Naga (mythology)
From Open Encyclopedia
The nagas (नाग "snake") are an ancient race of snake-humanoid beings first depicted in ancient Vedic Hindu mythology and oral folklore from at least 5000 B.C.E. Stories involving the Nagas are still very much a part of contemporary cultural traditions in predominantly Hindu (India, Nepal, and the island of Bali) and Buddhist (Sri-Lanka and South-East Asia) regions of Asia.
Nagas are especially popular in southern India where some believe that they brought fertility to their venerators. According to Hindu legends, they are Varuna's servants. Nagas live in Patala the seventh of the "nether" dimensions or realms [1]. They are children of Kashyapa and Kadru. The Nagas are the enemies of the Garudas, divine eagle-like creatures.
The Nagas according to Hinduism include:
Alternative: Sesa (Java)
For Malay sailors, nagas 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.
The name of the Indian city Nagpur is derived from Nagapura, the legendary city of Nagas. It is believed that the legends of Nagas may have originated with some kind of tribal people in the past.
In India there is an ancient belief in a subterranean race of divine serpent people who dwell in a patala a "nether" dimension. The word Naga comes from the Sanskrit, and "nag" is still the word for snake in most of the languages of India. 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. Since Nagas 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. Varuna, the Vedic god of storms, is viewed as the King of the Nagas.
According to some traditions Nagas are only malevolent to humans when they have been mistreated. They are susceptible to mankind's disrespectful actions in relation to the environment.
The Nagas also carry the elixir of life and immortality. One story mentions that when the gods were rationing out the elixir of immortality, the Nagas grabbed a cup. The gods were able to retrieve the cup, but in doing so, spilled a few drops on the ground. The Nagas quickly licked up the drops, but in doing so, cut their tongues on the grass, & since then their tongues have been forked.
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Nagas in Cambodia
In a Cambodian legend, the Naga were a reptilian race of beings who possessed a large empire or kingdom in the Pacific Ocean region. The Naga 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 Naga". The Seven-Headed Naga serpents depicted as statues on Cambodian temples, such as Angkor Wat, apparently represent the 7 races within Naga society, which has a mythological, or symbolic, association with "the seven colours of the rainbow". Furthermore, Cambodian Naga possess numerological symbolism in the number of their heads. Odd-headed Naga symbolise the Male Energy, Infinity, Timelessness, and Immortality. This is because, numerologically, all odd numbers come from One (1). Even-headed Naga are said to be "Female, representing Physicality, Mortality, Temporality, and the Earth."
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.
Nagas in the Indian State of Nagaland
In addition to the Cambodians there exists a significant ethnic group of South East Asian extraction native to India's North-East known as the "Naga". They live in the Indian State of "Nagaland" [2](named after their tribe) and have traditionally believed that they are the direct descendants of the mythological "Nagas". Due to Christian missionary activity (which actively suppresses native culture and beliefs) many Nagas of Nagaland have lost most of their tribal lore including the legend of their origins as descendants of supernatural snake beings. References to the existance Nagaland Naga tribals and their traditional beliefs have been recorded in the ancient Indian Hindu books of knowledge known as the Vedas.
See also
- Chinese dragon
- Western dragon
- Reptilian humanoid
- Manakeet
- Orochi
- Other uses of the word Naga
External links
| Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Itihasa | Image:Hindu swastika.png |
|---|---|
| Male Deities: Brahma | Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Indra | Lakshman | Hanuman | |
| Female Deities: Gayatri | Lakshmi | Saraswati | Durga | Devi | Sita | Radha | Kali | Parvati | Shakti | |
| Texts: Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata |
es:Naga fr:Naga nl:Naga (bovennatuurlijk wezen) ja:ナーガ sv:Naga (mytologi)
