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Nāga (Sanskrit:) is the Sanskrit and Pāli word for a deity or class of entity or being, taking the form of a very large snake, found in Hinduism and Buddhism. 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.
In Sanskrit, a () is a cobra, a specific type of snake (hooded snake). A synonym for is (). There are several words for "snake" in general, and one of the very commonly-used ones is (). Sometimes the word is also used generically to mean "snake".[1] [2]
In the Mahabharata, the depiction of Nagas tends toward the negative, and they are portrayed as the deserving victims of the snake sacrifice and of predation by the rapacious bird-man Garuda. The epic calls them "persecutors of all creatures", and tells us "the snakes were of virulent poison, great prowess and excess of strength, and ever bent on biting other creatures" (Book I: Adi Parva, Section 20). At the same time, nagas were important players in many of the events narrated in the epic, frequently no more evil or deceitful than the other protagonists, and sometimes on the side of good.
The great nemesis of the Nagas in the Mahbharata was Garuda. Garuda and the Nagas began life as cousins. The sage Kasyapa had two wives, Kadru and Vinata, the former of whom desired many offspring, and the latter of whom desired few offspring but powerful. Each got her wish. Kadru laid 1000 eggs which hatched into snakes, and Vinata laid two, which hatched into the charioteer of Surya the sun god and Garuda. Through a foolish bet, Vinata became enslaved to her sister and Vinata's son Garuda was required to do the bidding of the snakes, as a result of which he built up a grudge that he would never relinquish. When he asked them what he would have to do in order to be released from his bondage, they told him he would have to bring them amrita, the elixir of immortality. Garuda stole the elixir from the gods and brought it to the serpents in fulfillment of their requirement, but through a ruse prevented them from partaking of it and achieving immortality. From that point onward, he regarded them as enemies and as food. (Book I: Adi Parva, Sections 16ff.)
Kadru, the ancestral mother of snakes, made a bet with her sister Vinata, the stakes being that the loser would be enslaved to the winner. Anxious to secure victory, Kadru requested the cooperation of her offspring in order to fix the bet so that Kadru would win. When her offspring balked at the request, Kadru grew angry and cursed them to die a fiery death in the snake-sacrifice of King Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit, who was the son of Abhimanyu the son of Arjuna. The king of the snakes Vasuki was aware of the curse, and knew that his brethren would need a hero to rescue them from it. He approached the renowned ascetic Jaratkaru with a proposal of marriage to a snake-maiden, Vasuki's own sister. Out of the union of the ascetic and the snake-maiden was born "a son of the splendor of a celestial child." This son was named Astika, and he was to be the savior of the snakes.
In accordance with Kadru's curse, Janamejaya prepared a snake sacrifice of a type described in the scriptures, the Puranas. He erected a sacrificial platform and hired priests and other professionals needed for the rites. Following the proper form, the priests lit the sacrificial fire, duly fed it with clarified butter, uttered the required mantras, and began calling the names of snakes. The power of the rite was such that the named snakes were summoned ineluctably to the fire and were consumed by it. As the sacrifice took on genocidal proportions, Astika came to the rescue. He approached Janamejaya and praised the sacrifice in such eloquent terms that the king offered to grant him a boon of his choosing. Astika promptly requested that the sacrifice be terminated. Though initially regretful of his offer, Janamejaya was true to his word, and the sacrifice came to an end. (Book I: Adi Parva, Sections 13-58.)
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.[3] 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.
Ganesha is popularly worshipped in numerous forms [4] including some in which he is sheltered by Nagas. Vishnu is originally portrayed in this form, but the iconography has been extended to other deities as well.
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. One nāga, in human form, attempted to become a monk; when telling it that such ordination was impossible, the Buddha told it how to ensure that it would be reborn a man, able to become a monk.
Nāgas are believed to 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 and they love milk.
In Buddhism, the nāgas are the enemies of the [[Garuda|]], 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 [[Trayastrimsa|]] from attack by the Asuras.
Among the notable nāgas of Buddhist tradition is Mucalinda, protector of the Buddha.
For Malay sailors, nāgas are a type of dragon with many heads; in Thailand and Java, the nāga is a wealthy underworld deity. In Laos they are beaked water serpents.
In Malay and Orang Asli traditions, the lake Chinni, located in Pahang is home to a naga called Sri Gumum. Depending on legend versions, her predecessor Sri Pahang or her son left the lake and later fought a naga called Sri Kemboja. It should be noted that Kemboja is the former name of what is Cambodia. Like the naga legends there, there are stories about an ancient empire in lake Chinni, although the stories are not linked to the naga legends. [2], [3]
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 an Indian Brahmana named Kaundinya, and from their union sprang 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 seven races within Nāga society, which has a mythological, or symbolic, association with "the seven colors 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."
The legend of the Nāga is a strong and sacred belief held by Lao and Thai people living along the Mekong River. Many pay their respects to the river because they believe the Nāga still rule in it, and locals hold an annual sacrifice for the Nāga. Each ceremony depends on how an individual village earns its living from the Mekong River - for instance, through fishing or transport. Local residents believe that the Nāga can protect them from danger, so they are likely to make a sacrifice to Nāga before taking a boat trip along the Mekong River.
Also, every year on the night of 15th day of 11th month in the Lao lunar calendar at the end of Buddhist Lent (in 2003 it fell on October 10), an extraordinary phenomenon occurs in the area of the Mekong River stretching over 20 kilometres between Pak-Ngeum district, about 80 kilometres south of the Lao capital Vientiane, and Phonephisai district in Nong Khai province, Thailand. Fireballs spew up from the river. Everyone had doubts about this extraordinary occurrence, but later accepted what they knew as facts about the fireball: that it was not staged by humans, but happened naturally. So from then on, villagers on both sides of the river called this phenomenon the Nāga's Fireball. They believe that Nāga under Mekong River shoot the fireball into the air to celebrate the end of Buddhist Lent, because Nāga also meditate during this time.[4]
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.
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 Nāgas 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 Nāgas are said to have developed a subterranean or underwater civilization technologically more advanced than ours and they are thought to possess superhuman powers.. The warrior kshatriya community of Kerala nairs are believed to be the descendants of nagas, in their large joint home called "tharavadu" have a small forest/grove dedicated for nagas.
Claudia Müller-Ebeling, Claudia and Christian Rätsch and Surendra Bahadur Shahi (2002). Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas. Transl. by Annabel Lee. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions.
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