𝟓 𝐍𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬

𝟓 𝐍𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬❗

Snake worship is a tradition being followed in India since ages and is present in several ancient cultures, where snakes are portrayed as an entity of strength. Due to snakes’ nature of casting its skin, it represents rebirth, death, and mortality. Several Hindu temples houses snake idols and images carved on rocks. These idols and images are worshipped with flowers, diyas, milk, and incense sticks to gain wealth, fame, and knowledge.

Ancient Indians both feared and revered the snakes. The tradition still continues. Hindus worship snakes in temples as well as in their natural habitats, offering them milk, incense, and prayers. In Christianity, a snake symbolizes evil or Devil. In Hinduism, the symbolism is much more complex. In Hindu ritual and spiritual tradition, a snake is not an evil creature but a divinity representing eternity as well as materiality, life as well as death, and time as well as timelessness. It symbolizes the three processes of creation, namely creation, preservation, and destruction.

Almost all the main Hindu deities have a snake attached to them. Shiva wears a snake garland and allows them to crawl all over him. Vishnu sleeps on a snake, Ganesha wears a snake belt, Kartikeya has a snake beneath his foot and so on.

You will find references to snake deities in both Hindu folklore and literature. It is possible that Indus people worshipped snakes. They are also popularly associated with both Vishnu and Shiva and several other divinities, including Indra, who rides an elephant called Nagendra, the lord of the snakes, which is probably a reference to Indra's control over the snake world. The Puranas mention several large serpentine deities like Kadru, Manasa, Vinata and Astika. Vasuki the king of snakes, played a vital role in the churning of the oceans. Several myths, beliefs, legends, and scriptures are associated with snakes. Snakes were used in warfare and snake poison was often used in palace intrigues. The following are the most common symbolic descriptions associated with snakes in Hinduism.
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𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚

Astika was the son of Jaratkaru and serpent goddess Manasa. According to Mahabharata, Astika saved the life of a serpent Takshaka, the king of snakes, during the Sarpa Satra. The snake sacrifice was organized to avenge the death of his father Parikshit due to snakebite of Takshaka. Astika convinced the king to end the victimization of the serpent race. The day is said to be Shukla Paksha Panchami in the Hindu month of Shravan and since then the day is celebrated as Nag Panchami.

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𝐀𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐚

Adishesha also called as Anant Sheshanaga is the king of nagas. Puranas mention Adishesha as the one who holds all planets and universe on his hoods and sings glories of Lord Vishnu. He is often depicted resting on Shesha. It is said that Shesha supports Kurma and when Kurma moved, Shesha yawned and the gaping of its jaws caused earthquakes. Shesha in Sanskrit implies ‘remainder’ – meaning when the world is destroyed at the end of Kalpa, Shesha remains as he is. As per Mahabharata, Shesha was born to sage Kashyap and his wife Kadru. Kadru gave birth to thousand snakes of which Shesha was the eldest.
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In the Bhagavadgita, Lord Krishna says, "Among the serpents I am Ananta." Ananta or the Adisesha is the infinite divine snake with its endless coils floating in the waters of creation, upon which Narayana (Brahman) rests. Ananta represents the infinite eternal materiality or primal energy (mula-prakriti). Upon activation, a small part (AMSA) of it differentiates into subtle (suksma) and gross (suksham) realities (tattvas) which combine to manifest as the whole diversity we experience through our senses. The serpent below Vishnu is the primal Prakriti. The Lakshmi above, sitting at the feet of Vishnu, is the activated Prakriti. The waters of the ocean upon which all these floats represents avyakta Brahman or Unmanifested Brahman.
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𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢
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The snake that we see around the neck of Lord Shiva is Vasuki. It is believed that Shiva blessed Vasuki and wore him as an ornament. He is considered as the king of nagas and has a gem called Nagamani on his head. He is also mentioned in Ramayana and Mahabharata. The popular legend in Hinduism in which Vasuki is a part was the ‘Samudra Manthan’, the churning of the ocean of milk. In the legend, devas and Rakshasas were engaged in the churning of the sea in search of nectar to be immortal. Vasuki allowed the devas and rakshasas to use him as a rope to extract the ambrosia of immortality.
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𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐲𝐚
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Kaliya was a poisonous snake living in the Yamuna river in Vrindavan. The water boiled and bubbled with poison for four leagues and no human or birds could go near the river. Kaliya was the resident of Yamanaka Dwipa but moved to Vrindavan by the fear of Garuda, the enemy of serpents. Garuda was cursed by a yogi he could not enter Vrindavan. Once when Krishna with his friends were playing on the banks of the river and accidentally the ball fell in the river. Krishna jumped in the river and Kaliya rose up with his hundred and ten hoods vomiting the poison. After a tiff with the snake, Krishna rose up from the bottom dancing on the head of Kaliya. The incident is remembered as the ‘Kalinga Nartana’ in South India.

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𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢..

Mansa Devi is a Hindu goddess of snakes worshipped mainly for the prevention and cure of snakebite and for fertility and prosperity. She is the sister of Vasuki and wife of sage Jaratkaru. She is depicted as a goddess sitting on a lotus, covered with or standing upon snakes. Sometimes she is also seen with a child on her lap.
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In a spiritual sense, snakes represent desires. Just as those who are bitten by snakes are vulnerable to suffering and death, those who are bitten by desires suffer from the cycle of births and deaths. The suffering inherent in the phenomenal existence is compared to the snake poison. You are safe only when you hold that poison in your throat like Shiva and do not let it go into your body or mind. Pasas, the snake-like ropes of attachment, are transformed desires, which keep people bound to their karmas.

The Vishuddhi chakra situated at the base of the throat is supposed to control all speech. The blue color around Shiva’s neck shows the problems that can be caused by venomous speech and how that should be controlled and kept in check.

In the images of many deities, such as Ganesha, snakes are depicted as the sacred thread (upavitam) worn around the body. The thread in the form of the snake represents purity (sattva) of the body, knowledge of the Vedas, perfection in speech, and self-control. In the iconography of Saivism, snakes also serve as ornaments for the gods and goddesses..

Kundalini or the sexual energy hidden in the Muladhara chakra is compared to a coiled snake. When the body is subjected to austerities and purification through celibacy and other practices, the heat (tapas) generated in the process activates the kundalini. Then, like a coiled serpent, it ascends gradually through the higher chakras until it reaches the highest chakra, the Sahasrara, whereby a yogi experiences enlightenment and the highest bliss.

There are three types of energies, creative energies represented by rajas, preservation energies represented by sattva, and destructive energies represented by tamas. They are also known as the centripetal, balancing and centrifugal forces of the universe. All motion and activity in the universe arise from them. Since the snakes are responsible for death and destruction of humans and animals, they are compared to the destructive tamasic energy represented by Lord Shiva himself as the destroyer. .
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The snakes represent death, unexpected death or death arising from misfortune. The Vedas extol Rudra or Shiva as the healer, the god of medicines who protects and rescues his worshippers from death and destruction caused by snakes and snakebites. Snakes are symbolized as destructive and deadly arrows used in warfare. Hinduism considers our world a manifestation of Death (Kala) who is also known as Time. Kala devours everything. All existence for Him is food. Snakes symbolize Kala and thereby time.
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The word naga is often used in Hindu texts in reference to the outward breath (apana) or that which is expelled through the mouth and other apertures in the body as in case of a burp. Just as a snake moves in the passages below the earth, Apana moves in the body through various channels and exits through the holes in the body. Just as the outward breath escapes through the mouth, snakes also occasionally come out of their subterranean passages through the holes in the ground and show themselves up. As the leader of the sense organs, prana distributes food to all the organs. Since it is the personification of Death itself, it is eternal and indestructible.