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 Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. He is described as having a gem called ''Nagamani'' (serpent's ornament) on his head.

Adishesha 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 Pura ...

, 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 co ...

, is his elder brother, and

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 p ...

, another ''naga'', is his sister. Vasuki is

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 ...

'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 Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: Bādà lóngwáng;

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: Hachidai Ryūō), amongst Nanda (Nāgarāja), Upananda, Sāgara (Shakara),

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 ...

, Balavan, Anavatapta, and Utpala. Kurmavatara

Legends

Vasuki is famous for coiling around

's neck, who blessed and wore him as an ornament. Vasuki took part in the incident of

Samudra Manthana The Samudra Manthana ( sa, समुद्रमन्थन; ) is a major episode in Hinduism that is elaborated in the Vishnu Purana, a major text of Hinduism. The Samudra Manthana explains the origin of the elixir of eternal life, amrita. Nom ...

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

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhi ...

s to bind him to

Mount Mandara Mandara ( sa, मन्दर, मन्दार; ) is the name of the mountain that appears in the Samudra Manthana episode in the Hindu Puranas, where it was used as a churning rod to churn the ocean of milk. Shiva's serpent, Vasuki, offered ...

, so that they could use him as their churning rope to extract the

amrita ''Amrita'' ( sa, अमृत, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred to i ...

from the

ocean of milk In Hindu cosmology, the Ocean of Milk (',', ''Malayalam: Pālāḻi'') is the fifth from the centre of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha. According to Hindu scriptures, the devas and asuras worked together for a mil ...

. Vasuki is also mentioned in other

Hindu scripture Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...

s, such as the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' and 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 ...

.''

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 ...

, Vasuki and the other Naga Kings appear 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. The duties of the naga Kings included leading the nagas in protecting and worshipping 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

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 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. ...

serpents spared when the

Khandava Forest 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 ...

(modern day

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

) was burnt and cleared by

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

and the

Pandavas 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 ...

to make way for their capital

Indraprastha Indraprastha (lit. "Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra") is mentioned in ancient Indian literature as a city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas mentioned in ''Mahabharata'' . Under the Pali form of its name ...

.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 The ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' (2002) is a book written by Anna L. Dallapiccola, and contains information on over one thousand concepts, characters, and places of Hindu mythology and Hinduism, one of the major religions of the India ...

() 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