Vasuki (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ) 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 Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is consi ...

, is his elder brother, and Manasa, another ''naga'', is his sister. Vasuki is Shiva's snake, depicted around his neck. He is known in Chinese and Japanese mythology as being one of the "eight Great Dragon Kings" (八大龍王 pinyin: Bādà lóngwáng; Japanese: Hachidai Ryūō), amongst Nanda (Nāgarāja), Upananda, Sāgara (Shakara), Takshaka, Balavan, Anavatapta, and Utpala. Kurmavatara

Legends

Vasuki is famous for coiling around Shiva's neck, who blessed and wore him as an

ornament An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration * Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts * Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve ...

. Vasuki took part in the incident of Samudra Manthana by allowing both the

deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...

s and the asuras to bind him to Mount Mandara, so that they could use him as their churning rope to extract the amrita from the ocean of milk. Vasuki is also mentioned in other Hindu scriptures, such as the '' Ramayana'' and the '' Mahabharata.''

Buddhism

In the

Buddhist religion 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 ...

, Vasuki and the other Naga Kings appear in the audience for many of Gautama Buddha's sermons. The duties of the naga Kings included leading the nagas in protecting and worshipping the Buddha, as well as protecting other enlightened beings. Vasuki's naga priest is Tatig Naga.

In popular culture

Vāsuka/Vāsuca temple is found near Haripad, Mannarasala Illom in Kerala and also Visakha district in Andhra Pradesh. The very powerful Kukke Subramanya temple in Karnataka, is where Lord Subramanya offered protection to Vasuki from the attack of Garuda, who is the king of birds and also Lord Visnu's disciple. They claim that their ancestors were Nāga serpents spared when the Khandava Forest (modern day Delhi) was burnt and cleared by Krishna and the Pandavas to make way for their capital Indraprastha.Social History of Kerala: The Dravidians By L. A. Krishna Iyer p.003

Bibliography

References

Cobra Pearl or Nagamani
* Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend () by Anna L. Dallapiccola
Indian Mythology, by ApamNapatHachi Bushu – The Eight Legions, Buddhist Protectors
* Dragon in China and Japan () by M.W. De Visser *Owned Nāgas by Nikhil "Mattu" Matlani {{authority control

Legends

Buddhism

In popular culture

See also

Bibliography

References