were able to retrieve the cup, but in doing so, spilled a few drops on the ground. The nāgas quickly licked up the drops, but in doing so, cut their tongues on the grass, and since then their tongues have been forked.

The name of the Indian city Nagpur is derived from Nāgapuram, literally, "city of nāgas".

Nāgas in Buddhism

Traditions about nāgas are also very common in all the Buddhist countries of Asia. In many countries, the nāga concept has been merged with local traditions of large and intelligent serpents or dragons. In Tibet, the nāga was equated with the klu (pronounced lu), spirits that dwell in lakes or underground streams and guard treasure. In China, the nāga was equated with the lóng or Chinese dragon.

The Buddhist nāga generally has the form of a large cobra-like snake, usually with a single head but sometimes with many. At least some of the nāgas are capable of using magic powers to transform themselves into a human semblance. In Buddhist painting, the nāga is sometimes portrayed as a human being with a snake or dragon extending over his head.

Nāgas both live on Mount Sumeru, among the other minor deities, and in various parts of the human-inhabited earth. Some of them are water-dwellers, living in rivers or the ocean; others are earth-dwellers, living in underground caverns. Some of them sleep on top of anthills. Their food includes frogs.

In Buddhism, the nāgas are the enemies of the , minor deities resembling gigantic eagles, who eat them. They learned how to keep from being devoured by the by eating large stones, which made them too heavy to be carried off by the .

The nāgas are the servants of (Pāli: Virūpakkha), one of the Four Heavenly Kings who guards the western direction. They act as a guard upon Mount Sumeru, protecting the devas of from attack by the Asuras.

Among the notable nāgas of Buddhist tradition is Mucalinda, protector of the Buddha.

Other Naga traditions

For Malay sailors, nāgas are a type of dragon with many heads; in Thailand and Java, the naga is a wealthy underworld deity. In Laos they are beaked water serpents.

Nagas in Cambodia

In a Cambodian legend, the nāga were a reptilian race of beings who possessed a large empire or kingdom in the Pacific Ocean region. The Nāga King's daughter married the king of Ancient Cambodia, and thus gave rise to the Cambodian people. This is why, still, today, Cambodians say that they are "Born from the Nāga". The Seven-Headed Nāga serpents depicted as statues on Cambodian temples, such as Angkor Wat, apparently represent the 7 races within Nāga society, which has a mythological, or symbolic, association with "the seven colours of the rainbow". Furthermore, Cambodian Nāga possess numerological symbolism in the number of their heads. Odd-headed Nāga symbolise the Male Energy, Infinity, Timelessness, and Immortality. This is because, numerologically, all odd numbers come from One (1). Even-headed Nāga are said to be "Female, representing Physicality, Mortality, Temporality, and the Earth."

Nagas in Nagaland

The Naga people of Nagaland are said to have believed themselves to be descendants of the mythological "Nāgas", but to have lost this belief due to Christian missionary activity.

Prehistoric Nagas

Legends similar to the Cambodian legend exist amongst the tribal Hindus of Southern India (Adivasis) and the aboriginals of Australia. In this version of the legend, the Nagas inhabited a massive continent that existed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean region. The continent sank and the remnants formed the Indonesian archipelago and Australia. These Nagas are said to have developed a subterranean or underwater civilization technologically more advanced than ours and they are thought to possess superhuman powers.

External links

Nagas in the Pali Canon
Nagas
Image of a Seven-Headed Naga
Naga Shapeshifters
In the Coils of the Naga Fortean Times investigate the mythology
Nagas and Serpents

Non-human races in Hindu mythology | Buddhist mythology | Shapeshifting

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