3.

BBVBhOBMBAl OF ShaKS WORSHIP

Ii\l Ah CCC BBT 11m PI a
Snakes and snake-worship in the G-rh.va Sutras;
The snake-cult not only continued hut also began
to grow making inroads into various religious orders
at different periods.

The writers of those times

in their literary works gave many references to snakes

and snake-worship besides discussing several topics
in their treatises.

We find many references in the

G-rhya Sutras about this cult.

The ritual aspect of the naga-worship taken up

by the Brahmanas was further developed in the G-rhya
'
t
Sutras to suit the needs of the house-holders as the
title unfolds itself.

The Asvalayana, the Taraskara,

and many other G-rhya Sutras prescribe an elaborate

*

/*_

ritual called the "Sarpabali" or "Sravani" in which

the serpents are worshipped with a view to escape
from being endangered by them and to have progeny
and prosperity.

With this idea behind them, the

Sutras mark another .stage in the development of the

naga-worship.
_
'The Sarpabaii or Sravani'
/

'

"Sravana nakshatrena yukta pournamasi sravani".

S

40

<*

VM.

mmJ

according to the asvalayana G-rhya Sutras, it is a

ceremony to be performed on the full-moon day of

1.

.asvalayana G-rhya Sutra - II-1-1

; 3 (a

/ -

bravan (month),

hut the HankhyayanaOrhya outras

prescribe it to be done on the fuxl-moon day under

/

the asterism of "sravisthas",

whereas the HaudhaJm

yana Orhya butra states that this shourd be per __________ _

formed every year, or for every six months, or
once in four months, or in every season and month,
-

too, under the asterism of .asresa.

For this reason,

the baudhayana Orhya butras simply name this cere#

mony as 'sarpabali' which means 'an offering to the
__

f*.

Jim..

serpents' .

However, most of these sutras prescribe

this rite to be done on the fuxl-moon day of the

/ _
month of Sravan besides laying down a particular
*
procedure to be followed in this context.
file Faraskara Orhya butras * prescribe the
*---------------------------------------------------- ...

fr______________ _

procedure in the following manner.

"The house-hoxder should prepare a sthalipaka
/

and a purodasa cake in a new earthen pot.

he should

keep ready some barley grains fried and a greater

part of which are to be pounded, besides a spoon
(darvi) for making offerings.

Then he offers

oblations with ghee added reciting the following

chants: "beat away, 0 white one, with thy foot,
with the fore-foot and with the hind foot, these

1 . IV-15-1
2. 3-10-1 and 2
3. II-1 4-9, 10

: s Ji
seven children (prajah) of Varuna and all (daughters)
of the king's tribes svaha", "within the dominion of
-*

the white one, the serpent has seen nobody.

To the

white one, the son of Yidarva, adoration, svaha!"

Then he offers oblations of the mess of the
/

cooked sacrificed food to YLsnu,

aravana,
the full# t
#
/

__

moon of dravan (the montjh) and the rainy season.

Of

course, the obiation of the grains is offered with

a verse from the Yajasneya bamhita.

next with the

flour of the fried grains added with ghee; sacrifices

are made to the lords of the serpents

of different

regions, reciting the following formulae.

"To the lord of the yellowish terrestrial serpents
belonging to agni, avahal" "To the lord Of the white,
aerial serpents belonging to Vayu, svaha!"

"To the

lord of the overpowering celestial serpents belonging

to aurya, svaha! "

after that the purodasa cooked

-v

in one potsherd is entirely offered with the

formula "to bhruvaya bhaumaya svaha!"

Then he takes

in the sacrificial remnant, throws out a small por

tion of the flour of the fried grains into a basket
and goes out holding a fire-brand before

him,

saying "let no one pass between me and the fire".

Muttering these words axone, he pours out water for
the snakes to wash themselves and a bali of the
saktus is offered! to them with the 'darvi' or the
spoon used specially for the purpose.
1. 3-1 0-1 ,2

Then the

serpents are offered the toilet goods like comb,

collyrium and garlands with certain mantras,

later,

he pours out the remainder of the saktus along with

some water on an elevated spot purified with the
besmear of cowdung and prays to the serpents with
the three verses from the Vajasneya Samhita.

after this, he should go round the entire area of

his house from which he intends to ward off the
serpents pouring water uninterruptedly and reciting
the two verses prescribed for it.

ihen the'darvi'

and the winnowing basket are preserved after being

washed and duly heated.

Finally, standing at the

entrance of his house, he sprinkles water over hian

self and his family members reciting the three verses
from the Vajasneya Somhita .

Ihe residue of the

........ ..

'saktus' is stored in a secluded place.

From the

bravan fun-moon day tixl the .agrahayani aay he should

go on offering the bali of the 'saktus' with the
'darvi' to the serpents at the end of his regular
services to the fire-god.

Care should be taken

that no one should step in between the sacrificBr

and the bali, while it is being done.
Several of these outras describe the sravani
ritual in almost the same manner with certain

1 . jilll- 6 t o 8
2. iwI-50,52
5 * 34^uV
oTtT : (9*-?-m <m u |

u r
&{ 'ST?jrIt|

u(

^4fH Wl

cl I

J*??TUr

P 17, 18

additions as shown below,

fhe Sankhyayana tfrhya

-j

'

Sutras, while describing the conduct of this cere

mony, insist upon that the sacrificer should also
make the serpents look in a mirror,
-

G-rhya Sutraa

fhe iLsval ayana

demands that the baii should be offered

in the morning and in the evening till the pratya/

varohana
with the prescribed formula, i.e. "to the
divine hosts of the serpents, svaha! " fhe *pastamba
3
'
G-rhya, outras
prescribes*, among other things, the

offering of Ikimsuka flowers, the pieces of aragvadha

*

wood, sthagara and usira-root to the serpents, fhe

4 mentions several serpentine

Baudhayana
Grhya sutra
deities to be propitiated on the occasion of the
'saxpabali' among whom the names of bhrtarastra,
i'aksaka, Vaisalaki, farksya, ahira and Sanda deserve
#

special mention.
fhe Sankhyayana^ enjoins that at the pratya-r
t
varohana or the "ceremony of descent" faksaka,
/
/ ^
Vaisalaya and Sveta Vaidarvya should be invoked.
fhe remarkable feature to be noticed here is the
tagging of the appellatives to the names of the abovementioned snakes, a method which was adopted in the
atharva Veda but dropped down during the Brahmana
times,

another thing to be noted in this connection

1 .IV151 2-22
2. Ii-1-14

3 . \jcl op.c- v-, p- * V,

fe<^Ua

4.III-10-6
5.Sankhyayana Grhya Sutra IV-18-1

6<?

:
/

is the use of the appellative to bvet^, evidently

a patronymic as he was described as the son of
/

Vidarva in the iitharva Veda.

against bveta

as

Vidarva of the bankhyayana, we notice in the

daudhayana brhya outra, 1aksaka and Vaisalaki oeing
__

________

spoken of as two separate serpents,

i'he same sutra

elsewhere refers to "sarpa Vidya" which is spoken

-/

of in the asvalayana brhya butras as "visa-vidya".

............. -

.................. ........

i'he later sutra also mentions that "visa-vidya"

is a Veda or a sacred lore.
/

a domestic rite called "vastu-samana" is prescribed by one of the urhyas to please the regents of
40

the ten regions (disas) to be performed at the time

of entering a newly built house,

among the ten regents

to whom bali is offered, Vasuki is one, the regent

of the downward region^
While describing the ritual aspect, some of the
brhya butras incidentally furnish us with some addi$

tional information regarding the snakes as follows?

ihe ^svalayana urhya butra prescribes an
obeisance to be made "to the serpents that are terrestrial, that are aerial, that are celestial that

1 . rv - ^ " I
Z.

*tyUr

\y

*,7 (*

4i

dwell in different directions to them I brought

this bali, to them I keep this bali ready to be
given."

Thus we come across a kind of classifica-

tion of the serpents chiefly based upon their habita

tion.

But nonetheless it is a proof of their imma

nence all over.

Again in the J?ar.askara U-rhya Sutras

*

another kind of classification do we find in connec

tion with the sacrifice offered to the xords of the
serpents.
"To the lord of the serpents belonging to Agni,
of the yellowish, terrestrial ones,; to the
lord of the white serpents belonging to Vayu,
of the aerial ones; to the lord of the over
powering serpents belonging to Bury a, of the
celestial ones; to the firm one, the son of
the Barth." ^
From the abovementioned Sutras we get a very sharp
division of the serpents based upon three factors,
viz. the predominent elemental constituent, comple
tion and habitation.

But by the priority given to

the elemental ingredient, this classification seems

more or less qualitative than otherwise revealing
their temperament by representation of the elements,
as we notice in astrology.

Accordingly, Agni (fire)

1 .'Asvalayana hrhya Sutra 2-1-9

. 0_____ \

2. Paraskara tfrhya Sutra Il-14-rS^lO

stands for the fiery temperament, Surya (Sun) for

the domineering or commanding or ruling temperament,
Vayu (air) for the intelligent but impatient and
wandering and so on.
_

From the Paraskara Grhya Sutras , we also learn

1

11

... ..

....

'

11

i-

that Sveta (which literally means the white ones) had

been regarded as the most powerful in restraining the
other serpents from causing harm or dangers to others,
and that he was the son of Vidarva*

Xhe sutras, thus,

give us valuable information regarding snakes and

their worship.
i'hus, from the above account, we notice an ela
borate ritual being prescribed for the propitiation
of the serpents with a view to ward off fear and
danger from all serpents* Further, the idea behind
s _
the prolongation of the Sravana karma or the 1 sarpa
/
/
<
bali 1 from Sravan to margasira month, the period
/

covering the entire rainy season, when serpents

generally seek shelter in human habitations in view
of the water stagnation caused by heavy rains, may
somewhat reflect upon the innate fear of man for
serpents.

Phis view finds further support in the

___ /

use of a cot during the Caturmasya period,

1 . Xi1

iience,

j 63 ;

It may be concluded that fear and fear for snakes

alone is at the root of the worship of the serpents
according to the Sutras, an idea not assuredly backed
Dy the Vedas and the other vedic literature before
shem.

hut, evidently these Sutras were intended for

bhe common householders and therefore

they do not

Delong to the realm of the spiritualised religion,

a lofty concept launched upon love and harmony,
sponsored by the Vedas,

i'hus it means that the

Sutra literature, weaves an elaborate system of

rituals around the snake-cult, we know that in the
Later Vedic age the religion was primarily given a
ritualistic form and as a result of this the snakeworship also got its share of ritualism.
snakes in the Smrtis:
i'he hmrtis besides discussing many topics concern
ing political,social, religious, economical aspects are
also intended to interpret elaborately the way to
expiate the sin of various wrong or evil doing committed
wittingly or unwittingly.

They lay several rules

and regulations for the people of all castes accordingly.

The great xiaw-giver, Manu, in his amrti says

that whosoever desires to be prosperous shall not slight

. 4-155

'-q- jnsm

6 Zf

or look down upon a ksatriya or a snake or a learned

-Brahman even when they are in a fallent state.

It

means that ksatriyas, snakes and Brahmans cannot

brooke an insult, and therefore, who intends to wrong

any of them even in their adversity, ultimately
wrongs himself,

hence, the need to pacify and please

them at all times in all possible manners.

In such

matters the snake has been considered on equal footing

with the Brahmans and ksatriyas.
higher and respectable status.

Thus giving him a

The manu Bmrti also

adds that killing a snake degrades and deteriorates

the caste of the offender.

If the killer of the

serpent were a Brahman, he should offer an iron

spade to another JBrahman, to wipe off his sin. The
- /
1
Barasara Bmrti simply points out the thing to be

done to expiate the sin of killing a snake or some

such other animal,

_/
according to Parasara,
the killer

of a serpent, in order to free himself from the sin,

should feed the Brahmans with rice mixed with yellow
gram (pulagam) and offer an iron spade.

However, the snake cult did not only remain a

subject of attention to the Brahmanical authors, but
it also drew the attention of hetrodo-s. cults like
Buddhism and Jainism.

.buddhism and its na^a association:

The Buddhist literature clearly depicts the
naga-association in the life of the Buddha at various
stages.

The lalita Vistara records that soon after

the Birth of the Buddha in the lumbini garden, Banda

1
and (Jpananda, the two nagarajas of great power,
appeared there floating in the air in their semihuman form,

staying aloft, they let out Both hot

and cold streams from their mouths with which they

bathed the Boy Gautama,

evidently, this is not

a case of submission or subordination as it was thought

2

of By some , for they rather appear superior to

u-autama from their aerial position. And this may
suggest, as vogel3 puts it, his close association
with the nag as in his earlier Births when he himself
was Born a naga as some Jat aka tales speak.

Or it

may Be taken for a sort of indication that he would

become very great in his later life.
$i
The Jbalita /istara ^also lists out many other
incidents in which the naga association is found in
abundance.

According to it, the Buddha undertook a

I. /jJwaw a, L-(xXcl*.\/htKsy<^ Vcl.r P$3- VoUr P. ^3

'

2^. fTCtL a AjXkcjcx** t o p. C2>. P. i f

yc
*

j c f>

^
,

\fc\.

'I, P

3*>Z

P,

6I

^ ?. 93)

; (s*

long fast on the eve of his enlightenment.

After he

called it off, he went to refresh himself oathing in

the Hairanjana, the river of the nagas.

Having a holy

dip in it, he desired to spend some time there in the

river bed.

Then a nagin, inhabiting the Hairanjana,

offered him a golden throne studded with jewels and a

golden bowl containing alms.

Pleased at it, the

.Buddha gladly received the alms seated himself on the

golden throne.

Then he threw away the empty golden

bowl into the river when it was caught hold of by the

nagaraja, Sagara, who desired to preserve it in his
abode.

Indra, who too aspired for it, transformed

himself into a 'Baruda' bird (enemy of snakes) to

snatch it away from the nagaraja.

Having failed to

do so, Indra resumed his original form%and requested

a agar a to give him that golden bowl.

I'he nagaraja

obliged him and Indra took it to fusita heaven where

*

he was said to have instituted an annual 'festival of

the bowl',

later, the precious throne was reported

to have preserved by the nagin as a worshipful object.

The same nuddhist work further states that on
his return from the Hairanjana to the sacred Bodhi,
the Buddha was followed by a heavenly host.

It is

said that among them was Kala, who augured his

enlightenment much in advance.

With some slight

6T ;

variations the same story

is recounted in the

3
4
Buddha Carita , Nidanakatha and Mahavastu

, ----------- -

---------------

--------------

t'rom the above account it is clear that at least

some nagas, like Mala, possess the knowledge
of the future with which they could predict,

i'his

shows that, like the Brahmanic authors, the Buddhist

writers did not lag behind in extolling the qualities
of the snakes and making praises here and there for
it.
The Vinayapitaka offers some more interesting
incidents that occured after uautama became the
Buddha.

It speaks of a severe storm followed by a

heavy downpour of rain and lasting for full one week.

During that stormy period, to protect him from the
blasts of cold winds, Mucilinda, the nag arid a, emerged

from his abode and surrounded his (Buddha's) body

with his own in seven coils keeping his expanded hood
over the head of the Buddha.

It is also said that

Mucilinda went on praying all those days for the

safety of the Blessed one.

-and when the rain and the

storm had abated, Mucilinda stood before the Buddha

in the form of a Brahman youth with folded hands
in all adoration,

ihis incident is also incorporated

II

*(Ti

-p Qi

Q| P*t

O *rl
O
& cm cn
pMcncn
c3

^oo

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Hi rH

H *rl

a
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p
IH !H
I >

CM

: 48 :
with, certain changes here and there in the Balita- 1
2
3
vistara , the Mahavastu and the hidanakatha.
I'he same work also records another instance
of a later stage in the career of the Buddha. ^
Having delivered his first sermon at B>enares, the
Huddha proceeded to Urvilva.

1here were three

Brahman ascetics, the hasyapa brothers, one of

whom he requested to offer him shelter for a night
_/
in his asrarn, where he usually performed the sacred
fire-ritual.

His request was conceded, but at the

same time, he was informed of the naga king possessing

miraculous powers and residing there in his hut.
i'he Buddha, of course, did not hesitate to stay there.
But when he was in meditation, the great serpent pro
duced a dense clud of smoke to smother him and thus
to disturb him.

At that the higher spiritual fire

of the Buddha was able to consume the cloud, not

molesting the nagaraja at all.

After this, the

Buddha was said to have done many other miracles,

_ /

which together drove the Kasyapa of urvilva to bow

down before the spiritual regality of the Buddha.
in this connection, it was said that the Buddha
subdued the nagaraja in the hermitage of Hasyapa on

1. Yol.I., p.379 (Yogel, op.cit., p.i03)

2. Vol.Iil., p.300 (Ibid., p. 103)

3. Yol.I., p.80 (Ibid.p.103)

'
r .
4. VinavaP&taka. Yol.I., P*24 (Mahfiingam, op.cit., p.64)

the model of lord Krsna

who subdued Kaliya,
a nagaf* o gi
+
raja,;

i*nd so this incident had been given wide

publicity in the engravings of the Buddhist sculpture

of a later date, probably to raise the Buddha to
the level of nord krsna.
0 6

Numerous examples of the

scene of the Buddha's victory over the nag a on.

Vuruvilva are met with among the Graeco-Buddhist
sculptures of Gandhara.

The Chinese pilgrim Hieun-isang mentions Blapathra

among the three great naga kings who obtained a share

of the Buddha's relics,

moreover, on his way to

/*

iaxila, he saw the very place which was supposed to

be the abode of that naga "north-west of the capital
(1'axila) about JO li is the tank of the nagaraja
Blapattra; it is about 100 paces round, the waters
are pure and sweet.

.Lotus flowers of various colours

which reflect different tints in their common beauty,

garnish the surface.

This naga was a Bikshu who,

anciently, in the time of Kasyapa Buddha, destroyed

an Blapattra tree.

Hence, at the present time, when

the people of that country ask for rain or fine weather

they must go with the Bh^mans to the side of the tank,
and then cracking their fingers after praying for the
desired object, they obtain it."

1. Vogel, op. cit., p.

: 10 ;
The Mahavastu mentions the names of the four
great treasures" and their location as well

Bankha at Benares, Paduma at mithila, Pingala in

1
kalinga and Blapatra at Taxila.
"at Benares there is a monthly assembly in honour
/
_
_
of Bankha. The nagarajas who are guardians of the
treasures, being invited, repair thither."

It is

said Blapattra, the naga of Taxila, also came to the

/

festival of his fellow serpent Bankha.

This passage

also serves to prove the existance of the cult of the

/
naga Bankha at Benares at an early date. It was even
2

believed to have existed in the days of the Buddha.

But the Bivyavadana mentions them as follows*

Pingala in Kalinga, Panduka at mithila, Blapattra in

/

Bandhara, and Bankha at Benares.

He find a slight

discrepancy between the above two lists.

It is that

Paduka of the Bivyavadana list is replaced by Paduma

of the mahavastu account.

The Mahavastu enumeration

of the treasures seem to be more correct as the names

bankha and Pa<dma also occur in Brahmanical literature,
.anyhow these accounts confirm the view that the nagas
are the guardian spirits of great treasures (Nidhanadhipatayo).

This reminds us of the ancient conception

of four naga kings presiding over the four quarters.

1. Vogel, op. cit. p.211

2. Ibid, jag.p. 217

71

The passage occurs in the chapter called "the

question of Halaka".

Halaka hat y ay an a, the nephew

^/

of the famous Ksi ^sitadevala, came to Benares in order

#

S'

to consult Buddha and to be ordained as a member of his

community*

Occuring in this connection, this brief

passage throws light on the naga cult in ancient

,.
1
inaia.
The Jatakas or the birth stories which deal with
the previous births of the Bodhisatva or the Buddha
give us information about the nagas.

In some Jatakas

like the Ghatasana Jataka (Bo.133) the Bakabrahma

J at aka (Ho. 403) and the Jataka of the five fasters
(Mo.490) the nagas appear in their original reptilean
character, though in the former two Jatakaa, they are
described as possessing the magical powers and spitting
the fire.

Borne other Jatakas like the Jarudapana

Jataka (ho.256) and the hahavanija Jataka (Ho.493) the

nagas appear as guardians and distributors of wealth.
-

In certain Jatakas like the Silanisamsa Jataka (H0.I9O)

and the hahapaduma Jataka (Mo.472) they are described
as helpful deities saving the heroes from danger and
death.

The nagas assuming the human form is frequently

seen in the Jatakas.

lor example, in the Mahavanija

Jataka (Ho.493) the naga of the fig tree and his followers assume the human form, especially as armed

1.Vogel, op.cit. p.216

72, t

soldiers, to punish the over greedy merchants. In

the Champeya (Mo.506) , the Bankhapala (Mo.524) the

manikantha, the Bhuridatta and other Jatakas too
*

describe the power of the nagas to transform them

selves into humans. Moreover, we see in the Jatakas
/- _
/
like the Bilanisamasa Jataka the naga king transforms
himself into a great ship, whereas in another Jataka
the frightened naga, chased by a suparna, changes
&

himself abruptly into a precious jewel and hid himself

1

in the bark garment of an anchorite.

In the Bhuridatta
Jataka (Mo. 543) Archimukhi, the sister of Bhuridatta,
hides herself in the shape of a frog in the matted

locks of oudarsana, her brother, who assumed the

human form in order to rescue his captured brother, the
hero of the story.
In some Jatakas, we notice the nagas repenting
for their evil and fierce biting nature, as the naga
in the Jataka of the five fasters (M'o.490)

Here the

serpent bites a bull on being crushed oy the latter in

his playful mood,

.water, when he sees all the villagers

wailing at the death of the sacred white bikll, he

repents for his hasty wrathful act of bitting the bull
and then takes a decision to observe fast until he is
freed from his fierce angry nature.

1. Uraga Jataka (Mo. 154)

73

Reconciliation between the nagas and their

winged adversary is not unknown to the authors of the
Jatakas* as we notice the same in the Uraga J'ataka
CMo.154) and to some extent in the iandura Jat aka.
The merciless treatment of the magicians or the snake
charmers is also referred to in such Jatakas as the
_

__

Ghampeya, the Rankhapala, the Rhuridatta and others*

The illtreatment of the nagas at the hands of the
wizards is more striking in the former two of the above
mentioned three Jataxas.
we also come across certain panus nagas who prefer
to observe self-abnegation and self-sacrifice in their
._

spiritual striving as in the case of Ghampeya, bankhapala and Rhuridatta in the Jatakas of their names.
These great nagarajas allow their human kam termenters
to reduce them to a state of utter helplessness through
severe beating, spitting the drugged saliva into their
throats, removal of their fangs, roping through their
nostrills, etc., though they can easily annihilate
their human enemies with the iblast of their nostrils.
They even close their eyes, lest the human beings
should perish by their very look.
The boundless riches and endless sensual pleasures
of the Nag-loka are also referred to in the Jatakas
/

such as the Gankhapala and others.

The divine beauty

of the nagins is also revealed in some Jatakas like the

-

Champeya and the Rankhapala.

^specially, in the

: 74 i

Champeya Jat aka, we hear ugrasena, the king of

Benares, asking Sumana, wife of Champeya, who came
to save her husband, asking her when he saw the former
axoft to the centre of his court, if she were a
Gandharva or a divine lady at which she tells him that
she is neither a G-andharva nor a human woman, but
a naga woman who has come purposely to pray him for
the release f her husband from the snake-charmer.
Incidentally, we also come to know that the sna&e
birth is caused due to covetousness for riches and
luxuries because it is stated that Bodhisatva in one
of his previous births had that desire as a result
of which he was born in the Jiaglok as Sankhapala.
Similarly, we notice the identification of some
naga-kings with the future Buddha in two other Jatakas,
the Champeya and the -bhuridatta.

un the other hand,

there are some Gatakas like the Silanisamsa and the

mahapaduma in which the naga is not identified with
the future Buddha but with one of his chief disciples*
In the former Jataka the naga is !3ariputra while in the
latter he is iTnanda.
1'rom the Jatakas of Badara (Bo*304) , kharaputta
(ho.386) anu Bhuridatta we learn that the captured
nag'as do not dance out of fear when they see a U-aruda
and out of shame when they see their kinsman.

It is

for these two reasons the captured nagas look at the

crowd.

; 7 6':
ihe nagas also appear as playing the role of a
just deity saving those in danger and chastising the
wicked as in the Jarudapana and the Mahavanija
Jat akas.
i'he Jat akas and the Buddha as well

3eem

to consider

the snake birth as the resultant of evil doings in

previous births,

Ihe reply of Champeya (no-.506)

to King Ograsena of Benares, on Deing questioned

why he has deserted all the pomp and enjoyments
of the serpent-world, is as follows*

"Pudge Purity and self control are found no where except

-*v

in the human world.

If I am reborn once in the world

of men, I shall escape forever from the vicious cycle

of births ana deaths."

again we notice Bhuridatta

thinking in himself, on seeing the heavenly host with

whom the 1usita Paradise of Bakra is filled in, that
it is of no avail to lead the life of a "frog-eating
snake" and makes up his mind to observe the Babbath
vows with a hope to be reborn among the gods.

And on

the other hand Bankhapala finds it impossible to

observe celibacy and other practices related to spiri
tual attainment in his world of unending sensual enjoy
ments.

therefore, he prefers the human world for such

a thing and accordingly he repairs to it.

lurther, we hear the Buddha condemning Blapatra

1. Champeya J&taka (Uo.906)

2. Journal of the Asiatic society of Bengal, 1907
(trans. of a f'ibelan scroll by
Satischandra
Vidyabhusana)

i 74 i

when the latter attends in the mask of a monarch to

listen to the preachings of the Blessed One.

On

seeing the disguised Blapatra in the midst of his

pupils, he tells him that his present snake birth was
the outcome of violation of the rules of conduct in
one of his previous births, especially at the time of
Hasyapa Buddha.

He asks him (Blapatra) to listen to

his sermons in his native snake form, if it (the snake

form) permits him to do so, but never to be hypo
critical.

On the very next day, among his audience a

huge serpent head with an Blapatra plant over it, is

reported to have seen,
isangs report

.as against this, we see Hiuan

of a Buddhist priest who was reborn,

as a serpent because of his killing an i&Lapatra tree

in his previous birth.
i'he cfatakas also make use of the nagas botfr for
praising and condemning the Vedic lore and its followers*
/

as can be seen in the Bhuridatta J at aka. Budarsana,

Subhaga and Kanarishta are the brothers of Bhuridatta.
When BhUridatta. captured by some magicians, is not
seen for several days, his brothers go in search of
him in different directions.

Budarsana, assisted by

his cousin sister xrchimuichi, is able to find him out

and get his brother released.

Immediately, they take

with them the sick Bhuridatta to Bagloka.

* little

later, Kanaristha, who went on in search of his brother

4

1. lice Betty, Ihe Bods of Northern Buddhism (She

Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1928) p. 171

S 77;

in Devaloka, returned to his world.

After a while

Bubhaga, who also went on search to the Himalayas

anu other regions, returns to the serpent-world with
alambana, a Brahman and a tormentor of Bhuridatta, as
captive.

Bubhaga wants to take revenge on the Brahman

who is responsible for all the troubles of his brother.

Uttering loud abuses, he
the palace gate of Bhuridatta.

begins to drag him to

at this Kanarishta

interferes and asks his brother not to hurt the

Brahman.

Further, he says that as all Brahmans are

the sons of the Supreme Brahma, and their hurting his

sons will certainly evoke his wrath which destroys
the whole naga world.

In this connection, he extols

the greatness of Brahmans, especially those who possess

the sacred knowledge of the Veda ond of the Vedic
ritual.

Bhuridatta, lying in his sick bed, hears

these words and feels it necessary to correct his

brother Kanaristha.

leaving his sick bed he makes

arrangements to convene a meeting in which he wants

to express his views
naga-world.

to all the inhabitants of the

.*s all of them assembled, the summons his

younger brother and criticises him for upholding the

(Kjl VjlAxl*

Vedas and upheld by Brahmans are 2uc& quite unnecessary

as they help in no way to attain heaven.

He severely

condemns the practice of sacrificing animals and finally

:
he dismisses the guilty .Brahman without a word from
1
the hag-loka.
Thus, from the above we find that the naga-cult
also penetrated in the doctrines and literature of
buddhism.

This hetrodox religion began to imbibe

its fold certain practices associated with this cult,

in .buddhism the good and the evil characteristics
of the nagas are clearly mentioned.

Attempts with

this literature were made to associate buddha the

founder of this religion with the nagas in some form
or other.

The penetrated and the assimilated process

betrayed the vitality of the nag-cult.

1. "In the western Himalaya an annual mela in honour

^of the naga is usually held in a grove surrounding
the temple and that the festivities culminate in
the sacrifice of a goat or a ram. this modern
form of worship reminds us of the bankhamedhiya
Udyana (the garden or grove of the sacrifice of
Sankha) where the buddha was reported to have
stayed on his arrival at benares from Urvilva.
"The mahavastu mentions the name of the garden of
,bankha as only "Sankhamedhi ". This was the
gjrove where the-festivax in,honour of the naga
Hankha used to be held in ancient times."
Vogel, op. cit., p. 217.

7?

Jainism and its na&a-association;

Jainism* which almost sprang up along with Buddhism,
followed suit regarding the denial of independent snakeworship.

She Parsvan'atha Oarita says that while

Parsvan&tha, the 23rd iirthankara was in meditation,

his unnamed ememy caused a terrible rain to disturb
him.1 2 But the nagaraja Bharanidhara came to his
rescue and sheltered him from the heavy rain/spreading
his hood over him as an umbrella,

i'his is almost

identical with that of the Buddha being shaded and

protected by kupilinda during the storm.
/
In the Batrnjayamahatmva
hharma. the nagaraja
is
represented as shading Parsvanatha while he was in
deep meditation, kayotsarga (for the second time) at
Sivapuri, with his raised hood as an umbrella over
his head.

It is said that because of this, the

town has obtained the name of ^.hicchatra.

ihus, we find that the references of the samake
cult are available in Jainism,

'i'he snake got attention

from the Jain writers who depict him as protector of

their i'hirthankaras while in meditation.

1. mahalingam, op. cit., p.67

2. Ibid., p. 67

Snake-wo rship in the Hamalvana;

ihe popularity of the snake-cult is also seen
from the references contained in the .Spies*
In the ham ay ana it is stated that the naga-mother
burasa (Surasa nagamataram) appears in the guise of
1

a demon in order to test the resourcefulness and

perseverance of Hanuman during his flight to Lanka.
ihrough this description we come to know that Surasa
has the dazzling brilliance of the Sun
she is treatecd as an equal hy the gods

and that
in begng

asked to test the ability of Hanuman, the greatest

of the intelligentia (buddhimatam varistam).

besides

it is stated that she can assume any form at her will

4
and pleasure.
It is said that nakshmana, one of the brothers
of Hama., is an incarnation of Sesa ("nearn u Kamal
* ^
thou art tfisnu and Sit a is lakshmil nakshmana is
Sesa and the monkey-nords, the Hudras) 5 and because
*
{, R.cuwvcujQjvva., SuyicLcoveu kiavidla. - I - I

-A0* I *(T

1 c*f( run

^5TcT
i^VrP| Ti

3q^cf]<r<HiIH
,

AwuaaIo, Ratwvcu^xxvv.

h Ocv\Av\Ai!wv->^

S',

SjX^* f( ~ l tf 9

?T3j II -Isy
j

kccnda.} {LuyrtLH <H ttu_ ftr-cfr-a.<*n

pcf ^ J CA.OjucjIv^.'MouJU. A<vxt^j

. $/

of old loyalties, he followed his brother to the

forest where he kept vigilance around the clock
for full fourteen years.
In tne stereotyped group Virupaksa has become
the lord of the nagas and in that capacity he holds
a snake and a jewel,

although originally he must

have been a nagaraja, he figures in the Hamayana as

1
the world-elephant of the hast.
besa and Virupaksa have been represented as
having their permanent abode in the hast.

Of course,

Virupaksa has been described as the world elephant

2
of the hast.
Further, we hear a little more of besa in the
words of bugriVa, the monkey-king and friend of Hama.
Ordering some of his monkey hosts to go in search of
bita in tne hastern direction, he says that in the
hast as they go farther and farther, tkey will come
across the Milk Ocean, the white mountain Hsabha in
its midst, and to the horth of it the marvellous Mount
keru.

and on top of the meru will be seen the earth

bearing, thousand-hooded itfianta (a synonym of besa)

shining as the silver moon with eyes as wide as
lotus leaves and draped in a dark blue garment.

1.
2.

Vogel, op. cit., p.198

Ibid., p. 213

i three-topped glittering golden palm planted on

1
a. huge pedestal there, serves for his banner.
In continuous of the above account, we axso
2

Dome across a description of dhogavati, the bether-world

I. damayana, Kiskindakandas
.
A dH *.
I n \o-HH ^^rC *._$-

{8

'M A

Ih
Snff oT\H {04

cR

<H6i

ft - .or

: \\

l. Bhogavatij fhe meaning of it is disputable amongst

scholars, dome say it is the name given to a river
after its winding movement of a serpent, dome others
say that it means "a city of liu.uries" or "a luxurious
city", as one of the meanings of "bhoga" in dhogavati
is ld.ii.ury. In support of it, it is said that the
whole city was bedecked with beautifuJt and brilliant
precious stones, another meaning of "bhoga" is hood.
Figuratively "bhoga" or hood stands for a shake,
especially a haga. 'hence, it also means the "city
of serpents that of (nSgas)". (dhogavati nama
sarpanamalayah puriKiskihdakanda-k-205). 'bhoga1
also means 'snake's coil' (atharva Veaa XI-5-Whitney's tfans. .651) ~
accordifig to Valmiki hSmayana, dhogavati is the city
of serpents, well guarded by several powerful naga
chiefs and ruled over by Vasuki, the greatest king
of serpents i damayana, Kiskinda khan da, 41 sarga
ruranic Inde^-. p. 138)
It is the name given to the G-angas in its downward
course to dhogavati from the fathomless depths of

^3

capital of the nagas.

when Sugriva deputes an army

of monkeys under Hanuman to douth, he says: "there

-s

is the mountain, named Kunja, lovely to the eyes and

to the heart, where the dwelling of iigastya has been
fashioned by Viswakarman.

There is his divine house

(baraha) of gold adorned with various gems, a yojana

wide and ten y.ojanas high.

There is the town, named

Bhogavati, the abode of snakes, with large roads,

the sea on its nether-world course.(MahabharataII-Dakshinakya patha, chapter 38, Puranic

indeA p. 138).
It is the name given to the sacred point of
confluence of the three holy rivers - the banges,
the Jamuna and the Saraswati at Prayaga, better
known o,s Vasuki Tirtha, a holy place for ablations.
It is further said that a holy dip at this Tirtha
accredits as much holiness to the individual as
that amount of it that befalls him on performing
an aswamedha sacrifice, (mahabharata, Vanaparva,
83,86, Thirthayatra (III canto) Puranic Index,
p. 138;.
It is a name given to the river darasw&ti. (maha
bhar at a, Vanaparva, 24-20 Puranic Index p. 138).
It is the name of a lady attendent on lord
gubrahmanya (mahabharat a, 8aly parva-46-8,
Puranic Index, p. 138).
In the description of southern region, the abode
of the deceased ancestors (pitrs)where havana
practiced austerities to obtain immortality and
where u-aruda consumed the giant elephant and
the giant tortoise, it was said that the town

*.

SU

invincible, guarded on all sides by terrible serpents

(sharp-f anged and great of poison) where in dwelleth
1
tfasuki, the greatest king of snakes".
In the Jfcamayana, it is repeatedly stated that
Havana has vanquished Vasuki, conquered his town
bhogavati, and carried off the wife of Iaksaka.

but

no particulars are given and not even the name of

i'aksaka's consort is mentioned,

ihe incident is only

brought in as one of the many exploits

ruler of ianka.
place held by

1 .

of the great

It shows at any rate the important

Iakshaka among the nag a kings.

In one

bhogavati, ruled by Vsuki, by laksaka and by

Hiravata was situated, according to the Hamayana
bhogavati appears to oe associated with the abode
of .agastya wnich has been fashioned by Viswakarman. I'here ase, however, other references in
mahabharata where bhogavati is not described as
situated in the remotest south but as one
within reach to be visited by pilgrims (*mahabnaraiasudyogaparva, 109-19Vogel op.cit.p.201)
Hamayana, Kiskindakanda a.- 221 .

! S5

passage where Havana's victory over the nagas is

related, four chiefs of the serpent-tribe are

enu-

merated, viz, Vasuki, laksaka, Hankha and Jatin.

i'he important factor here is the mention of the nagarajas ifanka and Jatin.

Ihey seem to be a new addition

to the list of the naga chiefs,

Ihe town Hhogavati

is here clearly located in the nether world (rasatala)

1
in the womb of the Ocean.
Kama wanted to erect a bridge over the south dea
to reach Hanka in order to wage war against Havana,
he resolved to lose Ms life if the ocean did not yield
to him.
days.

He prayed to the god of the ocean for full three

Hut the sea-god did not respond to his prayer.

At that he grew angry with him, took up his bow and let
out the most dreadful flaming shafts which surged the
sea to the deep distress of the nagas and the croco
diles# there,

i'he god-hermits haunting the smy cried

out alarmingly : "alas" and "enough".

^

the sea-god did not show himself.

Hut still

>"S

How Hama set to

his bow an arrow incant at ed with the most powerful

Hrahma spell, at which the entire universe was enve
loped with darkness and began to tremble, at this
moment there arose in the mid-ocean the sea-god like
the nun and approaching Hama, he paid his adorations

I. Vogel, op. cit., p. 201

to him.

Further, he suggested to mama the way he

should follow to bridge over him and taking leave

of Rama the sea-god disappeared.
From the above account we come to Know that
certain nagas dwell in the de?s of the sea along
with other acquatics.

This denotes the close asso

ciation of nlgas with the water element.

in the Ramayana Vinata who is the mother of
baruda and i*nur, is also said to be the mother of
burasa - the mother of serpents - and of Kadru, the
1
mother of the nagas.
Certain other references about snakes are also
found in the Ramayana.

It is stated that ouki give

birth to Bata and nut a to Vinata.

Racial this Vinata

had ten wrathful daughters , viz. mrgi, mrgamada,

a ar i, Bh ad r amad a, mat an g i , Sarduli, veta', burabhi

Gurasa and Kadru who were endowed with all virtues,
jimong them auraaa and Kadru were the mothers of nagas
and serpents respectively. p
The lesser hints given in the Rpic at the
enmity between baruda and the nagas when the former
comes to the rescue of Hama when the latter is

1. Ramayana
2. Ibid.

Iii-14- 20 to 22.

III-14-28

s $7 :
enticed by a multitude of net;as let out by the
serpent-arrow (naga-astra) shot by Incirajit, the
heroic son of nava,na.

In his search for Sit a in Lanka, the great

city of the giant king Havana, hanuman in his micro
form enters into the harem where he beholds, beauti
ful naga maidens with fair full-moon-like faces
and round hiptf, evidently ravished by Havana.

fhis

is a testimony beyond other considerations, to the

_

axluring beauty of the nagins.

It shows that the

followers of the naga-cult were organised into

tribes,

ine followers appear to be men of culture

and enjoy a rich and luxurious life because the naga

ladies were considered fit to be in the herm of power
ful Havana the king.
fhe uttar a m am ay an a mentions that bita was taken
away by the mother iiarth to ixasatala (the under-world,)
seated on a throne that was carried on the heads of
the nagas of ooundless brilliance.

rz

i'his shows some

connection between the nagas and the Larth.

.after oita was taken by Mother-narth, Hama felt
so much for her that he wanted to destroy the very
Larth if she would not give Sit a back,

at this moment

1. Ramayana, -153-11
2. Og el, op. ext., p. 3 3
3. Ramayana UttarakcOida ^.CVII-17 to 20 and also
Kankanti Paparaju, Uttara xtamayana (in ielugu)
(Royal & Go., Cuddapah, *.i., 1949)-P345*

. gtf

.brahma interfered and said : "0 kamai dive thou

not thyself to grief, rather remember thy essential
godhead, bethin& thee thou art Vi gnu.
v a

bpotless is

bit a, and for all her virtues she hast gone to the
abode of nag as, but thou-shalt be with her in Heaven,
xlearken now to the last part of Valmikis narration,
and thou shalt know thy future".

Having said that,

Brahma retired with his retinue.

i'rom the words of Brahma we can understand that
the nag-lok 'the abode of the nagas) i such a holy
place as to be gained admission by such individuals
wno are pure as bit a.

It also sounds that atleast

the denizens of the hag-lok are perfect holy beings.

Ihus the hamayana gives us varied information
regarding the nagas, nagins and their habitation
ranging from their bewitching beauty, transfigura
tion (kamarupa) and their invincibility in general,
borne of the divine characteristics as mentioned in
the earlier literature have been kept in tact.

Snake-worship in the Mahabharatha:

Xhis epic like Ramayana Mahabharatha provides us
3.

with rich and varied information regarding the nag as*

Besides, it makes a mention of the naga association
with some of the royal members*

according to this

epic, Uttarapancala/ruled over by Drupada, had Ahichchatra (the present Rohilkhand) for its capital*
_

local legend of Adi raja

The

describes that he was umb rel

ied before his elevation to kingship by a hooded

cobra while asleep*

ahichchatra meaning the "serpent

i

umbrella" might have derived its name after this*

Evidently, it is an anaohronism*

But still the legend

of the Jidiraja strengthens the popular belief that

whoever is shaded by a live, hooded cobra is sure to
become a king or atleast sure of winning royal honour.
In this connection, mention may be made of the infant
Krsna being shaded by a huge many hooded serpent, in
whose case it also reveals his divine identity*
Mahabharata presents us about the heavily riohed
domain of the hagas ruled by airavata with a very
large number of famous nagas as subjects*

We could

also come to know the names of the said nagas in

detail through'sarpar-sukt a' recited by Utanka or

1. Mahalingam, op.cit., p. 117

i c)o

Udanka who entered their domain to get back the

ear-rings which were stolen h away by faksaka.
1
gist of ' ear pa shkta' is as follows*

fhe

The serpents of the naga-loka are said to be the

subjects of Airavata, and as versed in the sterner
arts*

Ihey are all as brilliant as the bun and also

*, <AFd ^ *THi I
^Tf^^rR^teTT ; U - Zif

: \i ~^5

Hioici^flrfeTr

..............

^1 ^Hid -

Mgji 1| _

0i

I^
iKT^trt?R
^

^7^3?fe (
3g

S *7/ i

have their private or personal habitations on the

northern banks of the sacred (ranges*

All the nag as,

except Airavata, have the habit of moving out under

hot sun at mid-day*

specially, when airavata* 3

brother, Dhrtarastra goes out, he is followed by a

huge retinue of twenty-eight thousand and eight
nagas.

It is also said that Faksaka and Asvasena

are such bosom friends that they are sash inseparable,

having their personal abodes on the banks of the
Ikshumati at Kurukshetra.

Fhe sukta also speaks of

Srtasena, the younger brother of Faksaka and resident

r

of a holy place named Mahadyumna, as having an aspira

tion to attain the chiefship of serpents*
From this aocount, we know that airavata is the
king of the nagas of patal (the Nether-world) and that
his brother is Dhrtarastra* Further, it says that
whoever recites this ' sarpa sukta1 will never be
harmed by any serpent at any time, and on the other
they will be so much pleased as to fulfill the desires
of such a one*
The robing away the ear-ring* by Faksaka led
Utgfltka to instigate Janamejaya to take revenge
against the serpents through performing the sarpasatra'.
The latter was also enimical since his father Fariksit
was made to die of Faksaka's bite.

During 'sarpasatra*

9 SO

whan many of the serpents were made to fall in the

sacrificial fire, and when the whole of the nagarace was about to come to an end, the illustrious
son of the like named parents Jaratkaru and Jaratkari and the nephew of Vasuki, astika, intervened
and brought the sacrifice to a halt on the strength
of the promise obtained from Janamejaya.

The great

nag as in their unbounded joy and gratefulness

granted a boon to astika to the effect that the
recital of his storynay, even his name alone
shall free men from the danger of snakes*
The episode of 'sarpasatra' establishes the
historical fact that the part played by *stika,
the heir-apparent of aryan and nag a races brought
a compromise between the two races who were at
daggers to destroy the each other.
Besides the divine nagas and their habitations,
h&e also find that the dangerous nagas were also

allotted their habitation in the lower regions*

Mythology was pressed in the service to devour
these ngas by Qaruda, their enemy,

The well-known

reason for the rivalry between ^aruda and the naga

was the deceitful slavery which his mother was
subjected to (as we knew from the episode of the
wager between Kadru and Vinata)

This enimity

grew further when &aruda chose the boon, on being

asked by Sakra, of getting the mighty serpents for

his daily food;

Accordingly the destroyer of the

Dinavas bestowed upon Garuda the boon of becoming the

destroyer of the serpents

For this reason Garuda

was spoken of as 'pannagabho jana*

On the other

and 1 Pannag asanah'*

<** we also see that the serpents

hand,

being destined to be the food of Garuda by Brahma

himself.^ Shis antagonism is clear from the fact
that Garuda kills the two mighty

serpents who are

keeping vigilanoe over the pot of nectar*

She magnifiedent power of the venom of the snake

was recorded on the other occasion in Mahabharata*
When the jealousy Duryodhana had made the mighty
C

Bhima consume the deadiy poisonous food

and thrown

in the deep waters hand and foot bound, the later

sank down to the naga-iok where he was bitten there
by many snakes*

1
2.
3*
4.
5*
6,

She poison injected to Bhima

Mahabharat a 1-34-13
1-16-24,25
Ibid
V-112-5,15
Ibid
aIV-30-6
Ibid
I - 33-6.
Ibid
1-8-40,41 *
Ibid

7* Ibid.

1-8-46.

**

Ity

through the bites resulted the antidote and made

Bhima recover.

The nag as who were surprised at

the incident reported to their king Vasuki.

Vasuki

feeling happy to recognise Bhima to be his gras great

i

grand-son , ordered to present Bhima gold and diamonds

and the specjaLa elixir by which Bhima attained superb
sturdiness and the strength of a thousand elephants

to his fill.
From the above account, we know that Bhima was
given the kalakuta' or deadly vegetable poison whioh
was antidoted by the snake-poison or the animal poison.
This proves that the animal poison counteracts vegetable
poison and vice-versa.

This agrees with the ayurvedic

theory - that one poison is a remedy for another poison,

just as one evil curbs another evil.

This story may

also reflect hostilities between the pandavas and the

nagas wherein the Pandava hero won the battle in the
end and in return got preoious gifts from his adversaries
This epic further tells us of the'Visahari vidya*
_^

being given to Kasyapa by Brahma to counter-act the

1. Mahabharata 1-8-47
I

^ V Qt, ^

>

snake poison for the good and benefit of the people*

This reminds us of the ' visa-vidya' spoken of in the
_

asvalayana ftrhya Sutras

as well as Bhavisya Purana.

1. Mahabharata 1-20-16
2. IV-6-1
3* The Bhavisya Purana also offers an elaborate
description as to how the poison works at dif
ferent stages Causing different degrees of suf
fering until the victim is collapsed, along with
certain cures to be administered at each stage
as envisaged by tfaruda to kasyapa.
, snake, when it bites, injects poison

as email a drop that drops down from the end

of the hair of a cow's tail* In no time it
spreads all over the^body like an oil drop in
water* 43 the poison enters into the blood
stream, it causes pains a thousand-fold*
Describing the various stages of the working of
poison he says that in the first stage the victim
becomes unsteady* as it reaches out to the skin,
his suffering doubles. When it enters into the
blood-stream he gets four-fold suffering; as it
joins the bile, suffering is three-fold; as it
spreads through phlegm, suffering increases
by sixteen times; as it spreads to the gaseous
region, pain increases by thirty-two times; and
as it permeates through the medullary substance
his suffering gets intensified surging his life
and paralyses all movement of limbs* nothing
is heard at this stage, breathing stops and the
bitten person passes away* For this reason the

: ^^ j

i'he Mah'abharata gives us the account of Gunakesi

poisoned sufferer should be given treatment

without delay* Immediately on being bitten
by a snake* the person feels cramps and pricking
all over the body; in the second stage he gets
sweating in every-part; in the third stage all
the limbs tremble; in the fourth stage ears
fail to function; in the fifth stage he gets
hiccoughs; and in the sixth he loses his life*
Now tfaruda describes in detail the charaoteristio suffering at each of the six stages along with
a cure at each stage of suffering* as the poison
spreads through the dermal tissue region* the body
of the poisoned man gets cramps and quite frequently
he feels restlessness* at this stage he should be
given the decoction of the root of Calotropis
gigantia, achyranthus aspera* Aglaia roxburghiana,
Valeriana Wallichii (Indian Valerian)* If the
poison is not antidoted with this remedy* then it
gets into the blood* at this stage* the person
experiences severe burning sensation all over the
body* becomes unconscious* and then the tempera
ture falls down so low that his body turns cold*
At this stage the roots of Veteverio Aizoroides
(cus-cus roots)* Santalum alburm (sandal-wood)
apiotaxis auriculata or Saussureo nappa (the "
Cost us), Nymph ae a -uotus (black water lilies)*
Valeriana Wallichii (Indian Valerian) * 1'raecosanthes (some ayurvedic doctors identify it (mahakala) with another plant Grarcinia aanthochymus)
Palmeta, vitex negundo (five-leaved chaste tred)
*

(lovely hair) the most beautiful daughter of MataJLi,

the friend and charioteer of Indra*

*s Matali failed

are to be powdered and to that mixture Mercuric

Sulphide (Cinnabar) or its Calx and piper nigrum
(black pepper) should be added and the pulverised
medley should'be administered to the sufferer
orally* Immediate to the previous dose another
medley of the following items Solanurn surattense, ieardium indie urn (in some Ayurvedic books
it is mentioned as Heliotropium indicum (Indian
turnsole), root of citrulus vulgaris(Indian colocynth or bitter melon) Indigofera tinctoria (Indigo
plant) and ' saptagandhas* (1. ugragandha Acorus
calamus (th sweet flag)"2* 'sarpagandha'Ophiorrhiza mungos the mongoose plant or fiautfolfia
serpentina. 3* amragandha Curcuma aromatioa;
4. teeksna gandha Moringa Pterygosperma (Horseraddish tree)" 5* surabhigandha Hoot of Jasmin urn
grandiflorumi-the Spanish Jasmin* 6* roopa gandha-Acalypha indica and 7* visagandha - Aristolochia
bract eat a.) be soaked in Grhee and then be given
to the sufferer* Again immediately another mix
ture of Vitex negundo (the chaste tree) and ferula
asafoetida should be administered orally, as collyrium and nasal drops* She same mixture &ould
be applied externally and a Part of it should be
rubbed on the bite*
If the poison enters into the bile the sufferer
becomes quite restless, stands for a while and
tumbles down, feels severe burning sensation all
over, falls into coma, body gets slight yellowish

!n

to get a suitable kxfcatgs bridegroom for his daughter

out of his vigorous search among the gods and humans*
he went in search in the nether-world* where he was
successful in finding Sumukha of the nag as* to whom

tinge and every thing appears to have been

yellowish* The treatment to be meted out at
this stage is same as in the case of bloodpoisoning*
If the poison makes its headway into the
phlegmatic region a heterogeneous mixture of
the following piper longum (long pepper)
tflyeerrhiza glabra (liquorice root)* the core
of the trunk of Madhuka indica* lagenaria
sioeraria (bitter cumin or bitter gourd)* root
of Jasmin urn grandiflorum (the Spanish Jasmin)
Sankara Valuka* root of Cucumis colocynthis*
citruius vulgaris (Indian colocynth or bitter
melon)be pulverised and adding to it honey,
sugar candy* and cowfs urine should be used
to the poisoned persdn orally, foe external
application* as nasal drops and as plaster
over the bite*
as the poison still penetrates into the
phlegmatic region the body becomes stiff and
respiration stops* Hdavy salivation followed
by gurgitation is another characteristic peculiar
at this stage* Immediately now equal parts of
irikatukas, viz. dry zinger, piper longum (long
pepper), piper nigrum (black pepper) cardeia
latifolia or c. my*a (3ebeaten tree) Symplocos

'i i

he gave away his daughter in marriage*

Matali also

racemosa (the jjodhtree) corne of Madhuka Indioa's

trunk he powdered and mixed up with cow's urin*
1his compound should be used orally, externally,
as nasal drops and as collyrium*
If the poison further creeps into the umbellic
region (vatasthana), the patient's stomach
bxoats* His sight'fails and he dannot recognise
even his kith and kin* at this stage a medley
of the following items nignonia Indica, -aglaia
roxburghiana, Rubia manjista (Indian madder root)
Pothos officinalis (lippia nodiflora) Clerodendron
siphonanthus, acorus calamus (the sweet flag)
Piper longum (long pepper), pinus uongif olia'(the
Himalayan cedar) Glycorrhiza glabra (liquorice root^
fitly core of the trunk of Madhuka Indica, Vitex
negundo, and Perula asafoetida - well churned should
be administered orally, externally, as oollyrium
and nasal drops*
If the poison still prooceeds and enters into
the medullary region he should be given a mixture
of ghee, sugar, honey, Vetiveria Zdziroides (KhusKhus roots) and Sant alum album (sandal-wood)
orally and as nasal drops*
Anu if the poison further gets into the nerve
plex (the 107 most vital points) the man is almost
collapsed when audition fails and the body becomes
quite insensitive even to the freezing cold of
ice* If blows are rained upon him, they went
leave any markings* Bleeding wont take place

; / CO

saved his son-in-law from being killed by Garuda with

even if he is treated with knives* These are

the signs of total insensibility when he is
declared dead* If the situation is otherwise*
it indicates that he is still alive* at this
stage ordinary doctors cannot render any assis
tance to that man* Only those who are gifted
with the most powerful spells* who have thorough
knowledge of herbs and who knew the uses of
various precious stones - they alone can treat
such critical cases* They should administer
to him a recipe of the dried gall of pear-cock,
dried gall of cat* Oandhanadi Mula* Crocus sativus
(saffron) Valariana Wallichii (Indian Valerian),
xplotaxis aurioulata (the oostus), Cassia occiden
tals (its bark only)* imdroecium and the thalamus
of the following - Bymphaea lotus (both blaok and
white) and of lelumbium speciosum (lotus) *
powder of the above things all of equal parts
should be mixed up well with cow's urine. If it
is put in the hands of the patieftt, he is sure to
come back to life* as such, this medicine is
named 'mritasanjeevani' (that which brings
the dead back to life). Depending upon the situar*
tion the same may be Used as Collyrium and as
snuff. (Bhavisya Pur an aChapter 35*)

the blessings of Indra. The Grunakesi and Sumukha

1
episode reveals that even the males among the nagas
were very attractive to look at*

Not only that, it

also means that neither the gods nor the humans can
exoel the nigas in their beauty*

The fiost interesting

point here is that while the atjuna-UlTipi episode

establishes the relationship between men and nagas,
the G-unakesi-Sumukha episode establishes the relation
ship between the nagas and the gods*

Thus, it appears

that the nagas bridge the gulf serving as intermediaries

between men and gods*

This, too, may be reckoned as

one of the reasons for the naga-worship.

The same work also offers an interesting aocount
of the wordly departure of balarama or baldev (as he
is usually termed) the saxlkcx elder brother of Krsna,
*

who was described as an amsa or portion of Sesa.

accord

ing to it, as he was engaged in yoga just before his

withdrawal from this world, "from his mouth there
issued forth a large white nag a, thousand-hooded,
red mouthed, in size unto the girth of a mountain, who
leaving his body, spread towards the great ocean*
There, Sagara or the ocean received him, and so did
the divine nagas ad the pure and holy riv

1. Mahabharatha - V-3672 (quoted by alain Danie'lou,

Hindu Potatheiam. pub* Houtledge & Kegan Paul ltd.
juondon, "I 4) p. 111
2. Mahabharata --Moosalaparva- p.6

srnrr gfict i

^ ^

Jo 2

The above account clearly supports not only the

Hindu belief in incarnation, but also Sera's ability
to incarnate on par with Visnu.
supreme celestial nature*

This speaks for his

further, we notice the

holy rivers being equated with the holy riagas in

view of their ultimate goal of forsaking their indi
vidual identity and winding movement*

The same text

also tells us that Siva always holds a very powerful

serpent with seven heads in His hand like a how,
with a view to assist the gods*

The serpent that

serves as a how for Him is said to have the splendour

of rainbow*

It conveys the sense that serpents may

also he used as weapons against one's enemies*

This great epic reveals the faot that Hhrtarastra
iu the best of the nag as in archery, when Dharmaja
compared the arjuna's skill in archery, who are the
first of their kind.'
Thus, we find the epic contained much material with
regard to the snake lore; The Mahabharata throws a
flood of light on different aspects of snake-worship*
This cult through the instrumentality of myths and
legends, like other creeds, finds much space in the

1. Mahabharata, Virata parva, Ch.II-17(quoted by

Vogel, op* cit*, p*207)

; /* 3

text.

This proves beyond doubt that the naga-oult

had a popular following.

The ^ita;
The author of the Gita proclaims*
} -^fnJTTsfrji oTI ^Pb *.

Here juord Krsna identifies Himself with -ananta or Sesa

(the world-snake) among the nagas, and with Vasuki

among serpents.

It is evident from the above wads

that the author of the Gita perceived some distin

guishing features between the nagas and the other
serpents ana that k in His view *nanta among the
nagas and Vasuki among the other serpents are the grea
test and who deserve to be worshipped by mankind
in His name.

This means that while the author of

Gita mentions his equation with all the best and

greatest in the world, he did not forget the reference
to the snake.

He indirectly accepts there/the divine

characteristics in this reference.

Thus, we observe from the above account that
much useful information has been handed down to us
by various texts, whose references had been made above.
We find here the continuity of the snake-cult right
from the Indus Valley civilisation. The snake-lore went

1. 10-28,29

S tC7 S

Indra and the inmates of the three worlds IQst their

energy and strength and vigour.

The daityas or

Asuras took advantage of this opportunity and rebelled

against the enervated gods whereby the latter fled
to Brahma seeking protection.

Brahma advised them

that it would be better for all of them to go to

Visnu, the tamer of demons and seek his aid and
(

advice,

ned by Brahma the divine host reached the

northern shore of the sea of milk,

There they prayed

to Visnu whence he appeared before all of them and

promised to restore their strength.

Further, he added

that they should chum the milk-ocean putting potent

herbs in it using mount Mandara for the churning stick
and Vasuki the serpent king, for the churning sfcksk rope
to get back the den of life making a concerted effort
with the daityas and share with them the fruit of their
joint labour.

Visnu also suggested them that they

should allure the daityas with their offer of a share

of ambresia which would render them immortal.

At the

same time he promised them that he would look to it

depriving the daityas of their share of nectar.

Thereby

the heavenly host extended its alliance and agreement

with daityas and undertook the churning of the sea of
milk.

Accordingly, they oast several efficacious

herbs into the sea, brought the mount Mandara to be

iQtf t

that they began quarrelling among themselves as to

who should possess her.

In the thick of their fight

the fake lady disappeared with the jug of ambrosia

and gave it to the gods who consumed it without delay*
Revived in strength and vigour, they drove the daityas
down to Hell*

The rejoiced gods praised Visnu*

Get

ting back his throne, Indra composed a hymn in praise

of the goddess of wealth and was granted a boon in
return by Jbaksmi to the effect that she should never
depart from the three worlds and never to forsake
anyone who should recite Indra*s hymn in praise of
her*
From the above mythical account we know that
the churning of the ocean symbolically stands for
creation*

It is evident from this that the snake

is closely associated with the idea of creation*

We kacauEX knew that the serpent is often associated
with progeny and is therefore worshipped by women
as the giver of it.

From this point of view it

seems quite apt that the serpent is given an impor

tant place in this myth of creation*

another point

of interest which we notice here i the flames or

vapours coming out of the mouth of Vasuki which
formed into clouds that showered rain.

This throws

light on the faot that the serpents are controllers

of rain, which is commonly expressed in many a myth

of creation*

Further* the churning of the ooean

lints at the suggestion that the sea is a gamer of

great riches and that they can be taken out from
Lt for the benefit and advantage of mankind*
The Churning myth

reflects upon the genius of the

author in blending together the Vedic idea of the

release of the celestial waters* the advent of rain*
the popular idea of creation and the idea of the
wealth contained in the sea in a marvellous manner*
2

The Markandeya Puran a mentions that asvatara naga,

brother of Kambala, propitiated Saraswati, the goddess
of Knowledge and wisdom and was granted the boon that
le and his brother Kambala would become the initiations
of Sangeeta Sastra (music) not only in the pat ala loka
[the under-world) but also in the Beva loka (Heaven)
and in the Bhu-loka (Barth) the upper worlds*

This

suggests a slight modification to what had been uttered

>y Brahma in the Varaha Pur ana* thus providing an
opportunity for snakes to come out of their undesrirorld habitations*

Thus* it offers a beautiful account

I. The same story is mentioned in several Puranas* Of

course, we find certain variations in the description
of the item got out from the sea; but the main fea
tures remain the same*
a) Agnipurana XV- l (Kurm av at ar a)
b) Bhigavata Purah^a Vll-6 . In this Pursna we notice

Hi

or the open air visits of serpents*

Ihe above account

f Asvatara may also be treated as the Puranic explanaion for the love of music of serpents in general,

Ihe

nfants, animals and nag as are easily captivated by

lUsi c '
2

In the Brahmavaivarta Pur ana , a story is related

n this connection.

Ihere it is said that Lord Krsna,

eing pleased with the devout prayer of one of the

reat nag as, Kaliya, granted him a boon.

Lord Krsna

>ays to Kaliya that whosoever kills his descendants or

eats anyone of his progeny on the oceli (Krsna-padas#

he foot prints of lord Krsna) to him befallassuredly

_
he greatest sin 3 (Brahma hatya patakam
the severest
*"

in of killing a man of divine knowledge, brahmajnani)

ind he is sure to experience the direst misery of losing
ill his riches and renown,

and that a century later,

is descendants will be bitten by swarms of insects

ill be afraid of his Idas-folk.

that the mountain l^iandara, instead of being uprooted

by 3e$a, as described in the Mahabharata is said to
have been precluded by the joint action of the gods
and the asuras.
2. Markandeya Pur an a 2151 to 53, 56 & 57.

191 to 72
. ibid. 19-65

She lord also confers the boon upon Ka.liya that

either he or his members will k never be afflicted
with the fear of Graruda,

(their formidable foe)

and even he will fold his hands in all adoration

to His foot-prints (oceila) on their hoods.

*nd

whosoever prostrates before his members bearing

the imprint of His feet will be freed from all
deadly sins.

Shis is one reason which the Purahas

offer for considering the nSgas as befitting wor

ship by humans till date.

She same legend is also

recounted in the Bhagavata Purana, of course, with

some slight variations as we will see now.
She victory of i<ord Krsna over Kaliya, the
cruel and ferocious serpent of the Yamuna, is
widely represented both in plastic and pictorial
art.

In connection with this an annual boat-festival

called 'Magalila' is celebrated even today at Mathura

/*

which has been supposed to be the spot where the

wicked serpent was vanquished by Krsna,
especially on
.
the 14th day in the bright fortnight of Kartik (month).
In this connection, we also learn from this
Purana that Kaliya possessed a thousand hoods,

accord

ing to this Purana Kaliya, terribly afraid of Graruda

1. Brahmavaiv art a Purana

19-71

shifted his residence from Hamanaka island to kalindi

as he knew thfet it was a prohibited area to tfaruda,
for the latter was cursed by the sage Saubhari who
was doing penance on the banks of the kalindi.
After the subjugation of Kaliya, Kr^na ordered
him to go to his original abode (Hamanaka island) along
with all his family members*

thereby kaliya expressed

his overwhelming fear for ttaruda whence Krsna told

*

him with all assurance that the winded adversary

of serpents would not attack him when he noticed the
imprint of hi s (krsna* s) feet on his head.
A

At this

kaliya was constrained to go to Hamanaka# vacating

his kalindi abode.
fhe rivalry between krsna and kaliya as mentioned
*

above shows sat& an acute rivalry between the worship

pers of Visnu and the followers of naga-cult.

In the

battle that enshore, where krsna subjugated the nSg# $

raj, meaning thereby the supremacy in the ascendancy

all vaisnavism over snake-cult.
*

In Siva Purina, it is described that Brahma and

the other dev as ask lord Visnu who to should they
.

worship to ward off all miseries.

*t that Visnu tells

them at length of the efficacy of Bswara-worship

and prevails on them to worship .uord Siva in His

Phallic form.

Wf

In this connection, Brahma requests

tfisnu for the Phallic images of nord Siva at which

4

the latter orders Viswakarman to prepare them.

Accordingly, he makes several images and offers them
to dev as according to their rank and status*

In so

doing, it is mentioned that Sesa is given a coral1

made linga* 'Jhis denotes the demi-divine status
t

of Sesa along with several others like Siddhas,

f

Sadhyas etc*
Sesa, Vasuki, 1'aksaka and many other great serpents
1

find a mention among the ardent worshippers of lord

/
Siva* as told hy Brahma to Narada* So too, the winged
adversary of the serpents and others p
^

a special

r*

reference to Se&b devotion to lord Siva also ooours

^
_ 3
in Siva Pur ana where he is described as one taking
*

pleasure in the recital of the glory of Siva*

The

devotion of nag as is a novel feature which adds a

i

new dimension to atleast some of them*

We aLso get references to Sesa serving as oouch
to Lord ^isnu4 and also for his Sarth-bearing* 5
t

1. Siva Purana
All- 12 to 34
2. Ibid.
37-20
3* Ibid.

23-19

4. Ibid.

13-36, 41

5. Ibid.

23-44*

Of the several wives of Kasyapa Prajapati mentioned

in this Purina, Surasa is described as the mother of
i

a thousand many hooded serpents like Sesa, ^asuki,

I'aksaka, AirSvata etc. gifted with the power of tra
versing the sky: Aila as the mother of countless
serpents among whom mention is made of Padma, Karkotaka, hhananjaya, Mahanila, Mahakarna, Dhrt arastra,
1

Sumukha, Kharapani etc.; and Aristela as another

serpent-mother.

fhis list adds some more snake

geneologies with some difference in their pedigree,

which however stands for the growth and prevalence
of snakes and to the akash-gaman of some of them.
Thus, the Siva Pur an a gives us an account of
snakes in association with gods, their deep devotion
and to the ability (of a particular genre) of snakes
to traverse the dcy which go together to establish
their superhuman and supernatural qualities.
The study of the Phavisya Purana^shows that
______ _

the cult of snake-worship had gained sufficient

currency.

A story mentioned in this Purana is as

follows:

1. Siva Purana 32-44 to 47

2. Ibid. 32-50,51
3. 1-37- 1 to 3 & II - 34- 1 to 10
32- 1 to 54
36 - 1 to 28
33- 1 to 51
34- 1 to 27

2 lib

"The two wives of Kasyapa Prajapati, Kadru and

-s

Vinata, while sauntering on the sands of the sea on

a fine evening, yonder they perceived the divine
Horse named Ucchaisrava which was milki-white in
complexion*
the horse.

Soon their conversation turned on to

Their thoughtless loquacity suddenly

took a turn when Vinata, dictated by passions,

challenged Kadru that his flanks too were white, and
if it were not so, she would remain a slave to the
serpent-mot her life long*

Whence Kadru approached

her sons desiring that someone should go and hang

down the flanks of the divine horse such that they
would appear to be dark partially*

The nagas felt

scruples and denied to obey their mother at first.

Thereby she grew angry with them and cursed them that
they would all be consumed by fire.

*t this s

the nagas trembled with fear and then Vasuki, a

Kadraveya naga, approached Brahma, the nord Cseator,
requesting Him to show a way out of this deadly
curse*

Then Brahma told Vasuki that they all would

be rescued by the son to be born of sage Jaratkaru

and Jaratkari, his (Vgsuki's) sister*

as Brahma

told that the "sarpasattra" of Janamejaya would be

1. Bhavisya Purana - 1-32-15

it 7

stopped by Astika on the fifth of the bright fortnight

/

of Srivan (month) that became a happy day since then

for all the nag as#

-Because of this, that day was

named hag Pan9ami.

Whosoever worship them on that

day offering milk and payasam (a combination of milk,

rice and sugar or jaggery) with them the serpentine gods
will make friends#

Ihe Padma Pur aim

agreeing with

this account in every detail, prescribes in addition

the observance of fast on that day and abhiseka of
serpents with cow-milk#

Thus, this account accounts

for the prevalence of the naga-worship#

The implicit

idea is that snakes, too, share the human tendancy of

fearing a curse#
Thus, the abovementioned stories as stated in
some of the Puranas show that the Purahic writers
t

thought it fit and valuable to include ideas and

thoughts concerning snake-worship in their own text
along with other topics#

It appears quite certain

that the cult of the snake-worship continued in certain

parts of the country with varying

degree of success.

But the divine status of the snake remained in tact

as adumbrated in some of the earlier works#

In order

to please this deity, fast began to be observed with

1# Canto

31

Ilf

religious fervour and offerings were made to it.

ihus,

we find that the cult of snake became a part and

parcel of the Puranio-lore, elaborate rituals, gifts
and fasts were associated with the snake-cult, as
was done in the case of other deities of the Hindu
pantheon.

It seems certain that the snake cult

continued having more adherents in its fold.

Hit uala;
I he agni Purana

states openly that whosoever

offers ghee and milk-rice (kheer) to the fire-god

reciting the chant will be freed from the evil
effects of all blackmagic.

It also mentions a

little later that whoever recites the sarpa-sama'

of the Sana Veda will be free from the fear of
serpents; and whoever offers oblations to the firegod chanting the 1suparnastveti*

spells of the atharva

o

Veda shall never have the menace of snakes.

In the Bhavisya Purana, it is mentioned that

whosoever worships the nagas on the fifth of the
bright fortnight of Bhadrapada (the month) with the

1. j*gni Purana 260-46

^ ^4 I
___ 5?

orrtETc* t
v

r<Xd
***)

: "? i

offerings of sandal paste, afesata (rice mixed with

iff

scent and turmeric or saffron) ghee and payasam (milk,

rice and sugar preparation) at a place bedecked
before with black and red paints for this purpose,
will be g blessed by the great nagas, like faksaka
1

to the effect that for seven generations their

people will be free from the fear of and danger by
serpents*
Itfhosoever worships the serpents (or serpent
form drawn on floor with the holy reeds) with a pure
and pious mind as prescribed on the fifth of the bright
fortnight of Isvayujap (the month) with the offerings
of ghee<$ milk, preparations of wheat flour and payasam
(a sweet preparation with milk, rice and sugar or
jaggery) chanting the spell (sarpa mantra - om
rrr

kurukulle phat svaha)^ are sure to please the divine

nagas so much that they grant them a rare boon of
becoming the happy denizens of the Brahma-loka for
a considerably long period after this life.

'i'he above

account discloses the divinity of serpents as already

referred to in the Vedas, fhis Burana also says that
the four directions^- and the four quarters are protected

1.
2.
3.
4.

Bhavisya Purana - 1-37-3

Ibid.' 1-38-1
Ibid. 1-38-3
Ibid. 1-36-48,49

: iZjOi

by various great serpents: Bast by ^nanta> South-Bast

by Vasuki, South by faksaka, South-West by Karkotaka,
West by Padmariabha, North-We at by Mahapadma, North
/

by Sankapala and North-Bast by Kambala.

Ihis is to

say taat they are the protectors of the entire universe*

It also conveys the sense that they are everywhere*
In the Garuda Purana, Suta, the great Bhagavat,
1
while narrating the 'praneswari vidya' as told by
Lord Siva relates the inter-relation between planets
and the great nag as as follows:
"Among serpents Sesa is the Sun, and also the
-\

moon: faksaka is Mars; Karkotaka is Jupiter; Padma and

Mahapadma (jointly) Venus, and Sankha is Saturn;
kahu ana Kulika are themselves serpents and planets* p
Immediatexy, he also explains the malediction of some
planets as follows:
"When Jupiter presides during the day or in the
night he is the slayer of even gods.
by day*

Saturn is death

When fiahu presides, along with Kulika at the

hours of confluence of two-half-jamas> the period

is destructive*

1. Graruda Purana - Oh. 19

2. Ibid. 19- 5 to 7
5. Ibid. 19- 8
%

1/2*1

This Purana enjoins that a man should worship

a naga (atleast the clay image) on the fifth day of
each fortnight with white flowers and scented sandal,
offering incense and a lamp and mixture of corn,
milk and mango-juice.

One should eat only sweets

on that day after performing a Dev a Sraddha.

He should offer, according to his mite, 'daksina'
(money) and clothes to the naga-god.

At the end he

should give a golden icon of the serpent to the best

of Hrahmans in the name of the naga-god.

Whosoever

does like that will effect the release of his ancestors

from their ghosthood and put them on the path of heaven.
But at the same time, caution is given that a man should
not approach a serpent willingly or unwillingly. p
This Purana unequivocally states that we should
*

warship only the divine nagas.

Thus, what was suggested

in the Vedas has been stated openly and directly.

Again the ide that a man should perform naga-worship

once in a fortnight appears to be a step farther than

what was stated in the Baudhayana

Grhya Sutras. 3
This frequent worship also suggests the need to please
the divine host of serpents every now and then for

1. Garuda Purana 44- 24 to 29

2. Ibid.
44 24
3. 3-10-1 & 2

/ 2/ 2*

iur safety and for the salvation of our predecessors

rho passed away. ^
Purther, the u-aruda Purana mentions that on the fifth
ay in the bright fortnight of sravan (the month-corresionding to the English month August/September)serpentfigures shall be painted on either side of the main door
f the house, which ought to be worshipped.

At the

nd milk and butter should be offered to the nagas

,s 'naivedyam*.
f serpents.

fhe performer will be freed from fear

Above all, this rite was believed to

:emove x every kind of prison.

After this particular

..___

uality, Sravan Pancami was named dastoddharana

ancami.
f

Another important feature of the Oaruda Purana

b

the naming of the serpent gods who should be pro-

itiated.

Por worshipping them, first of all, the

make icons should be bathed or dipped in ghee,

fhis

ite may be performed on the fifth day of any of the

ollowing four months Sravan, Asvin, Bhadra and
artik.

On the day of worship, keeping the ghee-dipped

nake images before him, he should invoke the serpent

ods tfasuki, i'aksaka, Kaxiya, manibhadraka, Airavata,
hrtarastra, karkotaka and Ihananjaya.

IxKdhaycaoxs Oaruda Purana

. Ibid. 129-32

1 29-30

It is further

/2_

2> t

stated that the twelve great serpents, viz. Ananta,

V'asuki, Sankha, Padma, Kambala, Karkotaka, Maga,

Dhrtarastra, Bankhaka, KSliya, faksaka and Pingala

**

shAJlbe worshipped each a month in order throughout

the year,

in alternative for this is that the earlier

mentioned eight serpents (the serpent gods) shall he

worshipped on the fifth in the bright half of Bhidra.
By this worship the devotee shall be blessed with
longevity, health and heaveibLy bliss; and later he
attains salvation.

All this account of the nigas speak of their ack

nowledged divinity.

She most striking point here is

the mention of Maga, Airavata, Bhananjaya, Manibhadraka

Sankhaka besides Sankha, and Bhratarastra among the
great serpents of divine status, for whom we do not
find an earlier citation.

All these new names suggest

to us that serpents too strive like humans to attain

god-head and that some of them x succeed in their
endeavour eventually.
An interesting feature of the nag-worship as

mentioned in some Puranas is their association with the

planets.

That shows the high status to which the nigas

were raised.

1. G-aruda Purana 129 27 to. 50.

:
Ihe above account contained in some of the Puranas
goes to prove that the snake-cult was a well established
and highly respectable cult among some sections of the
people.

It is quite possible to maintain that as a

result of the wide spread impact of this cult some

historical dynasties who were great worshippers of the
naga emerged on the scene.

In the early Gupta period

the powerful hag dynasties ruled at some places in

India.
Caste division?
We already knew that caste system was a very impor
tant feature of the social organisation of the Aryans.
With the passage of time, it became rigid and began
to have its impact on various aspects of life.

The

impact was so widespread gxssk that many scholars

divided the birds, beasts trees eto. into four castes.
Similar is the case with the snake.
Ihe Agni Purana or Vahni Purana mentions a tetrameral division of serpents into Hrahmana, Ksatriya,
it

Taisya and Sudra corresponding to the four-fold

vamashrama' division of the Hindu society.

And it

was believed that the Srahmana serpents like Sesa

and Vasuki, possessing ten heads, were considered quite
harmless; Hsatriya snakes contain eight-hood like

1 . Agni Purana: 2945

*

Mi

1 '2j S

Taksaka and karkotaka; Taisya snakes like Abja,

i-iahambuja (Padma and maha-Padma) contained 15
hoods whereas the Sudra serpents had a hundred
/

hoods like Sankapala and kulika.

*

This classifi-

cation seems to have been based on the three

basic temperaments (Trigunah) viz. the sattvic,
the rajasik and the tamasik.

This is well illus-

trated in the BhavisyaPurfina.

....IT*.1-"1*1****"***"

The Brahmana naga emits sweet fragrance of

flowers.

They are generally found near streams

and hills, cross-roads and gateways of towns and

villages.

They go out in sear oh of food only in

the mornings.

They thrive on flowers.

Their

complexion is white with a slight dark shade and

exhibit fire-like brilliance.

These are is of the

sattvic temperament.
The ksatriya naga dwells in grooves, holy
temples and outside oastles and palaces; emits the
smell of sandalwood; exhibits the brilliance of an
admixture of ruby, gold and gem.

It eats rats and

goes out in sdarch of food only at noon.

The Vaisya naga is found in cemeteris> near ash
deposits and cattle-sheds, on the way-side, and in
trees.

1.

With the complexion of the flower of Albizzia

1-37- 34 to 41 .

/ Xfer

lebbek (mimoseae family) or that of the arrowshaped flower, it emits the smell of ghee.

It

goes out in search of food in the third part of

the day i.e. between noon and evening.
The Sudra-naga is found in lonely groves and
deserted dwellings.

It eats small snakes and goes

out in search of food only in the evenings.

It is

jet black like soot or a crow and smells like fish.

This shows that not only the ideas concerning
social organisation of the Hindus filtered down to
the cult of snake worship but other values of Hindu
life like the guna theory also penetrated into this
cult.

It appears that attempts were made by several

authors to bring this snake-cult within the general

framework of the Hindu culture, thoughts, ideas and
ways of life.
Snake bite and its cure:
We have already mentioned the destructive nature
of the snake.

'The snake bite appears to be a common

phenomenon, during those days and therefore the

authors of some Puranas gave attention to this aspect
and provided prescriptions of its cure.

Before

we discuss something about the snake bite and its cure

an interesting account given in the Bhavisya Purana

1.

I - 33 - 8 to 22.

; /Z.-7

about their birth is stated & below:

The serpents mate in the months of diune and July*
Their pregnancy lasts for four months, later, in
Septemoer or October they lay eggs.

Most of the total

number of 240 eggs will be consumed by their hungry

mother.

Only a portion of the eggs laid down originally

is left out.

The eggs, in general, are of three colours.

From the egg of the light golden colour of the sunlight

comes out the male snake.

The eggs containing the

mixed colour of white and yellow of'ketaki* give rise

to female-snakes.

The eggs having the colour of the

flower of Albizzia nebbek (a mixture of black and

white) will give rise to the imbecile or impotent
snakes.

The mother goes on eating the young ones

for nearly twenty days.

It is said in this connection

that the black cobra comes out of the egg on the seventh
day whereas the impotent snake comes out of the egg
after six months.
The life span of a serpent is 120 years.

But

those that have premature birth live only for seventy

five years.

The snakes of red or yellow or white

or black colour alone are able to move fast, but not

those of other colours.

The serpents have 240 feet

and between one foot and the other there will be

2--*

240 finger-like projections of the breadth of a cow's

hair,

They get their fangs a week after their birth

and they begin to secrete venom.

When they become

twenty one days old, their fangs will be filled in

full with poison.

And their poison becomes deadly

only after the 25th day of their birth,

They will

have a forked tongue and thirty-two teeth in their

mouth.
The Bhavisya Bur an a names the two pairs of
fangs situated on either side of the head as 'makari',
^

r*

karali', 'kalaratri' ana 'yamaduti'. Bach of the

<

has a presiding
**.
- deity as . follows:
four
fangs
Brahma for 'makari', Visnu for 'karali', Hudra
9

for 'kalaratri' and Yama for 'yamaduti*.

Makari is white and is dagger-like.

If the

victim receives its bite, he will get tetanus.

He

should be given jaggery water (panakam) for his

i

recovery.

In view of its comparative less danger,

white complexion and the presiding deity, it is

considered to belong to the Brahmana race.
0

Karali, if stuck in, leaves an imprint like

that of a crow-foot.

It is blood red in colour and

causes a vigorous increase of the bile in the victim.

1 . Bhavisya Purana I- 35-25

2. Ibid. * I- 33-26.

>

nd the victim should be given some decoction to

vert the danger.
satriya race.

Ihis fang is said to belong to

Makari an d' koxali' form the right

/*

air, the former being situated at the front of

he mo uth
Kalaratri, leaves the mark of a crab on the
isrson of the victim and when stuck in, it causes an
,ncrease of phlegm in his body.

It has some greenish

inge and is said to belong to the vaisya race,

fhe

ictim should be given water mixed with the powder

t round pepper and dried ginger.

Yamaduti leaves the mark in the shape of a
ortoise.

It is black in colour and is said to belong

o the Sudr, race.

Kalaratri and yamaduti* form the

.eft pair of which the latter is situated straight

own the left eye.
eadliest of all.

Phis is the shortest and the

It causes typhoid fever soon,

ihants or charms or medicines prove futile.

Ihe

ictim is bound to die.

In normal conditions the poison in the fangs of
. serpent has its base under the left eye.

hut when

t gets annoyed or angried , the venom rushes to its

ead and later spreads to every part of the body. Thi
1
urana assigns eight reasons for the biting of a snake
*

. hhavisya Purina - 1-32- 39 , 40

i

as follow as
1. Being trampled, 2. out of revenge, 3. due to
fear, 4. when it is well-fed and proud; 5. when quite
hungry;

6. when the secretion of venom is in excess;

7. when scented some danger to its off-shoots and

finally 8. if the other being fated to die so.

ihe

cause for its bite may also be known by the later

events and by an observation of the bite in the fol
lowing manner.

If the serpent turns its stomach immediately aftei

biting, it indicates that it has bitten getting
annoyed by being trampled,

ihe deep wound caused by

the bite is a proof of its old rivalry or revenge.

If the bite is superficial, it reveals the fear of
the serpent that it may be endangered by the other.

long streaky bite is an evidence of its boundless

pride.

If there are two bites, they reveal that it is

revenously hung:sy.

She three bites made in the form

of a crow-foot speak that either it has anticipated

some danger to its young ones or that the victim is
bound to die so.
Shis Purana also offers an elaborate description
as to how the poison works at different stages and
the cures to be administered at each stage.

In the

first stage, on being bitten by a snake, the person

feels cramps and pricking all over the body; in the
1. 4iavisya Purana - Chapter 35*
A

/ 3i

second stage the victim gets sweating in every part;

in the third stage all his limbs tremble; in the fourth
stage ears fails to function; in the fifth stage he
gets hiccoughs; and in the sixth he loses his life,
fo cure the snake-bite, herbs like Indian valerian,
jihus-khus roots, sandal-wood, black water lilies,
five-leaved chaste tree, black pepper, bitter melon,
indigo plant, bitter gourd, dry ginger, long pepper,
Ferula asafoetida, etc. should be administered.
Shere is, thus, a detailed account in this Purana
regarding snake-bites and its different kinds and
the remedies for the same.

This goes to show that the

author of this Purana had sufficient knowledge of the

poison of the snake and the medicines to remove their
infects.

That goes to prove the growth and development

of Indian

system of medicine vis-a-vis the snake

bite.

in

-4-

1. lOC. Clt. p.1i>

v 15

i)

f'-n c-

: /2>X'

Magadh empire and the snake-cult:

Serpent woadship was a popular cult in all parts
of ancient India. The history of our country assumes
a more or less definite shape towards the close of the
seventh century B.C. with the establishment of the
magadhan empire.
f

The founder of the Magadhan empire

^

was Sisunaga of the hag a dynasty.

Several kings of

this dynasty ruled over Ms&h Magadha for full two

oenturies from 600 B.C. to 400 B.G.

Dr. Mahalingam

seems to have made a fine guess in saying that these

/
rulers (the Sisunagas)
were so called apparently to
**

distinguish them from the Naga Brhadradhas of the Mahabharata times of whom Jarasandha of Magadha was wellknown. p

During this period all the three religions,

viz., Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism were in vogue.

But the Sisunagas appear to have followed the inde
pendent snake-worship as their religion, in addition
to their naga-descent.

The excavation of the Maninaga

temple^ at Hajgrha in the beginning of the current

century proves beyond doubt, the prevalence of the naga^
worship among the Sisunagas
and rather among their
-

predecessors too.

Aocoriing to Bloch, "the temple

"S

was some kind of Pantheor^of Bajagrha and the various

1. B.O.Majumdar, Outline of anoient Indian History and
civi ligation (Ohuckervetty , Chatterjee & Go.,
Galcutta, 1927) p.125
2. Mahalingam op.cit., p.12
3. Ibid. P. 54.

33

Lgures of nagas and Gagins represent certain serpent

Bities whom popular religion worshipped at distinct
"1at
Laces on the surrounding hills.
The above evidence is a clear proof of the exis3nce of the independent nSga-worship as a religious
alt by itself,

we knew already thtt it had its origin

Ln the pre-historio times and later grew up with the

sdic religion as an integral part of it.

At the same

Lme we shall not forget that the vedic religion or

cahmanism allowed the independent snake-worship,

lough it also made the serpent subordinate to its

antheon.

fhe Vedic religious concept is well

svealed in the Gita.

Alexander and his soldiers as well were mightily

npressed by the nagas (serpents) in our countiy, whibh
ad terrified them with their ghastly hissing and

Littering eyes of great size.

Aklian

records it

3 follows:

"When Alexander was assaulting some of the cities

id capturing others, he found in many of them, besides
bher animals, a snake which the Indians regarding as
acred, kept in a cave, and worshipped with much
avotion.

ihe Indians accordingly with every kind of

itreaty implored Alexander to let no one molest

. B.C.iiaw, Memories of the archaeological Burve.v of

India Mo.58 Bajagriha in Ancient literature pp.33-4;(M
l am, Top.cit. p. 55)

. Vogel, op. cit., p.l

: / 2>*f i

the animal, and he consented to this#

Now when

the army was marching past the cave, the snake

heard the sound that arose (that kind of animal
being very sharp both of hearing and sight) and
hissed so loud and emitted such gusts of rage that
everyone was terrified and quite confounded.

It

was said to be seventy cubits long and yet the

whole of it was not seen, but only its head that
projected from the cave.

Its eyes, moreover, are

reported to have equalled the size of the large,

round, Macedonian shield.

This is the best descrip-

tion of a naga (and the most credible account of

the worship of serpent) recorded by a historian of
no mean authenticity.

Though we know that there

were such prodigeous nagas and that they were

worshipped, it is not easy for us to presume that
it was worshipped independently. It seems certain
naga-worship was prevelant in North-West India.
Next to Sisunagas, mention may be made of the
Mauryas among the rulers of the Magadhan empire.
Though the three religions were there as in the
'

times of the Sisunagas, buddhism appears to have

been patronised more than other religions, especially
during the reign of Asoka.

as

a result of it, the

Buddhist sculpture came out in abundance in which the

VJM

s / 33 ;
subject of worship of the Stupa by nagas appears
to be a favourite form*

Evidently, the Buddhist

sculpture shows the inferior rank assigned to

1

serpents in .buddhism and the non-deification of the

Buddha hitherto, indicated by an empty seat before
the Bodhi tree, as at Sanci, Barhut ana Kamagrama.
according to Kautilya* s .arthasastra

the skin of a

snake filled with the ashes of a man bitten by a

snake win cause beasts to be invinsible. p
3

Three coins from faxila

assigned to the fourth

or the third century, B.C., oontain the figure of a

snake.

Instead of considering the snake figure

as a mese totemistic sign, it' may be more appropriate

if it is deemed to be a symbol of the faith of the
rulers and their subjects in independent naga-worship
which they followed and ptrcnised and for whose
faith wide currency was given through numismatics
during the period to which the coins belonged.
In such a case, it may be said that the nag a-cult
chosen up by the people of the Haga-tribe

1 James I'ergusson, Tree and Berpent worship (W.H.

Allen and Go., London)1873) p. 72.
2. Arthasastra. aIV-3 (quoted by Vogel, op. cit. p.14)
3. mahalingam, op. cit., p. 16.

3&

or raoe belonging to the earlier periods whose

totemistic symbol was considered to be the serpent
figure was also made to convey the religious conHttEtekiaa. notation, which had found its first expres
sion in the carvingsof the primitive people and on
their seals and amulets as we noticed before*

fhis

implies that the original idea of displaying one's

oreed or cult through picture representation which
was undermined for a considerably long time during
the Vedic and the post-vedic periods was revived now*
.and this view gets support more and more from the
numismatic evidence of still later times as we see*
now*
r

3ungas and their association with na^a-cult;

During the Sunga period Vidisa, Banci, Barhut,

and Padmavati were among the popular centres of nagacult.

i'he idols, sculptures and seals excavated from

the said historical places reveal that the naga-cult

was also favoured along with the Buddhism.
\

From the Kanheri cave sculptures of the Buddhist

pantheon, the Bunga line of kings appear to have
patronised Buddhism.

t."Buddha's iiotus supported by nagas".albert Grunwedel,

-Buddhist art in India (Busil trupta, London, 1965),
Fig. ho.60, p. 44*

/ 3> 7

a#a king a and their snake-worship s

There were a number of tribes and dynasties with
aga association in various parts of our country even
1
.n the early centuries of the Christian era.
The
!akshis and the Vahlas or Bahliicas were the two big
ribes to be mentioned in the Borth-western part of

he country.

Of the two, the former tribe has been

jonsidered to be the descendants of the great naga

)aksaka.

We come across several naga

dynasties

3
hat ruled with their capital at Vidisa , Kantipura,

John Marshall ascribed the naga figures at uagouri

to the Marly school of the first or second century^ a.B
. Mahalingam, op.cit., p.14.
>. according to iirishnadatt Bajpai the naga cult flourishe
xk to its peak during 300 B.G. to 12 century a.B. at
Vidisa of present Madhya Pradesh as a centre. The
sculptures of Yaksas and nagas of the said period
were excavated in the survey of our archaeological
department. It is noticed that the naga-idols
recovered from the said excavation were said to be
carved during 1st century a.B* to 3rd Century *.i).
(K.D.Bajpai, Mew iirohaeological discoveries of
Vidisa. - (Madhyades Itihas Parishad, Bhopal)
part-I, p.20)
The naga temple of which flourished on par with the
badhikaran temple of Mathura is found ruined over the
period of centuries - (Kasiprasad Jaiswal, History

Mathura, Padmavati, 1'akshasila, .ayodhya and other

1
places*
Some vakataka records mentioned the name
of Bhavanaga, the maternal grand-father of Budra
Sena I.

He may, therefore, he assigned to the period

before the rise of the Ouptas to power. Some coins

bearing the name of Bhavanaga have been discovered at
Padma Pawaya, the ancient Padmavati near Harwar in
the old Gwalior state.

If the Bhavanaga of the coins

and Bhavanaga, the maternal grand-father of nudra Sena, i

were one and the same, it can be said with all defini
teness that Padmavati of the Puranic fame as one of
the nine naga or Hag a centres was his capital. *mong
the powerful Saga rulers of Vidisa3 were Sesa, Bhoga,

Sadachandra or Chandramdsa.

Ihe very names of the

first two kings suggest the implicit faith of these

people in the great nagas or thei venerations for
them (the nagas).

One of the few coins that are

of India 0.110-550 ~.B. p.127)

Supporting the view of K.P.Jaiswal, Majumdar
adds that the temples of Hadhikaran and other
naga temples had received the worship in obser
vance of usual customs. (Majumdar, advanced
history of Indial, p.125 )
1. Mahalingam, op. cit. p.14* 15*
2. Ibid, p. 15
3. Ibid., p.14
t

/3?

available of Virasena

of Mathura contains also the

figure of a serpent rising over the throne besides a

female figure with a jar in her upraised right hand
seated on the throne,

another coin too shows a naga

*2

standing by the side of a male figure.

Next, we

notice the naga in company with other figures on the

4
coins of the three kings of ^yodhya , viz. Visakhar*
deva, Dhanadeva and Kumudasena who ruled over there
between 150 B.C. and 1Oo a.D.

I he coin of the king

Pariataka of kosam of the second century B.C. has

also a snake on it.

fwo coins of the Malavas

belonging to the first four centuries of the Christian era contain the snake symbol.

Above all <*

Yaudheya coing appears very conspicuously with two

snake figures embossed on one side of it.

'i'hus,

all the available epigraphic and numismatic evidence

1. Virasena naga defeated the Kusans and established

the n^ga-cult.

He extended his empire from

Mathura to Padmavati (Fleet, G-upta inscriptions,

p.256 & 245)
jf-

2. Mahalingam, op.cit. p.16

3.

Cunningham, Coins of Mediaeval India, pi.II,

Fig. 13*14 (Indological Book House, Varanasi, 1967)

4. V.a.Smith, Catalogue of the coins of the Indian

Museums-I .~~PP.1 48-50 (Mahalingam op.cit. p. 17)
5. Mahalingam op.cit. p.17*
6. Ibid, p.17

ittest to not only the Wag a rule over a considerable

>art of the northern and the Central India after the
!usana empire, but of their creed too, as explained
larlierly.

Only the laudheya coin containing the two

make figures appears to be a little bit difficult

0 interpret.

It may plausibly be conjectured a,s

1 symbol to trace their descent to the Naga Brha

iradhas as against the Bisunagas*

Or the repre -

lent at ion of two snakes might be the initial

ixpression of these rulers who originally were the
agas and later who also took to the naga-worship.
f this view is accepted one of the two snakes
stands for the racial symbol and the other for their
sreed.

.and the subsequent disappearance of one of the

wo snakes may well be attributed to the feeling

if the later rulers that it was quite an unnecessary
mposition and rather unwise on their pert to do so
hen one could serve the double purpose, or with
hat ruler the higa Bk Brhadratha line might have
some to an end.

ihus, an interpretation on reasonable

rounds can be offered for the dropping down of the

lecond snake figure in later times.
l

But in such

case, the ruler who ordered for embossing the

second snake figure on the coin should be assigned

Uf*

to a period much earlier than the one already

ascribed viz. just after the Sisunagas.

It, thus,

seems necessary that numismatology should undergo

a thorough revision in the light of the above said
facts.

Anyhow, the naga appears to be a religio-

totemistic symbol of the hag as.

Other figures seen along with the snake on some
coins may mean to indicate to either an alliance or
reconciliation among the different totemistic groups
for which the symbols stood, or to the patronage
of different creeds or religions of the rulers to
whose times the coins belonged.

fhe latter view seems

to have been more correct as we will see in the

subsequent times, though we notice a combination of
religious symbols and totemistic symbols beside one
another, as is the case in the above-mentioned coins,
to indicate the friendly relations among the various
totem groups. i*lahalingam must needs be mentioned
in this context, too, as he draws his conclusion
over the snake figure on some ancient coins in the
following manners
"It is of interest to note in this connection
that only the coins of the individual rulers
contain the figure of the snake."

1. Mahalingam, op.cit., p.16

Here too, Mahalingam appears to have taken no

thought in making the above statement.

It is

evident that it did not occur to him that minting

by itself is a mark of independent existence and
unquestionable authority of the author of their
issue.

Moreover, his view cannot offer a plausible

explanation for the appearance of two snakes on the

laudheya coin,

further, following Cunningham, even

if we believe that some rich merchants like Visakha

1

batta of *yodhya had their own issue of coins,

their coins are easily distinguishable from those

of the royal issue by their smaller sie and varied
shape, and the snake figure is in no way essential
to know them differently,

mahalingam* s conclusion
r*

is, therefore, not only unfounded but even against

common sense.
Susans and nag a- cult:
4

In Mathura during Susan period there was a

shrine of Dadhikam nag.

He is referred to into

Susan inscription of Mathura.

In one of the records

he is mentioned as "king of the nagas."

1. Cunningham, op.cit. p. SO
2. Ibid. p. 92.

Eecently,

: /4-3

a stone inscription is found in Fathepur district

of Uttar Pradesh.

This Brahmin inscription jus

can be assigned to 3rd century a.D. on paleographic

grounds.

According to the inscription the image of

a nag was erected by a king.

Two brahmin inscriptions from Mathura in the
Bilaspur district of Madhya Pradesh referred to the
dedication of nag image in Malhar, the ancient name
of which was Mallalpattan.

These inscriptions

indicate that the worship of the hagas were popular

in south Kosal during the 2nd and 3rd century a.D.
andhras and their association with naga-oults
"While the Greeks, the Parthians, the Sakas
and the Kusans were harrying the north-western
frontier of India, a powerful kingdom was establi1
shed in the Deccan by the Andhras."
Dome historians
like Gh. Veerabhadraiah opine that the *uadhras were
_
2
3
originally Nagas.
Of the three coins of the Aadhras ,
two coins belong to Gautamiputra Sriyajna Satakarnisa
9

and the remaining one to Vasistiputra Satakami.

These coins contain the symbols of Chaitya or Stupa
or temple, with a snake beside.

i'he two coins of

1. Majumdar, op.cit. p.155.

2. Gh.Veerabhadraiah, ^ndhrula Garitramu (G.Madras,l9l0)
p. 52 to 54.
3. Cunningham, op.cit. p.11Q

i
*

Gautamiputra Sri Xajana Satakarnisa contain in

addition the Sun and the Moon.
jointly may mean an oath "

The Sun and the Moon

34 i U I

" in
-"V

pictorial description, and we very frequently come

across this expression in such blessings as :

(let your family flourish as long as the Sun and the

Moon are there i.e. let your family flourish eternally),
and also in the promissory notes of ancient times
meaning "the external witnesses".
from Kondapuram

The coins unearthed

excavations belong to the reigns of

Satavahana, Satakarni I, Gautamiputra Satakarni, Vasistiputra Bulumavi, Satakarni IV, Sivasri and Sri Yajna.
lour of the coins of the above mentioned rulers bear
only the symbol of snake on one of their sides.

1'he

individual snake symbol evidently stands for their

naga-worship and also for their haga descent as
explained before.

It is reported that there remains

some coins unascribed yet.

Maski

The coins obtained from

(Bedar) belonging to Satakarni IV, also bear

the symbol of the snake on one side,

all the above

evidence speak beyond doubt of the naga-cult of

these rulers ana their affinities or affiliations
with other religions like Buddhism, Saivism and
V ai snavi sm.

1 . M. Bamarao, Satavahana coins in the a.B.Govt.

(a.P.Government, Hyderabad, 1961) p. 64 and 66.
2. Ibid. p.66

! f
a

good number of coins of the xndhras show the

snake in combination with 1 2damaru

-|

(a musical instru-

r*-

ment on which, it is believed, lord Siva plays during

His Cosmic Dance) , temple (with its towering height
stands for the highest growth as Lord Visnu is
4

believed to be the sustainer) and Chaitya or Stupa

(buddhistic architecture which found its first
p

expression at Sancjli (worship of the Stupa),

mt

ihe

numismatic evidence gives us a oandid expression

for the existing religious understanding between
the people of the naga cult (the hagas) anu those
^
_
of the Saiva
cult, or between those of the naga
cult
and the followers of the Vaisnava cult, or between
the people of the naga cult and those of the buddhism.
From the above, we can understand very well that the
Saiva and Vaisnava principles of brahmanism began to
be viewed distinctly different from one another in
all fanaticism,

fhe characteristic and the most

important feature of this period is the displacement

of the earlier totemistic symbols by purely religious
symbols,

^nd, therefore, the naga symbol, now

standing exclusively for the naga cult and not for

their totemistic origin, gives us strength to think

1. Kamarao, op.cit. p.66

2. Mahalingam, op.cit. p. 47

of the Haga people as strict followers of the

Naga-worship in all the preceding ages,

kt the

same time, the present author does not mean to say

that the naga^-worship was strictly confined to the
Nagas alone.

The appearance of the naga symbol in

all combinations which we notice on the coins of

different rulers at different times clearly denotes
the wide-spread prevalence of the naga-cult and
the utmost importance given to it.

This period

may be deemed as the second age of .Religious

synthesis, the first being the Vedic period.
1

The iimaravati stupa of the iuidhra period

speaks for the patronage of Buddhism by some Satavahana rulers.

It need not be told again and again

that the snake-cult in Buddhism (to a great extent)

shows nothing more than a master/servant relation
and that this treatment of the naga collaborates
in toto with that of Jainism.
The present day prevalence of the nagar-worship
among the Jtndhras rather justified the view that
they were Wag as originally.

1. Hahalingam, op. cit., p.65

Besides, we also find

abundantly people being christened after the naga

of their worship as Nageswara Pastry, Hagaiah, Hagamma
or Magaratnam eto.

Similarly, we can also notice

certain places in andhra Pradesh state being named

after the naga as Hagavarappadu, *nantavaram, Sarpavaram; the streams and canals oeing given the name
Haguleru etc.^
The Guptas and the naga-cult:
During the reign of the Guptas, both Brahmanism
and the Buddhism were more predominent than Jainism.
The Buddhistic sculpture and the Hindu temple archi
tecture that was developed during their period
clearly reflect their religious tolerance which led
to the merger of the Buddhism with Brahmanism in
later times and eventually to its death in the very
land of its origin in still later times.

We already

knew the place of the naga both in the Vedic religion

or Brahmanism and in Buddhism.

The fire altars

and naga tabernacles of the non-Buddhists, referred

2

to by Brown , reveal the existence of the naga-cult

though not independently as with the *ndhras in the
South.

1. Veerabhadraiah, op. cit., p.54.

2. Brown, Indian .architecture, (Taraporevalah sons &
Go., n>d.Fp.47

Nagasena and Ganapati-naga were defeated and their

kingdoms were annexed to the Gupta kingdom by Samudragupta.

They were the Maga rulers of three different

kingdoms, viz. Padmavati (Padma PaWaya, 25 miles north

east of Harwar in old Gwalior state), Vidisa (Bhilsa)
1
and Mathura, respectively.
%

Chandra G-upta II is known for his marriage alliance

with some powerful ruling families.

He married

luveranaga of the Maga family, and had a daughter

by her named Prabhavatigupta.

'Ihis daughter was

married to the Vakataka king Hud rase na II.

I he Magas

and the Vakatakas were quite helpful to him in his

/

campaings against the Bakas*

These matrimonial alli

ances though appear to have been deliberately made

with a political object, prove on the other hand how
bhe nagas merited themselves to have alliances with
an emperor like Chandra Gupta II.

The Pirozpur naga statues were supposed to belong

bo the early Gupta perifcd from the iconographic point
of view.

Similarly, the naga images unearthed near

Sanci were ascribed to the early Gupta period.

ascription of the period

This

of the naga images seems to

nave been based on the inscription recorded just above

1. Hd.Majumdar, The classical -age. (Bhavans, Bombay, 1954-i

p. 8
2. Ibid, p.21

i /?9

the Visnu and the Mahisasura Mardini images "a

pious gift" in the year, 82 of the Gupta era and
from the strong resemblances they show with the
Gupt a' s s culpt ure.
"Joanna Williams

suggests a date early in the

first century B.G. for the Gulgaon pair, between the

Sanci stupas and earlier than the Besnagar Yaksi.
%

Perhaps the Nagouri couple is slightly later.'*

*

*11 these images clearly testify to the continuing

cult of nagas in the Sanci area, both within and

without a Buddhist context.

Although, it is possible

to identify the naga image of this area with one of

the great nagarajas, X it speaks for the general
prevalence of this cult.
fhe most remarkable feature of the Gupta
sculpture is that the nagas and the nagins were
carved in human form with the hood overihem.

This

sculptural change denotes the upgrading of the nagas

from their original animal form,
vary for a naga and a nagin.

i'he number of hoods

fhe nagas contain

greater number of hoods than nagins.

Moreover they

also show some difference in size as In many other

details.

1. Joanna Williams, hew naka images from the Banci

area, p.l

 /5*o

liord Visnu resting on ananta is a subject often

found in the Brahmanical art.

remarkable instance

of it is in the Gupta temple of Deogarh in Bundellshand.

Here -Lord Visnu can be found lying on Sesa, whose
i

hood is composed of no less than seven snakes - heads,

each provided with the legendary jewel.

Of course,

we also notice there his consort caressing his right

foot and several other deities calling on him.
The earliest lmown rendering of the third
incarnation of Visnu, (the Varaha avatar a) in plastic
J**r

art is the large rock sculpture of Udayagiri (Gwalior

state).

The celestial figure of the adivaraha,

carrying the earth-goddess on his left shoulder,

is shown with his left foot on the coils of the
world-serpent.

The upper portion of the naga consists

of a human figure, with ooth hands joined in reverence.

Here Sesa is represented with thirteen snake-heads
over him.

1 We find in a few cases the god sitting

in lalitasana posture on the top of the coiled-up

2

snake with its hood over his head, (c .an early

example in the collossal rock cut image in the verandah

1. Vogel, op.cit., p.193

2. Burgess, Ancient Monuments, PI.216-17 (quoted by
Vogel., op. cit., p.195)
5. Krishna Bastri, bouth Indian Images, p.52 calls
this 1h isnia iconographical type ,fVaikunta Marayana"
CP.his plates, figs. 33 and 3 8)

: /S"/

of cave III at Badami.

fhe contains an inscription

dated Saka 500 (juli.578).

i'he image of Baladeva is seen with a snake-hood
as if showing his identification with Sesa.

.ancient

naga images found in the neighbourhood of Mathura

are regularly worshipped under the name of Baladeo
or Dauji (the elder brother).

It cannot be far -

fetched to say that at the back of reverence paid to

Baladev, there lay

xaxq:

veneration for some nagaraj

Besa is portrayed as a human figure in the

inscribed fountain-slab of Balhi (Ghamb state) in the
western Himalayan.

He is not provided with the usual

hood, but the lower half of his body is that of a

serpent.

*t Badami Besa is accompanied by a nagin

presumably his consort.

ihe representation of Besa in architecture with
semi-human form and as a complete human clearly reveal
the stages in the process of anthropomorphizing the
primitive reptile, this, marking advancement in evolu
tion.

1. J. Burgess, a.3.H. western India, p.22 (quoted by

Vogel, op. cit., p.194)
2. Vogel, op.cit. p.194 (tne same authors *ntiquities
of Ghamb a state, part I, p.219, pi. xx-6.i, 1911)

: tSZj

In the village of the western Himalaya, Vasuki,

under the name of Basak nag, not only lives up to
the present da,y in many a popular legend, but is
also extensively worshipped.

So is the case in Nepal.

The literature of this period threw some light

on the great nigas of the divine origin.

Halidas's

Kaghuvamsa mentions that the jewels on the thousand--------- 5

hoods of Sesa illumine the nether-world by their

2
& effulgence.
Ihe same text also narrates how the
king Kusa of the solar race was offered Kumudvati,
the sister of the naga king Kumuda, in marriage.
'
Sesa
is 2a also described as the Paragon of endurance. 3
Kuma,rasambhava, another work of Halidas also
y

makes a mention of Sesa as carrying the weight of the

universe on his countless hoods.
The chapter from the Harivamsa called "akrura*s
4

vision of the serpent-world" , gives an extensive

"S

1. Vogel, op.cit. p.203.

2. fig. Veda. 10-7,59; 15-12.
3. Vogel, op.cit., p.198
4* Harivamsa

AllI6

J /1>~. i

description of Haladeva-Se^a in which the superman

and tne super-snake are blended together.

On the

one hand, he is said to be thousand-hooded; on the

other hand he is long-armed, holds a plough and a
mace, and wears a dark-xl ooloured garment, a single
ear-ring and a gold-crested diadem.
The Harivamsa gives out 1vo separate lists of
... .........

f"

divine sarpents, one of 26 and the other of 18

names.

.according to Harivamsa, brahma appoints kings

to rule over the different classes of creatures.

It

is said; "He anointed Vasuki as king of nagas, Taksaka

of the snakes, and besa of all fanged beings (hamsh2

trinam) .

This indicates to the superior rank of

Sesa.
%

The Kathasaritsagara describes a yatrotsava cele

brated in honour of Vasuki in the country of lata or
lar.

The author gives a description of the temple

where the image of Vasuki is covered with xs wreaths

and the lotus lake sacred to the serpent king which
is a little away from the temple completely surrounded
by trees.

This temple is said to have been visited

1. Harivamsa p.227-30 and 9501-04 (quoted by Vogel,

op.cit., p.191)
2. Ibid, p.267 (quoted by Vogel, op. cit. ,p. 1 92)

by innumerable crowds on that occasion though today

there is nothing to speak for the existence of such
1
of a temple there*
The one popular form of the Jeemutavahana legend
dankhadiudai: is saia to belong to the glorious race
y

of Sankhapala*
s'

The same text makes a mention of a town bankhapura

and of a "Great-Purifying lake of clear water, sacred
to bankhapale, king of the Nagas> and called Sankhahrada".

To the south of it there was a grove of

Tapichchha, Ktfinsuka and As oka trees,

The author

describes the "holy bathing festival (snana yatrotsava) which was held at the lake.

Its banks were

crowded and its waters troubled on every side by people

who had come from all countriest like the sea when
the gods ana asuras churned it.

Vogel opines that the

town of Sankhapura and the lake of bankhapala existed

only in the imagination of the author, but his
description of the festival in honour of the nagraj
was probably based on what he had witnessed himself
in his native country, kashmir.
The ancient history of our country records that
at the beginning of the seventh century, *.!>., the
throne of kashmir fe.i.1 to Durlabha, whose reputed

1. Vogel, op.cit., p.202

/tT 6

_
1
father was believed to be a naga or serpent.

He

founded the dynasty which was named after his famous

father, harkotaka dynasty or the naga dynasty.1
234
Durlabha is considered to be the originator of the
first regular series of Kashmirian coins.

Several

kings of his dynasty ruled over Kashmir for full two

centuries between 700 a.B. and 900 *.B. and among
whom ialit aditya Muktapida was said to be the greatest.
Ihe famous ialit aditya, the founder of the Kart and
temple is said to have boasted the i\iagakarkotaka as
the pro creator of the illustrious royal race.

Harsa and his association with naga-cult:

In the legend of Jeemutavahana in Hagananda, a
famous work of Sri Harsha, the last Hindu King, it is
Vasuki, who makes a pact with Oaruda and promises
to send him daily one nlga for his food.

The hero

of the tale exclaims on hearing it. "irfhy could not

*s

Vasuki having a thousand mouths speak with only

one mouth?

Hat me first, 0 1'arkshyal "

-*S

1. Cunningham, ih&HsxBissfidxssxaixlnMai op.cit.p.26

2. H. C.Majumdar ,Hd., The cl aa si cal age (Bhavan's
publication, Bombay, 1954) p.131
3. Vogel, op.cit., p.215
4. Ibid., p.202

Karkotaka dynasty and the naga^cult of Kashmir:

ihe worship of Karkotaka is popular even today
not only in Kashmir, but also in Nepal and in some
parts of the Uttar Pradesh state.
ihe author of the Kajatarangini, while tracing
the origin of the worship of iaksaka in Kashmir,
relates that the physician 1 Isanachandra1 , the brother
in-law of Ghankuna (the iuhkhara minister of king
Lalitaditya) built a vihara, after having obtained
wealth through the favour of iaksaka.

ihis incident

strengthens the popular belief that serpents are

guardians and givers of wealth.1
fhe Pallavas and the naga-cult:
ihe nineth century, in the south there arose
the Pallava kingdom,

ihe Velurpalaiyam plates,

belonging to the nineth century, reveal that the

first well-known king, tfirakurca, 2 was able to ele
vate himself to the status he enjoyed by marrying
a naga princess,

ihe Pallava virakurca, who rose to

the highest social rank of kingship through his

matrimonial connection with the Nagas, proves beyond
doubt the supremacy and strength of the hagas in the
south,

ihus, we see the Nagas spreading all over the

1. kajatarangini, IV-216 (Stein's tracts. vol.I,p.l44quoted by Vogel, op.cit. p.2Q5)

2. Mahalingam, op.cit., p.21

/S7

country right from Kashmir down to Kanyakumari towards

the close of the ancient historic period,

ihe Pallava

kings whom lalagunda inscription refers to as ksatriyas

were supposed to have some connection with the nagas
from their maternal side.
In the rock-cut sculpture of the Pallavas at
Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) and hadami, Visnu was
carved as reclining on his serpent-bed. Here, he
is two-armed and unadorned.

His head covered with

a high conical mitre, which is peculiar to Pallava

art, is surrounded by *nanta*s hood, consisting of
five snake-heads.

Ihe figure of Brahma on his

lotus is absent but at the lower end of the couch

stand the two warlike ddmons in axl defiance.

Here,

the lower part of Besa is invisible as he is

shown rising from the xsjcs waves of the ocean.
I'his may be taken for an instance at humanizing
the earlier divinities in the south.

Ihe impor

tant thing for us here is that in this process

Besa was retained his original reptilean form,
*

though we notice a change in the number of his

heads from 13 and 7 of Udayagiri and Deogarh temples
in the North to five here.
On the whole it may be said that the naga-worship
has been having its followers among all sections of
people right from the pre-historic times down to the

S /6"S J

end of the ancient historical period.

Besides, it

can he observed that M this cult alone persisted

throughout the ages without undergoing any remarkable
change(s) like some other cults that sprang up in
later times, viz., Buddhism, Jainism, Baivism and
Vaisnavism, which were favoured and patronised by
some during certain periods and finally lost them
selves in the all embracing Hinduism, another name
given to the ancient Vedic religion.

The only change

that crept into the naga-*cult, had taken place in the

Vedic period itself, ihe vedic -age, as we knew it,
successfully strove for the religious synthesis,
iiencf, it may be called the ^ge of the First reli
gious synthesis when the independent naga-worship
of the aboriginal races wa accepted and when a
provision was also made in the vedic religion for
the naga-worship in its subordinate status.

It, thus,

became a. Part and parcel of the Vedic religion or

Brahmanism.

Hext, we find another attempt a at

religious synthesis during the iSatavahana period,

for which reason it may be considered as the age of
second religious synthesis.

Here, we notice the ria&a-

cult playing a key role in its age old independent

: /s-</ :
status as the co-ordinating agent among the various
religious orders of almost nascent origin, thus
giving rise to what is called the Hinduism of the
modern times.

1hus, it served as the unifying

principle among the diverse creeds in existence and

attained for itself the highest status of being
recognised as the symbol of our national heritage
through endless aeons.