The Nagas will not be able to harm a person with virtuous karma right away, but when the merits dry up, they will get him even in the next life. Big problems arise for those who cut down a lot of wood, extracted metals and stones from the bowels of the earth.

LUUSAD- these are the deities of the Water Element. In Sanskrit they are called "Nagas". They live, according to legend, deep underground and rule the Water element of the Universe. According to legend, they are divided into 8 states and have 8 rulers, respectively.

Our worlds intersect with water, since we all use it and cannot live without it. The water element, at its subtle level, has powerful energy and is, according to Buddhists, one of the 5 main components of the Universe. The energy of the Water element creates on a gross physical level all the fluids of the body and the environment.

The offering ritual "Luusad" plays in Buddhist religion important role. A correct attitude towards Nagas entails a correct attitude towards Water in general and towards your health in particular.

We humans are not something separate, separate, we are part of this huge world. Caring for bodies of water and sources has an absolutely adequate effect on the body’s internal metabolic processes and, accordingly, evokes a feeling of harmony and tranquility, which reduces the risk of getting into unpleasant situations on the water, etc.

We live in an interdependent world. Therefore Buddhism believes that Nagas are capable of sending diseases, misfortunes, hail, floods, drought, etc. Each person individually and society as a whole have their own karmic relationships with Nagas and in their own Everyday life create new ones.

Treating Water correctly means not littering, not defiling. You cannot spit in the water or throw garbage, you cannot urinate, wash or wash in water bodies using household chemicals. You cannot cut down forest on the banks and arshans.

Nagas are especially terribly angry if blood is spilled or even dropped into the water. The smell of blood infuriates them.

If a person who has committed any of the above offenses has a lot of merit (virtuous karma), the Nagas will not be able to harm him immediately, but they remember him. And in the future, when the merits dry up, they will get it, even if it is in the next life.

There is no need to be wasteful and neglectful of Water. It is important to observe drinking limits.

Nagas own a vast territory underground. Most of the Earth is covered with water, and similarly, humans are more than 70% water. This speaks in favor of the fact that you need to treat them with respect and use water with care.

Healing springs are like a border zone between people and Nagas. We have a unique opportunity to drink and swim in the same water as Nagi. It’s as if we came to their temple, palace, which means we need to show ourselves at our best. Then it is possible to receive their blessing and recovery.

The ritual of offering to Nagas can be done both in winter and summer. Only in the tenth month - the month of the Pig - does it make sense to contact them, because, again according to legend, they go into hibernation.

There is a special calendar that lists all the days when you can and cannot contact the Nagas. The calendar compiled by Nagarjuna is generally considered to be the most reliable.

If you contact the Nagas on days inappropriate for offerings, i.e. on the wrong days, then all offerings will be perceived by them as poisons, impurities. It is believed that these days they are very busy and do not seem to have the proper mood.

Nagas are very angry, and therefore all untimely offerings, as a rule, cause anger in them.

Offerings made on the corresponding days of the first lunar month of the Tiger and done correctly, i.e. according to rituals, they will be very useful for longevity, prosperity and knowledge.

Offerings made correctly and on the right days second month- The hare will make the Nagas very happy, and we will be able to become one of their friends.

IN third month- Dragon - all our offerings will be perceived as Nectar. Therefore, they will try to fulfill all our wishes as much as possible and on a grand scale.

IN fourth month- Snakes - in gratitude for our offerings, Nagas will want to be the most useful friends for us.

IN fifth month- Horse - they will want to give us supernatural abilities.

IN sixth month- Sheep - their desire will be to reward us with children, wealth and livestock.

IN seventh month- Monkeys - our offerings will serve as a guarantee of their help in avoiding a kalpa of hunger (a long period of time - an eon).

IN eighth month- Chickens - thanks to our offerings, the Water deities will perform miracles so that we have food, clothing and happiness in abundance.

IN ninth month- Dogs - Nagas will thank us with property.

IN eleventh month- Mice - their wish will be a happy, joyful life for us.

IN twelfth month- Cows - they will want to give us all their wonderful abilities.

This is how everyone is painted moon month in the special Nagarjuna calendar.

In addition to the Nagarjuna calendar, you need to know elements of the seven days of the week. For example, Monday and Wednesday have the element of Water, which means they are better days in the week, and Sunday and Tuesday are considered the worst, because have the element of Fire.

Nagas, among the six forms of creatures, belong to the Animal world, with one head, six or four legs and a tail. Living underground, they own untold riches and control the Water element. Their eight kingdoms are very vast, and their cities are developed and densely populated.

They also occupy entirely one class of the eight Debzhet - the most harmful creatures - spirits. They live from 500 to 2000 human years.

It is believed that all precipitation, natural water phenomena, as well as accidents and disasters occur at their behest. They also cause diseases of the blood, skin, lymph, joints, most female diseases, some diseases of the stomach and lungs. With weak karmic protection, they can even take away life, again with the help of water.

Big problems, as life shows, arise for those who cut down a lot of wood, extracted metals and stones from the bowels of the earth.

Any protective rituals are temporary. In these cases, the best protective ritual is, perhaps, "Luusad".

Separately, I would like to touch upon the topic of agricultural fires. From a Buddhist point of view, they carry a great sin, since many living beings, larvae, etc. are killed in the fire. The reason is laid that in the future this person will suffer from fire. In addition to the larvae, last year's grass contains a huge amount of plant seeds. All of them, together with grass roots, contain a significant amount of moisture, which can “attract” precipitation.

In addition, insects carry out the overwhelming majority of processing of soil into turf and distribute plant seeds. They are the “foundation, basis” in the food chain of living things. By reducing their population, we doom all subsequent links in the food chain to starvation. This means we destroy all flora and fauna.

Most insects have the same energetic nature as nagas. By killing them, we harm the nagas. And you will have to pay for this in the future.

As an offering to ritual you need to have milk from a white goat and a red cow, tea leaves, flour and dairy products, fruits, pine needles. Also very effective are offerings with a hadak or 8 ribbons (semelge - Bur., only red and black colors are undesirable).

You cannot eat meat, fish products, eggs, onions, garlic, or peppers before the ritual or bring them to the ritual. You are not allowed to smoke or come drunk.

As the main offering, a “torma” (balim, in Bur.) in the shape of snakes and special cups for milk with a special medicine (Luusadai zai, Bur.) are made.

A small fire is lit into which most of our offerings are placed. And a special medicinal composition for Nagas (lumen, in Tibetan) is poured into the milk of a red cow and a white goat and brought to the source and to the shore.

All this action is accompanied by a special prayer.

Our purity is very important here: body, clothing, breath and thoughts. The number of people praying also matters; the more, the better.

A specific offering with your own personalized medicine, on a special day, your own special ritual - serve to generate a special motivation and mood. A large number of people praying in unison will definitely bring success and good luck.

Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia about nagas - the masters of water:

Reference

Buddhist treatises speak of a great variety of unusual creatures classified as “8 classes of worldly gods and demons,” one of which is the class of water spirits (nagas - Skt.). It is believed that water spirits do not tolerate pollution in their habitat, i.e. rivers, lakes, springs, etc. Many natural disasters, as well as human diseases, especially skin diseases, kidney diseases, gall bladder diseases, depression, apathy, mental problems, and everyday troubles such as leaking pipes or broken sewers are often caused by so-called provocations of water spirits - Nagas. These provocations are the response of disturbed creatures to the destructive activities of people - drainage of land, environmental pollution, slaughter of livestock, etc. Unreasonable actions of people in relation to nature are reflected in the state of spirits, which is why they suffer damage and, when angry, can harm people. In particular, it is believed that a person receives harm from nagas in the form of various diseases when he pollutes water bodies, rivers, and air. To carry out the ritual, lamas prepare various substances called “three whites” - milk, butter, yogurt, “three sweets” - sugar, honey, molasses, as well as various jewelry. During the ritual, the lamas, through meditative practice, mentally transform all these offerings into jewelry and medicine for the water spirits, after which, accompanied by the sounds of ritual instruments, they respectfully throw the offerings into the water.

Thus, it is believed that very often naked people, having the ability to transform and change their appearance to a human one, made their way to people and lived among them. The Nagains turned into girls of incomparable beauty and married kings and rulers, passing on mystical abilities to their generation. This is how people and snakes mixed. Hindus still believe that among people there are nagas who have changed their appearance. And there is even features.

When I was a child, my father told me incredible stories about snakes. At that time we lived in the south and dad, as a photojournalist for republican newspapers, often went on business trips. I loved listening to these fascinating stories. Snakes have always inspired some kind of inexplicable mystical horror and at the same time fascinated us with their mysterious nature. Ancient legends about them only strengthened the belief that these repulsive creatures with a hypnotic gaze are shrouded in mystery. During his trips around the country, my father talked with people, they told him local myths, tales, cited some facts, and shared observations. And dad later told me about all this. Some cases were particularly memorable. Especially this one: at one time in the 1960s, traffic on the southern highway of the Osh region was paralyzed due to a massive crossing of the road huge amount snake.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the “procession” was led by the largest White Snake with shoots on its head - in the form of a crown - and thousands of grays crawled behind it. Not a single car dared to set off, seeing such a “parade”. Everyone froze not only from amazement, but also from fear that penetrated to the bones. We waited for several hours. And even when the last snake had already crossed the highway, the drivers sat in their cabs for a long time and looked at the empty road. Everyone was in shock. ( It is interesting that in Turkmenistan, even among people who have higher education, - during the times of the USSR, not like now - in the Middle Ages - there was a completely clear understanding of the relationship with cobras, in particular. Under no circumstances was it possible to pronounce the word “cobra” itself - in Turkmen, of course. Otherwise, a bite and death are guaranteed. - ed.)

And the second story, etched in my memory. We are talking about the vindictiveness attributed to snakes. There is a belief that if a person kills a snake, the offspring of the reptile or a pair of snakes will definitely find the offender and take revenge. It is quite possible that people, out of panic fear of snakes, could have invented all these myths and legends, but popular rumor spread them around the world, endowing them with tenacious energy. So, some farmer killed a snake while he was sowing and threw it into a ditch. When he returned home, the whole house was occupied by snakes.

At the same time, they did not bite anyone, but forced the entire family to leave their home and leave. Because there were snakes under the blankets and pillows, they were in the closets among the clothes, they were crawling next to the children...

The Indian people have similar stories. On the sacred and revered snake festival of India - Nag Panchami - one peasant completely forgot that he could not work on this day. According to local beliefs, this day belongs to snakes; they reign on earth for 24 hours and people do not go out into the field at all, making room for them. The Hindu forgot about this and his plow, loosening the ground, killed the naga cub. The revenge of the nagini (mother snake) was terrible. At night she made her way to the poor man's house and crawled into the dwelling. A farmer's family died from cobra bites.

There was only one little girl left, whom the snake found in another room. But what she saw stopped the whip from the final act of revenge. The peasant's youngest daughter knelt before the altar, on which there was a clay statue of a naked man, and reverently prayed. This picture made the nagini have mercy on the girl and let her live.

Where did the worship of snakes come from in India? In “Myths and Legends of Ancient India” there is a story that the daughter of Daksha ( Daksha - the seventh son of Brahma - ed.), wife of Kashyapa ( one ofSeven Buddhas of the Past - ed.) Kadru gave birth to nagas, who grew up and became gigantic snakes. They chose a home in the underground kingdom of Patala. In this kingdom, magnificent palaces made of gold and precious stones were erected. Nagas loved luxury and surrounded themselves with jewelry. The naga city of Bhogavati could rightly be called the city of jewels and gold. The kingdom of snakes was located directly under the base of the sacred Mount Meru. It is believed that it is under the domain of the nagas that the gates of hell are located. The inhabitants of the kingdom spread along underground rivers, expanding their habitat. This is how the origin of the nagas is told ancient legend. Other interesting tales are also mentioned in ancient treatises.

But the most curious thing is that, according to the most ancient belief, snake people lived on the territory of India before the appearance of the Aryans (2nd millennium BC). And there is even a version that they come from... the Scythians. When the Brahmins invaded the lands of the Hindustan peninsula, they met the indigenous inhabitants here - half-deities, half-demons - snake people. For their wisdom and knowledge of natural elements, snake people earned respect from the Brahmins. Indian rulers began to take girls from this tribe as wives. And the tribes of people and Nagas intertwined... The Naga people have lived in the north of India since time immemorial.

Almost nothing is known about their past. But in other villages there is no doubt that these are the descendants of Kashyapa and Kadru. These people eat meat but do not drink milk. It is noteworthy that their dwellings differ from the buildings of other Indian nationalities and have a cone-shaped shape. As a rule, such a building has one or two rooms. Often people live together with domestic animals. Before marriage, men live separately from girls. Marriages are arranged only with the consent of the parents. The laws are strict - for murder and adultery - death. People from the Naga people in India are considered wise and knowledgeable. It is from among these people that most often emerge unsurpassed yogis, as well as rishis - holy sages. Almost every member of the tribe has paranormal abilities. They are credited (however, this has not been scientifically proven) magical abilities and the possibility of transformation. They settle at the foot of the Himalayas. Blue and blue sapphires are mined here.

Treatises known in India from real people, whose names contain the name "Naga" and they come from the tribe of the same name. These are the Himavati Purana from the Blue Naga or Nilanaga and the works of wisdom from Nagarjuna. They are still appreciated today. It is believed that it really existed famous philosopher Patanjali, the founder of yoga, also came from the Naga tribe and was often called simply Naga. Almost all images of the sage address us to cobras. There is an opinion that he easily changed his appearance from human to snake, had hidden knowledge and could control natural elements. He conveyed his wisdom in the Yoga Sutras, systematizing the practice of yogis and dividing it into stages for achieving enlightenment. Even during his lifetime, legends were made about him. It is believed that Patanjali had a piercing gaze that could turn a person inside out.

Moreover, there is evidence that flames could be emitted from his mouth; he could incinerate with his gaze. It is assumed that he had other mystical abilities. Patanjali is the father of yoga. He presented yoga as a way of life that changes a person’s consciousness and makes it possible to improve the spirit to incredible heights. No matter how we treat the evidence of the mystical and extraordinary, supernatural qualities of Patanjali - with skepticism or outright ridicule, he is a really living person, and a person who made a gigantic contribution to the world treasury of knowledge and practices. And... almost all of his images are images of a cobra man.

Many researchers claim that even Gautama Siddhartha himself - the Buddha - encountered nagas. So, in one of the jatakas ( Indian tales about life - ed.) it is said that the snake really wanted to become a disciple of Buddha and took the form of a man. By cunning he gained trust and became a follower of Buddha. But one night, the monk who was sleeping in the same hut with him woke up and saw that he was not with the novice, but with a sleeping snake. The next morning he told the Enlightened One about what he had seen. When the truth was revealed, the naga could not hide his tears and begged to be left in the sangha (community) of monks. But Buddha refused, promising only that his name would always be mentioned in the community. Therefore, when a new disciple who wants to devote his life to the knowledge of the truth comes to the community, he is called naked. After passing the probationary period, after tonsure and performing rituals, he becomes a monk.

And another story related to Buddha. When Siddhartha was wandering in search of truth, on the road he met sadhus (hermits) who had stopped for the night in abandoned buildings. He asked to spend the night, and heard in response that there was a free hut, but a fire-breathing snake lived there, which was unlikely to share the night with him. Buddha entered the hut. The sadhus heard a noisy commotion and were sure that the stranger had died. But what was their amazement when they saw the Buddha alive and unharmed, having subdued the snake.

As with Krishna (described below) there is a well-disguised subtext here. Snakes are powerful characters in Indian folklore. Let us remember the mighty - the most important - Great Naga Sheshe, on whom Vishnu sits, plowing the vast ocean in front of the universe. Sheshnag is depicted with three, five, seven heads. And some scriptures say that there were even more than a thousand heads. The serpent Vasuka always accompanies Shiva, adorning him with itself. A snake is also depicted on the belt of the demigod Ganesha. Another legend with a sacred meaning. The many-headed serpent Kali settled in the Yamuna River. Because of his poison, the water in the river became poisoned. Animals coming to drink died. Krishna decided to find the monster. Diving into the waters of the Yamuna, he woke up Kali. A fierce battle began, which lasted quite a long time. Divine power Krishna did not allow the snake to wrap its coils around him. Krishna managed to climb onto the swollen hoods of Kali and demonstrate a victory dance. Thus Krishna tamed Kali and forced him to leave the waters of the Yamuna.

When problems arise because of the nagas (it is assumed that they may be responsible for the following misfortunes: drought; the birth of only girls; multiple bites of poisonous creatures; the appearance of rattles, dangerous snakes in the villages; diseases associated with blood, etc.), then the Hindus pray and present offerings to Manasa Devi, the daughter of Kashyapa, and Kadru, the sister of Vasuki. She is the queen of the nagas, the queen of snakes. According to legend, it was she who cured Shiva from the poison he drank. The image of a snake is firmly entrenched in the consciousness and folklore of Asian peoples. All gods and deities in India, Nepal, Burma, Laos, Thailand and other countries of Southeast Asia are associated with the Nagas. In the Kingdom of Cambodia, for example, this version of the origin of the country and people is popular (well, nowadays, mainly for tourists): the daughter of an underwater serpent living in the waters of the Pacific Ocean married an Indian brahman Kaundinya.

Their offspring formed new people- Cambodian. But even today a significant number of Cambodians believe that they descended from the Nagas. The most militant caste in the Indian hierarchy - the Kshatriyas - also consider themselves descendants of the powerful Nagas.

And this is already reality. In 1976, American sailors showed the media an outlandish miracle reptile caught in the Mekong River, sacred to many peoples of Southeast Asia, which flows through a number of countries. It was a huge white snake with “flippers” along the entire length of its body and growths on its head in the form of a crown. The Thais (the snake was caught on the territory of the Kingdom of Thailand) were furious. After all, they made offerings to this sacred snake on the fifteenth day of the eleventh month. lunar calendar. Years later, they decided to find the sailors who were in the picture with the monstrous snake. But, as it turned out, every single one of them died under unclear circumstances. Is it dangerous to joke with divine creatures? At night, amazing fireballs are often seen over the water in India. They are called "naga fires". Scientists still cannot explain this phenomenon. Are you tired yet? Then I'll continue. There is a very dangerous “fun” in countries where snakes are deified.

I will call this ritual the dance of the priestess. A girl from the upper caste, prepared for such an action, dances in front of the cobra. She must charm the cobra with graceful body movements like this. If the dancer manages to avoid a fatal cobra bite, then the brave tamer can receive a priceless gift - she will discover superpowers that defy logical explanation.

The ending follows

From the editor:

However, some people are not only not afraid of snakes, they are quite disrespectful towards them. Maybe they, these people, are super-naked?

“A great man keeps the Tao within himself and waits for his time. When the time comes, he turns into a dragon in the clouds, free, strong, soaring up. When his time has not come, he is like a leopard hiding in the fog, quiet, silent,
Bo Juyi “Letter to Yuan Zhen” (IX century)

Indian Nagas - Great Serpents

As stated in " Myths and legends ancient india ", "the eldest children of Kashyapa, the grandson of Brahma, were the asuras and gods born of his three eldest wives. His other ten wives gave birth to various and varied creatures that inhabited the earth, the skies, and the underworlds.

Surasa gave birth to huge monstrous dragons, Arishta became the ancestor of crows and owls, hawks and kites, parrots and other birds, Vinata gave birth to giant sun birds - suparnas, Surabhi - cows and horses, and many more divine and demonic creatures descended from Kashyapa's other wives, daughters Daksha. Kadru became the mother of the Nagas, and Muni - the Gandharvas.

Nagas, the children of Kashyapa and Kadru, gigantic snakes, settled in the underworld of Patala, where they erected for themselves magnificent palaces, shining with gold and precious stones. The wise serpent Vasuki became the king of the nagas and ruled in their underground city of Bhogavati, full of treasures unprecedented on earth. Some of the nagas settled in underground waters, in rivers and at the bottom of the ocean, in the kingdom of Varuna.

Nagas also live on the surface of the earth, where they guard treasures and treasures. Royal snakes, three-headed, seven-headed and ten-headed, possess untold wealth; their heads are crowned with precious crowns; they are powerful and wise; leaders of the great Naga tribe, they gained the favor and friendship of the gods.

The Gandharvas, the sons of Kashyapa and Muni, lived in the sky. They were once guardians of the soma and owned it. But then they lost it. Saraswati, the daughter of Daksha, the goddess of wisdom and eloquence, managed to charm the Gandharvas and lured Soma from them. The Gandharvas wanted to keep the beautiful Saraswati with them in exchange for Soma, but she also left them for the gods to whom her heart lay. Apsaras, beautiful maidens born from the waters of the primeval ocean, became the friends of the Gandharvas; captivating the eyes of gods and mortals, they became dancers in heavenly kingdom Indra.

And the Gandharvas themselves, beautiful in appearance and eternally young geniuses of the heavenly spaces, knowing the divine secrets and directing the paths of the stars, became singers and musicians in that kingdom and delighted the ears of the gods with the sounds of lutes and wonderful chants. Sweet-voiced and charming, they sing on the mountains, where the celestials spend their time in carefree entertainment; and the voices of the Gandharvas are sometimes heard from heaven. And in clear weather, in the clear air, sometimes a ghostly city with tall palaces and towers appears to the eyes of mortals; This is the city of the Gandharvas, and they say that trouble awaits those who accidentally see it.

Once upon a time, the Gandharvas, led by their king Visvavasu, attacked their relatives, the Nagas, in their underground kingdom, defeated them and took away their jewels and treasures. The nagas resorted to the protection of Vishnu; he descended into the underworld, expelled the Gandharvas from there and forced them to return the loot to the nagas. The thousand-headed universal serpent Shesha, also called Anapta, the Infinite, brother of King Vasuki, the largest of the serpents, became the friend and companion of Vishnu; floating on the surface of the universal waters, from that time on he served as a support and bed for Vishnu, when the great god rests and sleeps.

“The Indian priests said that the world rests on Shesha, the eleven-headed serpent, also called Ananta, the Infinite.

In exoteric beliefs Shesha is represented as a thousand-headed and seven-headed cobra; the first is the king of the lower world (the country of the nagas), the second is the carrier or support of Vishnu in the Ocean of Space.

Shesha, according to legend, passed on his astronomical knowledge to Garga, the oldest astronomer in India, who managed to appease him and therefore knew everything related to the planets, as well as how to read omens."

Both nagas and gandharvas could change their appearance at will, and often both appeared among people in human form. Often, earthly kings and heroes took naginas as wives - maidens of incomparable beauty who were snakes by birth. And voluptuous Gandharvas are especially dangerous for mortal women; they pursue them and seduce them with their skillful playing of lutes and their enchanting appearance; in the same way, the apsaras, their friends, appear to seduce mortal men on earth. Together with the patron gods of the wedding ceremony - Agni, the god of fire, and Soma, the god of the moon - Gandharvas are invisibly present at every human wedding as secret rivals of the groom, and one must always beware of their machinations."

“In Indian sources, the idea of nagas - divine snakes - is mixed with the idea of nagas - historical tribes who lived in the north-west of India even before the arrival of the Aryans there. Associated with the root "naga" big number Indian place names.

Nagadvipa - “the country of the nagas” - is one of the nine parts of Bharatavarsha or present-day India, according to the Puranas (Vishnupur II 3, 6). There is no evidence left as to who the Nagas were ( historical people, however), but the prevailing theory is that they were one of the Scythian tribes who had the snake (cobra) as their totem, and that the mythological interpretation was thus superimposed on a historical basis. But there is no evidence for this. When the Brahmins invaded India, they "discovered a tribe wise people, half-gods, half-demons,” says the legend; men who were teachers of other tribes and in like manner became teachers of the Hindus and the Brahmins themselves."

Nagpur is rightfully considered the surviving remnant of Nagadvipa. Now Nagpur are actually in Rajputana, close to Udeipur, Ajmera etc. And is it not well known that there was a time when Brahmins went to learn the Secret Wisdom from the Rajputs? Moreover, tradition claims that Apollonius of Tyana was taught magic by the Nagas of Kashmir.

“The word naga, “wise serpent,” has become universal, for it is one of the few words that survived the collapse of the first universal language. This word is used by the natives of both South and Central and North America, from the Bering Strait to Uruguay, where it means “head,” “teacher,” and “serpent.”

“In Buddhist mythology, nagas are snake-like semi-deities, and in their inclusion in Buddhist mythology, some Buddhist scholars even see a sign of the non-Aryan origin of Buddhism. Descriptions of nagas are found in many canonical texts, for example in the Jatakas. Nagas are divided into two classes - those living in water (in rivers and seas) and on land.

Nagas are revered as sages and magicians, capable of reviving the dead and changing their appearance. In human form, nagas often live among people.

So, for example, in order to prevent the wholesale extermination of snakes and the fulfillment of the ancient curse in full, the following decision is made at the council of snakes:

“We will come to the king as advisers, servants.

Let's provide his state with services...

And if he doesn’t appreciate cunning speeches,

And if the burning of snakes does not cancel,

Then we will call the witty serpent,

Which, as it were, about the ruler of Radya,

Will appear as a priest who agrees with him in his views

And knowledgeable in complex sacrificial rituals.

Having first entered into the trust of the ruler,

Will thrust a formidable sting into Janamejaya...

We will become priests, said the nobles,

We will come to the lord, we are similar to the many wise...”

« Mahabharata [Burning of Snakes]»

Often nagas enter into love relationship both with women and men, the descendants of these relationships are unusually gentle, since they have a “water essence.”

Thus, the hero of the Mahabharata, Ashwatthaman, the son of Drona, married a nagina girl; the nagini princess Ulupi was the wife of Arjuna, and the nagini Kumudvati was the wife of Kushi, the son of Rama.

Nagas were the progenitors of entire clans. Raja Bhadrava descended from the Nagas. Sages are rishis and nagas were the deities of the Himalayan Kullu valley. The Austrian scholar Vogel noted that the rishis in Kullu, “strange to say, are considered naked.”

“From the small town of Bhadrava, the temples and shrines of the Nagas stretched to the Great Himalayan Range, crossed it and went east to where the ancient Padara sapphire mines were located. Blue and blue sapphires have been mined there for centuries. Myths and legends adorned the crowns of Naga kings with these sapphires. The same myths connected nagas with sages - rishis. They seemed to flow into each other, often merging into one concept, into one image. Nagas and Rishis were the deities of the Himalayan Kullu valley. Their bronze and gold masks were kept in ancient temples. Was attributed to both great wisdom, miraculous abilities, knowledge of the secrets of nature and omnipotence. Rishis and nagas taught people in arts and crafts, knowledge and rituals. Some of them left behind real books, such as the Himavat Purana of the Blue Naga, ruler of the Kashmir Valley, or the book of the Buddhist reformer Nagarjuna, which included the knowledge imparted to him by the Great Naga.

“According to one of the myths, the founder of the Khmer state, Prah Thon, was able to penetrate the world of the nagas, sitting on a tree that sank underground every night. There he married the daughter of their king, who gave him a sampot (waist garment) with images of nagas. In the old days, the groom had to give the bride such a sampot.

Previously, during the marriage ceremony, the front teeth of the bride and groom were slightly filed so that they could not turn into nagas. The Nagini woman is a central image of Khmer dynastic myths. According to one of them, the Khmer king had to spend nights together in a multi-headed naginya and the well-being of the country depended on this.”

It is believed that Gotama Buddha comes from the snake dynasty, through the family of nagas.

“The nagas washed Gotama Buddha at birth, protected him and guarded the remains of his body when he died. Legend has it that when Buddha, sitting under a fig tree, indulged in meditation, heavy rain and wind began; here the compassionate naked man wrapped himself around him seven times and covered him with his seven heads, like a roof. Buddha converted the nagas to his faith."

In one Buddhist myth, Muchilinda Naga is credited with saving Buddha Shakyamuni during the flood; in another, Naga deceptively became Shakyamuni’s disciple and was exposed.

The sacred sutras tell that the Buddha visited the underwater palace of the Dragon King and preached to him.

“In that great assembly there were also great shravakas, humans, deities-lords of the worlds, deities, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnars, mahoragas, humans and non-humans. They listened to what the Buddha said, became extremely happy, believed, accepted, bowed and left.”

Jatakas were folk tales about the life of Buddha and bodhisattvas. One of them tells about Buddha visiting the palaces of the nagas and receiving magical jewelry.

Here is a legend recorded in India by the pilgrim Fa Shen at the beginning of the 5th century:

“King Ashoka came to a lake near which there was a tower. He wanted to destroy it in order to build another, higher one. A certain Brahman persuaded him to enter the tower, and when the king entered, the Brahman said: “My human appearance is an imaginary thing, in fact I am naked. For my sins, I am doomed to live in this terrible body, but I keep the law commanded by the Buddha and hope for redemption. You can destroy this sanctuary if you think you can build something better.

The brahmana showed the king the ritual vessels. The king looked at them and was horrified, for they were not at all like those that people make, and he abandoned his intention.”

“Nilanagu, or the Blue Naga, is credited with the authorship of a real-life book.” Nilamathpurana" This book, according to scientists, was written (recorded) in the 6th-7th centuries AD. From it you can learn how, after the god Vishnu drained the ancient lake Satisara, the Kashmir Valley arose, the patron and king of which Nilanag was appointed. He lived in an underground palace in the Himalayas, wearing a sparkling crown and clothes embroidered with precious stones. A serpentine hood rose above his crown. The Patron of the Valley was wise, owned secret knowledge and the art of magic. The naga conveyed his first instructions to the inhabitants of the valley entrusted to him through the brahmin Chandradeva. By special days, established by Nilanag, the inhabitants of the Valley prayed in shrines and altars to the deity of Vastu architecture, patterns embroidered by skilled artisans, actors who gave performances, musical instruments and books."

"In Thailand young man Those who want to become a monk are called... “snake” (“naga”), because the following incident occurred in the life of the Buddha. IN monastic community(Sangha) was penetrated by a “serpent” who took on human form. The Buddha recognized him and did not allow the naga to lead a monastic life, but promised that he would be remembered when every young man was ordained as a monk - in this way. For a whole week, the naked young man gets acquainted with the life of the monastery, memorizes the words and gestures of the initiation ritual.

On the day of his initiation, the hair on his head and eyebrows are shaved off as a sign that he is considered dead matter. Hair removal means renouncing your old life, caring about your own appearance and attractiveness. The novice discards all the clothes in which he was previously dressed, puts on only a red or green loincloth and throws a thin robe over his shoulders. white scarf. This robe identifies him with Prince Siddhartha Gautama on the eve of his renunciation of the world, and the white scarf symbolizes renunciation worldly life and willingness to become a monk.

The parents collect eight items necessary for their son to live in the monastery: two yellow robes, an umbrella, a food bowl, sandals, a lamp, a razor and a spittoon, as well as food and gifts for the monks. The initiate and two monks, one a future companion in his cell and wandering around the villages for alms, and the other a mentor (guru), sit in palanquins, and neighbors and acquaintances carry them to the monastery, where the initiation ceremony takes place, which ends with a common meal - laymen and monks."

Nagas - semi-divine demons

Nagas are semi-divine demons or demigods with a snake body and one or
several human heads. The most ancient Indian legends mention that the Naga civilization was powerful at the dawn of mankind; they lived under the mythical Mount Meru.

In the first book of the Mahabharata (Adiparve), nagas are described as living on earth. Then Brahma opened the ground and they descended under it. Having moved to the underworld,Patalu, the nagas erected magnificent palaces for themselves, shining with gold and precious stones. The wise serpent Vasuki became the king of the nagas and ruled in their underground city of Bhogavati, full of treasures unprecedented on earth.

Naga kings

In Indian myths, the names of many Naga kings are named, among which the most famous are the thousand-headed serpent Shesha, who supported the earth and served as a bed for Vishnu during his sleep in the ocean in the intervals between the creations of the world; Vasuki, used by gods and demons as a rope when churning the world's oceans in order to obtain amrita - the drink of immortality, Takshaka and Airavata. The royal serpents, three-headed, five-headed, seven-headed and ten-headed, are powerful and wise, their heads crowned with precious crowns; for their virtue (and often long-term asceticism) they gained the mercy and friendship of the gods.

Outside India, nagas are compared with local snake-likedeities. For example, with Lu in Tibet, Nats in Burma, Praya Nak in Laos, dragons - moons in China.

Descriptions and images of nagas

Nagas are described in many Vedic texts, epic poems, puranas, Buddhist sutras, and also in some canonical Buddhist texts, such as the Jatakas. Their images are found on the bas-reliefs of Angkor in Cambodia, on the naga bridges in the Phimai Temple in Thailand, in the Phnom Rang Temple, located on the royal road from Angkor to Phimai, and in other places.

Despite the abundance of references to nagas in ancient Indian literature, their appearance is always vague (unless they are depicted as humans). It seems that the compilers of the tales simply did not know what these creatures looked like, and almost always (consciously or unconsciously) identified them with snakes. Such are the nagas on the bas-reliefs created in much later times.

What did nagas look like?

" [Nagas] from the Vasuki clan... were blue, red and white flowers: they all had huge, disgusting-looking bodies, filled with deadly poison. Their names are Kotika, Manasa, Purna...

[Nagas] from the family of Dhritarashtra. These snakes... could move with the speed of the wind and were terribly poisonous. Here they are - Shankukarna, Pingalaka, Kutharamukha..."(Mahabharata)

According to the Mahabharata,“some of them [nagas or snakes] were small, like mice, others had elephant trunks, others looked like... elephants... with all the diversity of their colors...”; "all... monstrous snakes, the very sight of which inspired terrible fear in all living beings... possessed enormous power and they were of such enormous size that when they rose on their tails, they resembled mountain peaks. Some of them reached the length of a whole yojana, and some even two yojanas.".

Abilities and habits of nagas

The poison of the nagas (Vasuki, Takshaki, etc.) was often compared with fire, lightning, and the ability to incinerate all living things was attributed to it. This is, for example, evidenced by the following passages from the Mahabharata:

“Their terrible poison could burn like a blazing flame”;

“From the fiery snake venom, the house on the platform immediately burst into flames and... collapsed, as if felled by lightning.”

Nagas were extremely intelligent and cunning creatures.Their main tactics in the fight against people, gods and demons were ambush, surprise attack, magic and poison.

Nagas were considered sages, magicians and sorcerers, capable of reviving the dead and changing their appearance .

They were excellent at the art of Maya, they could penetrate solid matter, suddenly appear and disappear. Being great sorcerers, nagas had the ability to cause fire, rain, storms and other elements of nature.

According to one legend, a contemporary of Jesus Christ, the main representative
Neo-Pythagoreanism of Apollonius of Tyana, taught magic to the Nagas of Kashmir.

In Vajrayana mythology, nagas are the guardians of the truths of Buddhism. In Mahayana mythology there are references to how the famous Buddhist reformer Nagarjuna obtained from the nagas the Prajnaparamita sutra, which they protected until
people are not mature enough to understand it. The court historian of Emperor Akbar Abul Fazl (XVI century) in his book says that in ancient times the book “Nilmat” surfaced from the depths of Lake Nilanaga in Kashmir (it was the basis for the “Nimalat Purana”), which contained detailed description of Kashmir and its history. This book was supposedly written by Nilanag - the Blue Naga.

Nagas are immortal werewolf creatures who could fly.

Some nagas, such as Takshaka, could fly:

“They watched as the lord of the snakes... Takshaka... flew..., sparkling with bright colors, like lotuses of all colors, and it seemed that the hair of the sky was scattering from him in all directions. From the fiery snake venom, the house on the platform immediately burst into flames, and barely The royal courtiers managed to escape and collapsed as if struck down by lightning.”

The Mahabharata says that the nagas received immortality by tasting amrita, but at the same time their tongues became forked, because they had to lick the amrita from the sharp stems of the kusha grass.

Nagas could transform into humans and often entered into love affairs and marriages with both men and women.

Naga marriages with humans

Quite often, nagas lived in human form among people. Likewise people
sometimes lived with the nagas in their world. In both cases, from the marriages of people and nagas, full-fledged offspring were born. An example of this is the mentioned sage Astika, who was born from the marriage of Vasuki's sister, nagini Jaratkaru, and sage Jaratkaru, and left behind children and grandchildren. Naga women - naginis, famous for their beauty, often became the wives of mortal kings and heroes. Thus, the hero of the Mahabharata, Ashwatthaman, the son of Drona, married a nagini girl; Princess Nagini Ulupi spent one night with another hero of the Mahabharata, Arjuna, and Nagini Kumudvati became the wife of Kushi, the son of Rama.

In ancient India, the fertility of the fields and the grain harvest were associated with the nagas. In China, they were classified as earthly deities - guardians of the five spheres and four countries of the world and the center.

Naga (नाग) - spelling of the name "Naga" in Sanskrit and its transcription in Latin

Nagin is the English version of the name for Naga women (Nagin)

Naginis is one of the English-language variants of the name of Naga women (Nagin)

Nagis is one of the English-language variants of the name of female nagas (nagins)

Naginya - female naga

Nagas are a group of related mountain tribes and nationalities (Angami, Ao, Sema, Lhota, more than 20 in total), most of which inhabit the state of Nagaland, partly Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in the northeastern part of India, as well as in the north-eastern part of India. western Myanmar.

The second son, who was born in Vinata, was Garuda. He freed his mother, who, as a result of the curse of her eldest son, was a servant of her sister Kadra. For this, Garuda, who was equal in strength to the gods (if not superior to them), stole the divine amrita from the gods and took it to nagam. However, by prior agreement with Indra, Garuda demanded that naked performed ablution before touching the vessel with the drink of immortality. Bye naked were taking baths, Indra stole the treasured bottle from them. Certainly, naked realized that they had been deceived. But one of them saw that drops of amrita were covering the kush grass in the place where the vessel stood (apparently, the stopper had become loose). Naga promptly licked off the dew of immortality, but... Kush grass (darbha), as is known, has very sharp edges. Since then Nagas forked tongues, the Kush grass is pure and sacred, and Garuda is the sworn enemy of all snakes (*).

Yes, many Indian clans indicate as their ancestors those who descended from the soil of man and naga(or nagini).

When Buddha came into the world to bring his Word to the intelligent, people were not yet ready to understand it. Then Buddha began to preachnagam so that they would convey the Word to his people when they are ready to realize the hidden.

Empty mirrors. Yagibi Tiihaa

Like, latest information, which naked conveyed to humanity in the person of the philosopher Nagarjuna (“Silver Serpent”), there was the Prajnaparamita sutra, when people matured to it. In general, with Buddhism and Buddha Nagas have developed special relationship. Naga, if you believe some legends, he was washed at birth, and protected during life (remember the story about the fig tree? Not about the Greek one, but about Buddha’s meditation and rain?), and after death, the body was protected.

Naga kings

How did the nakeds look?

Nagas had one or more (two, three, five, seven, etc.) human heads without hair and a body with an extended neck of a spectacled snake (cobra) with one pair of legs or no legs at all. Nagas were colored blue, green, red, black and white and wore a variety of clothes. For example, Shesha was depicted in a purple robe with a white necklace around her neck, Vasuki's sister, the impeccably proportioned Jaratkara, was dressed in beautiful clothes and adorned with jewelry.

" [Nagas] from the Vasuki clan... were blue, red and white: they all had huge, disgusting-looking bodies, filled with deadly poison. Their names are Kotika, Manasa, Purna...
[Nagas] from the family of Dhritarashtra. These snakes... could move with the speed of the wind and were terribly poisonous. Here they are - Shankukarna, Pingalaka, Kutharamukha..."(Mahabharata)

On the frescoes of Sigiriya, which some researchers compare with Lanka from the Ramayana, there are images of beautifully built girls or women with green skin. Perhaps these are the most realistic images of nagas?!
According to the Mahabharata,“some of them [nagas or snakes] were small, like mice, others had elephant trunks, others looked like... elephants... with all the diversity of their colors...”; “all... monstrous snakes, the very sight of which inspired terrible fear in all living beings... possessed enormous strength and were of such enormous size that when they rose on their tails, they resembled mountain peaks. Some of them reached a length of a whole yojana, and some even a two yojanas".

Abilities and habits of nagas

Ancient Indian legends have brought to us much more information about the abilities and habits of the nagas. Thus, almost everywhere it is noted that naked were extremely poisonous creatures and their bite and breath were considered fatal. Deadly (or possessing great hypnotic power) was even their look.
The poison of the nagas (Vasuki, Takshaki, etc.) was often compared with fire, lightning, and the ability to incinerate all living things was attributed to it. This is, for example, evidenced by the following passages from the Mahabharata:
“Their terrible poison could burn like a blazing flame”;
“From the fiery snake venom, the house on the platform immediately burst into flames and... collapsed, as if felled by lightning.”
Nagas were extremely intelligent and cunning creatures.Their main tactics in the fight against people, gods and demons were ambush, surprise attack, magic and poison.
Nagas were considered sages, magicians and sorcerers, capable of reviving the dead and changing their appearance. They were excellent at the art of Maya, they could penetrate solid matter, suddenly appear and disappear. Being great sorcerers, nagas had the ability to cause fire, rain, storms and other elements of nature.

Nagas - teachers of magic and authors of books
According to one legend, a contemporary of Jesus Christ, the main representative of Neo-Pythagoreanism, Apollonius of Tyana, was taught the magic of the Nagas of Kashmir.
In Vajrayana mythology, nagas are the guardians of the truths of Buddhism. In Mahayana mythology, there are references to how the famous Buddhist reformer Nagarjuna obtained the Prajnaparamita sutra from the nagas, which they protected until people were mature enough to understand it. The court historian of Emperor Akbar Abul Fazl (XVI century) in his book says that in ancient times the book “Nilmat” surfaced from the depths of Lake Nilanaga in Kashmir (it was the basis for the “Nimalat Purana”), which contained detailed description of Kashmir and its history. This book was supposedly written by Nilanag - the Blue Naga.

Nagas are immortal werewolf creatures who could fly.
Some nagas, such as Takshaka, could fly:
“They watched as the lord of the snakes... Takshaka... flew..., sparkling with bright colors, like lotuses of all colors, and it seemed that the hair of the sky was scattering from him in all directions. From the fiery snake venom, the house on the platform immediately burst into flames, and barely The royal courtiers managed to escape and collapsed as if struck down by lightning.”

Naga marriages with humans
Quite often, nagas lived in human form among people. Likewise, people sometimes lived together with the nagas in their world. In both cases, from the marriages of people and nagas, full-fledged offspring were born. An example of this is the mentioned sage Astika, who was born from the marriage of Vasuki's sister, nagini Jaratkaru, and sage Jaratkaru, and left behind children and grandchildren. Naga women - naginis, famous for their beauty, often became the wives of mortal kings and heroes. Thus, the hero of the Mahabharata, Ashwatthaman, the son of Drona, married a nagini girl; Princess Nagini Ulupi spent one night with another hero of the Mahabharata, Arjuna, and Nagini Kumudvati became the wife of Kushi, the son of Rama.
In ancient India, the fertility of the fields and the grain harvest were associated with the nagas. In China, they were classified as earthly deities - guardians of the five spheres and four countries of the world and the center.
A.V. Koltypin, 2009

Animals

The Nagas will not be able to harm a person with virtuous karma right away, but when the merits dry up, they will get him even in the next life. Big problems arise for those who cut down a lot of wood, extracted metals and stones from the bowels of the earth.

Reference

Indian Nagas - Great Serpents

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