Naga

Serpent beings in Hinduism, guardians of water and treasure.

Nagas are serpent beings with an important place in Hinduism, and in Buddhism too. They are seen as guardians of water, springs and treasure, and at the festival of Nag Panchami they are honoured with milk and prayers.

Well-known nagas are Shesha or Ananta, the thousand-headed serpent on whom Vishnu rests between creations, Vasuki, who was used as the rope in the churning of the ocean of milk and lies around Shiva's neck, and Kaliya, the venomous serpent whom Krishna according to the stories tamed by dancing on his heads. In Buddhism the naga king Mucalinda protected the Buddha from the rain by coiling around him and spreading his hoods above him like a screen.

Nagas thus stand for both danger and protection, for water, fertility and hidden treasures. In many Indian villages stones with naga images stand under trees, and women who pray for a child bring offerings there. A dream about a snake that protects, coils around something or lives near water is read in that light in Hindu readings, often as blessing or fertility.

In Kerala and other parts of South India many families have a sarpa kavu, a small sacred grove for the serpents, which may not be cut down. It shows how the veneration of nagas is bound up with respect for nature, water and the earth.

Because of the nagas, and because Shiva wears a snake and Vishnu rests on the serpent Shesha, a snake in a Hindu dream is rarely just an image of fear. The reading depends on what the snake did: a calm snake is often read favourably, a biting snake as a warning.