Nagara Panchami

[krishnadasa]

In the place where I was born and grown , there is a very peculiar tradition of worshipping Nagas (as called as Nagadevta). Every family will have thier own diety of the same and all these dietis will be kept together and worshiped and its done especially on panchami. Couple of days back it was Nagara Panchami, meaning a day which is especailly dedicated to Nagas and to the king of all these Nagas i.e. Shesha Naga who serves Krishna eternally in his Visnu form in the midst of causal ocean, who is always served by his most beloved Mata Lakshmi.

 

Its quite peculiar that this tradition of worhsippin Nagas -intern worshipping the Shesha naga is not prevalent in many parts of India, and also most of the people dont even know about this tradtion

 

can anybody throw some light on this? views are always appreciated

 

hari hari bol

[Guest guest]

this is snake worship, right? correct me if i am wrong.

 

if so, it may represent one of the earliest forms of worship in india. religion evolves much like animals and society, because rleigion is only a way for this animal to view the society and environment around it.

 

perhaps the earliest people in india, maybe going back to 6000 or 7000 or 8000 BC may have been naga worshippers. if i am not mistaken i think it also is connected somehow to shaivism no? it may have been an early representation of hidnu religion that survived more in the south due to the heavy mixture of religion and peopel in the north as opposed to the south.

 

now i know many people will jump at me for saying something that they feel is "wrong" or misinterpret some of the things i said, but i am taking a scientific intellectual rational look at the facts rather than coming up with crazy statements that cannot be validated in any way.

 

if naga worship is one of the oldest worships in india, it could have been includedin a basis of later developemtns in religion, particularly shaivism and spread throughout. when we go further into the future we have waves of people coming in, the muslims, jews, chritians, and other such and as the environemnt of north india changed, snakes and snake wroship may have decreased.

 

or maybe there are just more snakes in south india. i dont know.

 

am i right in saying nagas are snakes?

[krishnadasa]

this is snake worship, right? correct me if i am wrong .

 

No nagas mean cobras

 

perhaps the earliest people in india, maybe going back to 6000 or 7000 or 8000 BC may have been naga worshippers. if i am not mistaken i think it also is connected somehow to shaivism no?

Both shaiva and vaishnawas worhsip nagas as for the shaiva Naga represents the one on the Lord Shivas neck and for the vaishnawas he is the Anantha (on which Lord vishu is in his yoga nidra). The basic purpose of the naga worshipping is to get the grace of thier masters(i.e visnu or Shiva) so that one can get mukthi. But as you know all the demigod worship has been destorted now, people just worship them for the material gain forgetting the actual purpose. and for this reason Krishna in Gita recommondes to worhsip only Him .

 

or maybe there are just more snakes in south india. i dont know.

Snakes are everywhere but the worshippable are very few just likfe one cant worship every human being only a reverrable and godly personality is worshipped

 

am i right in saying nagas are snakes?

No as I already said , only cobras are worshipped

 

Hope that help

 

Hari hari bol

[Guest guest]

well the reason for worship still makes sense. Most people of antiquated time, during a time of nature worship and anmal worship, tend to venerate those great animals that their area holds. The subcontinent has many snakes and cobras, including the king cobra. Perhaps they were more worshipped because of their potent venom or their hood, which sets them apart from other snakes.

 

Ancient egyptians also worshipped cobras, but to a lesser degree than indians.

 

but i do believe that naga worship is one of the oldest parts of hinduism.

[Guest guest]

to be asked is why do people today still worship them? this is not a superficial question stating that i want to see snake worship go away. I too come from a traditional malayali family with a sarpa cavu at home and naga idols in our family temple. I dont think its stupid. Im just disappointed that our people are so stuck on worshipping what used to be worshipped and sticking to that so strongly that we fail to improve and evolve our religion. Hinduism has stayed so strongin india because it constantly changes to fit the neccessities of the people while still maintaining its core beliefs.

 

I think we need a change, a change to a more philosophical outlook and a more spiritual outlook, whereas the average hindu still goes to temple says his or her quick prayers, does an archana and takes it home to share with the family. We do the motions without fully understanding the meanings. If we dont change that, a generation or two from now, hinduism will die out because practicality and modernity will drive out ancient worship. Its up to us to educate properly, focusing more on philosophy and spirituality and using rituals and dieties as supplements for secondary worship.

[maadhav]

cobra is deadly.

no one wished to die by a cobra bite.

per hindu scriptures, there is a deva that controls/protects cobras. also, since god has created cobras, hindus accept their existance. they are good and useful in the fields when they eat mice. so, the hindus invoke mercy of the nag deva for their safety from cobras.

the idea is of co-existance of all species in the world.

 

in bengal area, people live with tigers.

tigers sometimes eat men, but the people accept that.

when they enter a forest, they worskip, chant paryer to the tigers' deva.

 

such worship is okay for the hindus who know less or not well about hinduism. but there is no harm in continuing the tradition, with proper understanding.

 

[krishnadasa]

The word Naga comes from the Sanskrit, meaning "serpent." Naga can also mean "cobra." But the term also has come to refer to a group of serpent deities and demi-humans, which is what concerns us most, here. The most powerful Nagas are at the very root of Hindu Mythology, in the Vedas and the Puranas, which when at last passing out of the Vedic oral tradition and into written texts, had no doubt been well influenced by the snake worshipping tales of the conquered Harappan peoples of the Indus Valley (who are also sometimes referred to as Nagas) with whom they lived for hundreds of years.

 

The Nagas have three kings. The first and greatest is Sheshnaga, born of the residue left over after creation, with 1,000 heads formed into a giant hood. Earth is said to rest on his hood, and his venom ends all of creation at the end of each great cycle of life. Vishnu uses him as a couch. The second is Vasuki, who plays an important role in the Hindu cosmogenic tale of the "Churning of the sea of milk."

 

It was at a time when the Gods were weak, and the Demons strong. The Gods were being driven out of their heavens. But Lord Visnu suggested a plan -- by churning the cosmic sea of milk, they could dredge up the elixir or immortality from the bottom, and so gain the strength to take back their heavens and defeat the demons. But to churn the cosmic sea was too much for just the Gods alone to do, so a truce was called and the demons assisted, hoping to gain the elixir for themselves. So they went about making the biggest milk-churn the world has ever known, using Mount Mandara as the churn/pivot, and the Serpent King Vasuki as the rope. They wound Vasuki around the Mount, and then, the Gods grabbing the tail and the demons grabbing his seven heads, proceeded to pull the great serpent back and forth, turning the mountain and churning the ocean. Needless to say, the whole thing was making Vasuki a bit nauseus, and he kept belching fire into the demons faces, while the Gods had partly cloudy skies and a nice breeze on their end. Finally Vasuki couldn't take it any more, and vomited up a great poisonous cloud, threatening to kill everything and everyone, gods and demons included. But Shiva popped down and swallowed the poison, saving the world, and turning his throat blue at the same time. Eventually the Gods get their elixir, trick the demons out of theirs, and Vasuki heads out, waiting for the next time the Gods decide to use him for tug-of-war.

 

The third Naga King is Taksaka, who rather than having cosmic importance, could really be considered more of the tribal chieftain. His story kicks off the epic Mahabharat. A powerful king, out hunting, meets an ascetic in the woods. He speaks to the wise man but the ascetic makes no response. Angered, the King kills a snake and drapes it over the yogi's neck, who is unmoved. When the ascetic's son sees what has happened, he curses the King to die, and calls upon Taksaka, the Naga King, to take revenge. The yogi is not happy about the curse, and sends a disciple to warn the King. But Taksaka is far to clever. He sends some Nagas, disguised as hermits, to the King, and they offer him fruit. The King takes the fruit, from which Taksaka, disguised as an insect, emerges. He stings the King, who is killed instantly.

 

And so, it is his son's turn to take revenge. He vows vengeance on Taksaka, and by summoning a priest who uses a powerful spell, a sacrd fire is created which consumes the snakes one by one. The young man is intent on ridding the world of snakes once and for all, but just as Taksaka himself is about to be consumed by fire, a great sage intervenes and spares his life. After this, the Nagas retreat to the underworld, promising to bit only the truly evil, or those destined to die prematurely anyway.

 

Serpent Maidens and Mothers

 

The Naga, a race of semi-divine snake people who inhabit the Naga-loka underworld with Taksaka as their King, have inspired and continue to inspire legends and stories. But it is especially the women of this race, the Nagin, who have captured the imagination the most. These serpent princesses are said to be strikingly beautiful, but with the power to transform at will, to a cobra, or to a half-snake, half-human figure. A precious gem is embedded in their skulls which give them magical powers.

 

These beautiful snake women are, apparently, the marrying kind. Arjun, hero of the Mahabharat, takes as one of his wives the Nag Princess Ulupi. In a tale familiar to Chinese and Japanese myth, though with different principal characters, Ulupi spies Arjun doing his religious practices, falls in love, and abducts him to live in her underwater kingdom. He marries her, and lives there for three years, before she allows him to leave and continue his journey, providing him protection from all underwater creatures.

 

Out of legend and into claims of historic authenticity, it is interesting that several royal families in India claim to have Nagi in their family tree. The Royalty of Manipur, in North Eastern India, traces their lineage back to 33 AD, beginning with a union between a serpent princess and a human. In Southern India, the Pallavas does the same. There are all kinds of legends about snake maidens, down by the river, who fall in love with and marry human men who demonstrate some act of kindness.

 

One of the best known legends of the Nagi is about a serpent mother, not a maiden, and in snake form, not in human. A farmer, while tilling his field, manages to kill a nest full of young serpents. The mother, on her return, sees the dead snakes and becomes furious. She bites the farmer, his wife, and their children while they are sleeping, killing them all. The farmers eldest daughter, already married and living out of town, takes some time to get to. When the snake mother arrives, she catches the daughter in the middle of worshipping an image of a snake, asking for forgiveness for mistakes made by her family. This makes the mother snake feel like a complete asp, and so she gives the daughter some nectar to bring her family back to life, and leaves in peace.

 

hari hari bol