Nagas Symbols

Symbols

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Protection

In India, Vasuki [also Basuki,] the naga king, has the gem, Nagamani, on/in his head. It is a universal panacea and is a bestower of fortune. Manasa Devi, the serpent goddess, is Vasuki's sister. She is mostly identified with the cobra, but she can cure any snakebite; indeed, any adversity. A popular Indian film shows Manasa coming to visit a man in his prison cell. She drinks his offering of milk, then leaves, opening the cell for him on her way out.

Nagas are said to have raised their hoods to protect the Buddha, and other jinas [spiritual victors] like the Jain saint Parshva. However, at least 1500 years before Buddha Shakyamuni's enlightenment when Ananta or Muchilinda with his many heads sheltered him, the mythic image of nagas doing homage to a great yogi was well-known

Often represented in art are the serpent Shesha, on which Vishnu reclines during his cosmic sleep; the faithful Mucalinda, who shelters Gautama Buddha during a storm; and Vasuki, the cosmic serpent who is "roped" into Churning the Sea of Milk.

Genius Loci

They 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.

Fertility

Nagas are especially popular in southern India where some believe that they brought fertility to their venerators. Because of its shape and its association with renewal, the serpent is a phallic symbol. This powerful emblem of fertility is thought to bring plentiful harvests and many children -- images of nagas adorn houses and shrines and temples. It is said that when a king once banned snake worship, his kingdom suffered a drought, but the rains returned once the king himself placated Vasuki.

Wisdom

Naga is one of a handful of rare words surviving the loss of the first universal language. In Buddhism, Wisdom has always been ties, symbollically, to the figure of the Serpent. In the Western Tradition it can be found as used by the Christ in the Gospel of Saint Matthew (x.16), "Be ye therefore as serpents, and harmless as doves."

Nagas appear on the balustrades of temple causeways and platforms ("naga bridges"), where they personify the rainbow as a bridge between the earthly and celestial worlds.

Nagarjuna of India, for example, is shown with an aura, or halo, of seven serpents which is an indication of a very high degree of Initiation. The symbolism of the seven serpents, usually cobras, are also on Masonic aprons of certain systems in the Buddhistic ruins of Cambodia (Ankhor) and Ceylon. The great temple-builders of the famous Ankhor Wat were considered to be the semi-divine Khmers. The avenue leading to the Temple is lined with the seven-headed Naga.

Immortality

In all mythological language the snake is also an emblem of immortality. Its endless representation with its tail in its mouth (Ouroboros), and the constant renewal of its skin and vigor, enliven the symbols of continued youth and eternity.

The Nagas also carry the elixir of life and immortality. Now Kadru, the maternal naga ancestor, once enslaved Vinata, mother of birds. To ransom her, the Garuda stole amrita, the elixir of immortality, from the gods. Before the serpents could even have a taste, Indra stole it back again, however, a few drops of amrita fell to earth. The serpents slid through it which is why their skin now has the capacity of renewal.

According to another tale, the Nagas cut their tongues on the grass when licking up the drops and since then their tongues have been forked. According to Kurt Schwenk, ("Why snakes have forked tongues," Science vol. 263, 1994) the evolutionary success of advanced snakes is partly due to their special tongues. The forked tongue allows the snake to simultaneously sample two points along a chemical gradient, which is helpful in instantaneous assessment of trail location. It may also play a role in mating.