In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. Furthermore, nāgas are also known as dragons and water spirits. A female nāga is called a Nagini (Hindi: नागिन nāgin). According to legend, they are the children of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru. Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout South Asia for at least 2,000 years. They are principally depicted in three forms: as entirely human with snakes on the heads and necks, as common serpents, or as half-human, half-snake beings in Hinduism and Buddhism.
Nagaraja is the title given to the king of the nāgas. Narratives of these beings hold cultural significance in the mythological traditions of many South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures, and within Hinduism and Buddhism. Communities such as the Nagavamshi, Khmer and Sri Lankan Tamils claim descent from this race.
Etymology In Sanskrit, a () primarily refers to a snake, most often specifically the Indian cobra (Naja naja). However, the term is also used generically to denote any snake, sharing this broader meaning with other common Sanskrit synonyms such as () and ().
The word was once believed to be a cognate with the English "snake", tracing back to the Germanic *snēk-a- and the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root *(s)nēg-o- (featuring an s-mobile). However, a later alternative and now accepted Indo-European etymology suggests a connection to the concept of a "hairless, naked animal"—making it a cognate with the English word "naked" via PIE *nogʷnós; this root could explain why the Sanskrit nāga is polysemous also for "cloud", "mountain", or "elephant" depending on various other contexts.See:
Hinduism
Nāgas, as a serpent-shaped group of deities that often take form as cobras, are prominent in Hindu iconography, throughout Hindu texts (especially in the first book of the Mahābhārata) and in local folk traditions of worship. In some regions of the Himalaya, nāgas are regarded as the divine rulers of the region – for example, in Kullu Valley, in Berinag and in the valley of the Pindar River, which is believed to be ruled by the ninefold Naiṇī Devī. Both in the Nilamata Purana of Kashmir and in the Swayambhu Purana of Kathmandu, the respective region begins its history as a lake, populated by nāgas, which is later drained.
Ancient Sanskrit texts such as the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the Puranas describe the nāgas as a powerful, splendid and proud semi-divine species that can assume their physical form either as human (often with a halo of cobra hoods behind their head), as a partially human serpent, or as a whole serpent. Their domain is in the enchanted underworld, the underground realm filled with gems, gold and other earthly treasures called Naga-loka or Patala-loka. They are also often associated with bodies of waters—including rivers, lakes, seas, and wells—and are guardians of treasure. Their power and venom make them potentially dangerous to humans. However, in Hindu mythology, they often take the role of benevolent protagonists: in the Samudra Manthana, Vasuki, a nagaraja who abides on Shiva's neck, became the churning rope for churning of the Ocean of Milk. Their eternal archrival is the Garuḍa, the legendary semi-divine bird-like deity.
Vishnu is originally portrayed in the form sheltered by Sheshanāga or reclining on Shesha, but the iconography has been extended to other deities as well. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography, and appears in many forms: around the neck,For the story of wrapping around the neck and around the belly and for the name in his sahasranama as ("Who has a serpent around his neck"), which refers to this standard iconographic element, see: Krishan, Yuvraj (1999), Gaņeśa: Unravelling An Enigma, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, , pp=51-52. use as a sacred thread (Sanskrit: )For text of a stone inscription dated 1470 identifying Ganesha's sacred thread as the serpent , see: Martin-Dubost, p. 202. wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne.For an overview of snake images in Ganesha iconography, see: Martin-Dubost, Paul (1997). Gaņeśa: The Enchanter of the Three Worlds. Mumbai: Project for Indian Cultural Studies. , p. 202. Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.; p. 151 Maehle (2006: p. 297) states that "Patanjali is thought to be a manifestation of the serpent of eternity".
Folk traditions In South India, termite hills are believed to be the dwelling place of female nagammas,König, Ditte (1984). Das Tor zur Unterwelt. Mythologie und Kult des Termitenhügels in der schriftlichen und mündlichen Tradition Indiens. Heidelberg: Franz Steiner.Alloco, Amy (2013). Fear, Reverence and Ambivalence. Divine Snakes in Contemporary South India. Religions of South Asia 7: 230–48.Alloco, Amy. 2014. Snakes in the Dark Age. Human Action, Karmic Retribution, and the Possibilities for Hindu Animal Ethics. In Asian Perspectives on Animal Ethics. Rethinking the Nonhuman. Edited by Neil Dalal and Chloë Taylor. London and New York: Routledge. whereas Himalayan Nags and Naginis, such as Naiṇī Devī of Pindar Valley, are worshipped as underworld beings protecting water resources and the wellbeing of village and valley.
Literature
The Mahabharata epic is the first text that introduces nāgas; it describes them in detail and narrates their stories. The cosmic snake Shesha, the nagarajas (nāga kings) Vasuki, Takshaka, Airavata and Karkotaka, and the princess Ulupi, are all depicted in the Mahabharata.
The Brahma Purana describes the reign of Adishesha as the king of the serpents in Patala:
The Kamba Ramayana describes the role of Vasuki in the Samudra Manthana:
The Devi Bhagavata Purana describes the legend of Manasa:
Buddhism
As in Hinduism, the Buddhist nāga generally has sometimes been portrayed as a human being with a snake or dragon extending over his head. One nāga, in human form, attempted to become a monk, and when telling it that such ordination was impossible, the Buddha told it how to ensure that it would be reborn a human, and so able to become a monk.
The nāgas are believed to both live on Nagaloka, among the other minor deities and in various parts of the human-inhabited earth. Some of them are water-dwellers, living in streams or the ocean; others are earth-dwellers, living in caverns.
The nāgas are the followers of (Pāli: Virūpakkha), one of the Four Heavenly Kings who guards the western direction. They act as guards upon Mount Sumeru, protecting the dēvas of Trāyastriṃśa from attacks by the asuras.
Among the notable nāgas of Buddhist tradition is Mucalinda, nagaraja and protector of the Buddha. In the Vinaya Sutra (I, 3), shortly after his enlightenment, the Buddha is meditating in a forest when a great storm arises, but graciously, King Mucalinda gives shelter to the Buddha from the storm by covering the Buddha's head with his seven snake heads.How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings By Richard Francis Gombrich Then the king takes the form of a young Brahmin and renders the Buddha homage.
In the Vajrayāna and Mahāsiddha traditions, nāgas in their half-human form are depicted holding a nāgas-jewel, kumbhas of amrita, or a terma that had been elementally encoded by adepts. In Tibetan Buddhism, nāgas are known as klu or klu-mo and they are associated with water and cleanliness, as they live in oceans, rivers, lakes, and springs, and do not want their environments to be disturbed or polluted.
The two chief disciples of the Buddha, Sariputta and Moggallāna are both referred to as Mahānāga or "Great nāga". Some of the most important figures in Buddhist history symbolize nāgas in their names such as Dignāga, Nāgāsēna, and, although other etymons are assigned to his name, Nāgārjuna.
Literature
The Nāga Saṃyutta of the Pali Canon consists of suttas specifically devoted to explaining nature of the nāgas.
In the "Devadatta" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the daughter of the dragon king, an eight year old longnü (龍女, ), after listening to Mañjuśrī preach the Lotus Sutra, transforms into a male Bodhisattva and immediately reaches full enlightenment.Kubo Tsugunari, Yuyama Akira (tr.). The Lotus Sutra. Revised 2nd ed. Berkeley, Calif. : Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2007. , pp. 191–192Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, "Devadatta Chapter" Some say this tale appears to reinforce the viewpoint prevalent in Mahayana scriptures that a male body is required for Buddhahood, even if a being is so advanced in realization that they can magically transform their body at will and demonstrate the emptiness of the physical form itself. However, many schools of Buddhism and classical, seminal Chinese exegeses interpret the story to repudiate this viewpoint, stating the story demonstrates that women can attain Buddhahood in their current form.
According to tradition, the Prajñapāramita sutras had been given by the Buddha to a great nāga who guarded them in the sea, and were conferred upon Nāgārjuna later.
In Tibetan Buddhist literature, nāgas are portrayed as guardians or owners of submerged treasure, which can be mere wealth or supernatural, "spiritual" treasures.
Other traditions In Thailand and Java, the nāga is a wealthy underworld deity. For Malay sailors, nāgas are a type of dragon with many heads. In Laos they are beaked water serpents. In Tibet, they are said to be found in waterways and underground locations, and are susceptible to the suffering caused by human carelessness towards the natural environment.
Sri Lanka
The Naga people were believed to be an ancient tribe and origins of Sri Lanka. According to V. Kanakasabhai, the Oliyar, Parathavar, Maravar, and Eyinar, who were widespread across South India and North-East Sri Lanka, are all Naga tribes. There are references to them in several ancient texts such as Mahavamsa, Manimekalai, and also in other Sanskrit and Pali literature. They are generally represented as a class of superhumans taking the form of serpents who inhabit a subterranean world. Texts such as Manimekalai represent them as persons in human form.
Cambodia
Stories of nāgas (, ) have been part of Khmer society for thousands of years, dating back to the Funan era (). According to reports from two Chinese envoys, Kang Tai and Zhu Ying, the state of Funan was established in the 1st century CE when an Indian prince named Kaundinya I () married a nāga princess named Soma (, ; "Soma, daughter of the moon god"; Chinese: 柳葉, 柳叶 Liuye; "Willow Leaf"). The couple is symbolized in the story of Preah Thong and Neang Neak.
As the legend goes, Kaundinya received instruction in a dream to take a magic bow from a temple and defeat Soma, the nāga princess and daughter of the nāga king. During the ensuing battle, they fell in love and later married, establishing the royal lineage of the Funan dynasty. According to the myth, Soma's father drank the ocean to reveal the land for his descendants to live on, which became the territory of ancient Cambodia. Kaundinya subsequently constructed the capital city of Vyadhapura, and the kingdom became known as Kambujadeśa or Cambodia (, ).
The legend of the union between Kaundinya and Soma is the foundation for many standard practices in modern-day Khmer culture, including wedding ceremonies and other rituals. The Khmer people regard themselves as descendants of the nāgas and many still believe the nāga exist today, destined to one day return and restore prosperity to their people.