Nagaraja ( sa, नागराज ', ) is a title used to refer to the nagas, the serpent-like figures that appear in

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

. It refers to the kings of the various races of the

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 divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (

Patala In Indian religions, Patala (Sanskrit: पाताल, IAST: pātāla, lit. ''that which is below the feet''), denotes the subterranean realms of the universe – which are located under the earthly dimension. Patala is often translated as unde ...

), and can occasionally take human form. Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

for at least two thousand years.

Hinduism

Hindu texts refer to three main beings by this title:

Shesha Shesha (Sanskrit: शेष; ) , also known as Sheshanaga (Sanskrit: शेषनाग; ) or Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod (Naga) and Nagaraja (King of all serpents), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puran ...

Takshaka Takshaka (Sanskrit: तक्षक, IAST: Takṣaka) is a Nagaraja in Hinduism and Buddhism. He is mentioned in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is described to be a king of the Nagas. He is one of the sons of Kadru. Takshaka also known in ...

, and

Vasuki Vasuki (IAST: ) is the second king of the nagas in Hinduism. He is described as having a gem called ''Nagamani'' (serpent's ornament) on his head. Adishesha, the first king of the serpents and the mount of Narayana, is his elder brother, and ...

. All of them are the children of the

rishi ''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or ...

Kashyapa Kashyapa ( sa, कश्यप}, ) is a revered Vedas, Vedic Sage (philosophy), sage of Hinduism., Quote: "Kasyapa (Rudra),(Vedic Seer)..." He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the ''Rigveda''. Kashyapa is the most ancien ...

and

Kadru Kadru () is usually regarded as the daughter of Daksha and the consort of the sage Kashyapa in Hindu scriptures. Kashyapa is the son of Marichi, who is a manasaputra, a mind-born son of Brahma. Kadru is best known as the mother of the nagas, ...

Shesha

, also sometimes known as Ananta, is the eldest brother, and the first serpent king of all serpents. A devotee and a mount of Vishnu, he serves as the deity's bed and is named as the noblest of all nagas. He is the being that supports the earth, on the behest of the creator god,

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

, obtaining the boon to stand ever firmly on the concept of

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

Vasuki

is the second serpent king in Indian religions. He is a devotee of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, who always wears the nāga around his neck.

Takshaka

is the third, and the present serpent king. In the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, he ruled the

Khandava Khandava Forest or Khandava Vana (Sanskrit: खाण्डव वन, ) or Khandavprastha ( sa, खाण्डवप्रस्‍थ; ) was an ancient forest mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. It lay to the west of Yamuna river, in modern-da ...

forest, which was then burnt by the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

. Later, Takshaka slew

Parikshit Parikshit ( sa, परीक्षित्, ) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period (12th-10th centuries BCE). Along with his son and successor, Janamejaya, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, ...

, the grandson of Arjuna. These serpents are a group of a thousand brothers, and they also have a sister, whose name is

Manasa Manasa () is a Hindu goddess of snakes. She is worshipped mainly in Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Lower Assam and other parts of northeastern India and in Uttarakhand, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite, and also for fertility and pr ...

Temples

A temple of the Nagaraja Vasuki is present in Gujarat's district of Thangadh. At

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...

, in

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...

district's of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, a temple dedicated to Nagaraja exists. There is another famous temple named Mannarasala in Alleppey district of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The deity in this temple embodies both Anantha and Vasuki into one. A temple devoted to nagraja exists in kaippattoor of Ernakulam district in Kerala, India. It is known as ''thekkanattil nagaraja kshetram''. A temple devoted to Nagaraja exists in Poojappura of the Thiruvananthapuram District in Kerala, India. It is known as the Poojappura Nagarukavu Temple. The uniqueness of this temple is that here the family of the Nagaraja, including Nagaramma (queen of nagas), and Nagakanya (princess of the naga kingdom) are placed inside a single temple. Thiruvananthapuram also houses the

Thuppanathu Kavu Thuppanathu Kavu is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Raja Rajeswary. It is located in Vazhamuttom, Kerala. Raja Rajeswary is one of the most popular deities in the area. Pilgrims from all over South India visit and worship her. Her major fe ...

, located at Vazhamuttam. The three serpent deities evoked in this ancient temple are the Nagaraja Vasuki, the naga yakshi (serpent nature spirit), and the naga kanyaka (serpent damsel). Turmeric powder, moorum palum, and nagaroottu are offered to them. Accompanied by the naga deities and Goddesses at Thuppanathu Kavu are the goddess Vanadurga and the goddess Rajarajeswari.

Kukke Subramanya Kukke Subramanya (IAST: ''Kukke Subrahmaṇya'') is a Hindu temple located in the village Subramanya, of Kadaba taluk (Earlier in Sullia taluk) in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India. In this temple Kartikeya is worshipped as Subram ...

is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

located in the village of

Subramanya, Karnataka Subramanya is a village located in Kadaba Taluk in Dakshina Kannada, India. The Kukke Subrahmanya Temple is located here. It is about from Mangalore, connected by train and road. It was originally named "Kukke Pattana". Pilgrim centre The v ...

. In this temple

Kartikeya Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

is worshipped as Subramanya, the lord of all serpents. The epics relate that the divine serpent

and other serpents found refuge under Subramanya when threatened by

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...

Buddhism

There are many Nagarajas mentioned throughout various

Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...

. There are four major royal races of Nagarajas in

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

as the Virupakkhas, the Erapathas, the Chabyaputtas and the Kanhagotamakas. Nāga Kings appears in the audience for many of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a 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 born in Lu ...

's sermons in

Buddhist scriptures Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...

. The duties of the Nāga Kings included leading the nagas in protecting 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 ...

, other enlightened beings, as well as protecting the Buddha Sasana. Some of the most notable Nagarajas occurring in Buddhist scriptures are Virupaksa,

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 ...

, Dhrtarastra,

, Nanda, Upananda, Sagara, Balavan, Anavatapta, Varuna and Utpala.

Virupaksa

Virūpākṣa (Sanskrit; Pali: Virūpakkha) is a major deity in

. He is one of the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the a ...

and a

dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are als ...

. He lives on the western part of

Sumeru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...

. He is leader of the nāgas.

Mucalinda

It is said that four weeks after Gautama Buddha began meditating under the Bodhi Tree, the heavens darkened for seven days, and a prodigious rain descended. However, the mighty King of Serpents, Mucalinda, came from beneath the earth and protected with his hood the one who is the source of all protection. The subject of Buddha meditating under the protection of Mucalinda, also known as

naga Prok attitude ''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, seated in either the meditation or maravijaya attitude, i ...

is very common in Southeast Asian

Buddhist art Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, narrative scenes from their lives, mandalas, and ...

Dhrtarastra

Buddhist literature features a Nāga King named Dhṛtarāṣṭra(Sanskrit; Pali: ''Dhataraṭṭha''). He was the father of

in a past life when the latter was a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

named ''Bhūridatta''. He is mentioned in several Buddhist texts such as the Bhūridatta

Jātaka The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...

'','' the Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī Sūtra and the Mahāmegha Sūtra.

Apalala

Apalāla (Pali, Sanskrit) is a water-dwelling Nāga-king in

Buddhist mythology The Buddhist traditions have created and maintained a vast body of mythological literature. The central myth of Buddhism is the life of the Buddha. This is told in relatively realistic terms in the earliest texts, and was soon elaborated into ...

. He story of conversion to Buddhism by the

(

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

: ''Apalāladamana'') can be found in Buddhist texts such as Samantapāsādikā and Divyāvadāna; this is one of the most popular legends in Buddhist

lore Lore may refer to: * Folklore, acquired knowledge or traditional beliefs * Oral lore or oral tradition, orally conveyed cultural knowledge and traditions Places * Loré, former French commune * Loré (East Timor), a city and subdistrict in Lau ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

Duo-luo-shi-qi

In some Buddhist traditions a figure called Duo-luo-shi-qi or Talasikhin is described as a

Dragon King The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in Ch ...

who dwells in a palace within a pond outside the legendary kingdom of

Ketumati Ketumati (Ch'ih-t'ou) is a legendary place in some Buddhism, Buddhist traditions viewed as the earthly paradise of the prophesied figure called Maitreya, who is the future Buddha (title), Buddha. Devotees of Maitreya believe that the kingdom is a ...

and drizzles in it during midnight.

References

* H.Oldenberg: The Vinaya Pitakam. London 1879, pp. 24–25

External links

Mannarasala Sri Nagaraja Temple official website
{{authority control Nāgas km:នាគក្បាលប្រាំបួន