''Naga Prok'' attitude ( th, ปางนาคปรก; ), translated as "sheltered-by-the-naga Buddha", is an attitude of Buddha in Burmese, Khmer, Lao and Thai art in which the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

, seated in either the

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

maravijaya attitude Māravijaya attitude or ''mara vichai'' ( th, ปางมารวิชัย, ; Khmer language, Khmer: ព្រះពុទ្ធផ្ចាញ់មារ, ''preah pud (buddha) p'chanh mea'') is an Iconography of Gautama Buddha in Laos and T ...

, is sheltered by or covered with a multi-headed

nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) 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. ...

. The nāga, whose name is

Mucalinda Mucalinda, Muchalinda or Mucilinda is the name of a nāga, a snake-like being, who protected the Gautama Buddha from the elements after his enlightenment. It is said that six weeks after Gautama Buddha began meditating under the Bodhi Tree, t ...

, usually has seven or nine heads and appeared to coil the base of the Buddha statue. The attitude references an episode in the Buddha's life after reaching the enlightenment. He travelled to various kingdoms to teach and spent the rest of his time meditating. One night, a heavy storm raged in the forest where he was meditating. A nāga by the name of

( th, มุจลินท์, translit=Mujalind, label=none) saw him meditating under harsh weather. Mucalinda decided to coil around his ''āsana'' (seat) and use himself as a shield to protect the Buddha from raindrops. The attitude was pioneered in early Khmer art.

Gallery

File:Chao Sam Phraya Museum - 2017-02-13 (053).jpg, 11th century Khmer statue at Chao Sam Phraya National Museum, Ayutthaya province File:Naga-enthroned Buddha - Beyond Angkor - Cleveland Museum of Art (40887945882).jpg, 12th century Khmer bronze Naga-enthroned Buddha from

Banteay Chhmar Banteay Chhmar ( km, បន្ទាយឆ្មារ ) is a commune (khum) in Thma Puok District in Banteay Meanchey province in northwest Cambodia. It is located 63 km north of Sisophon and about 20 km east of the Thai border. The c ...

, Cambodia File:Buddha sukhothainagbrok.jpg, At

Sukhothai Historical Park Sukhothai Historical Park ( th, อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์สุโขทัยPronunciation) covers the ruins of Sukhothai, literally 'dawn of happiness', capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th cent ...

, the statue emphasises the naga's coils. File:Thailand Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Temple Buddha Statue.JPG, At

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Wat Phra That Doi Suthep ( th, วัดพระธาตุดอยสุเทพ, , ) is a Theravada Buddhist temple ( wat) in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The temple is often referred to as " Doi Suthep" although this is actually the nam ...

Chiang Mai province Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lam ...

File:Wat Bang Riang Buddha.jpg, At Wat Bang Reang, Phang Nga province File:SalaKeoKou 2.jpg, At

Sala Keoku Sala Keoku ( th, ศาลาแก้วกู่; ; , also spelled as Sala Keo Ku, Sala Keo Koo, Sala Kaew Ku, Sala Kaew Koo, Salakaewkoo, Sala Gaew Goo, Sala Kaeoku, etc. Alternative name: Wat Khaek) is a park featuring giant fantastic con ...

Nong Khai province Nong Khai province ( th, หนองคาย, ) was formerly the northernmost of the Isan, northeastern (Isan) Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand until its eight eastern districts were split off to form Thailand's newes ...

File:BouddhaSimuong.jpg, At Wat Simuong,

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

File:Nagayon Paya.jpg, The Nagayon Buddha in Monywa, Myanmar

References

{{reflist * translated from :th:ปางนาคปรก on

Thai Wikipedia The Thai Wikipedia ( th, วิกิพีเดียภาษาไทย) is the Thai language edition of Wikipedia. It was started on 25 December 2003. As of , it has articles and registered users. As of March 2022, Wikipedia (all lang ...

Buddhist art Buddhist iconography Laotian art Thai Buddhist art and architecture Buddhism in Laos Cultural depictions of Gautama Buddha