Indian Serpent-Lore, or the Nagas in Hindu Legend and Art

CHAPTER                                                                                                     PAGE
         The Nāga who let his secret out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
         The curse of a Nāga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
         The legend of Jīmūtavāhana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
         The story of Prince Sudhana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
         The legend of the young Nāga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

V THE PRINCIPAL NĀGARĀJAS Nāgarājas: Serpent-Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

         Śesha or Ananta the World Serpent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
         Vāsuki, the King of Serpents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
         Takshaka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
         Dhritarāshṭra Airāvata (Elāpattra) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
         Karkotaka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
         Śankha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
         Maṇi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

VI. THE WATER-SPIRITS OF THE HAPPY VALLEY The "Happy Valley" is a traditional poetic name for the Valley of Kashmir. . . . . . . . . . . 220

         Madhyāntika rescues the land of Kashmir from the Nāga . 232
         The Arhat Arhat: A Buddhist saint or holy person who has attained enlightenment Madhyandina rescues the land of Kashmir from the Nāga . 233
         How the land of Kashmir was rescued from the wicked demon "Water
                  born" This likely refers to the demon Jalodbhava, whose name means "Born of Water." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
         How Kashmir was settled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
         How the town of Chandrapura was submerged . . . . . . . . 240
         The destruction of Narapura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
         How King Meghavāhana fettered the Nāgas . . . . . . . . . . 243
         The King, the Nāga, and the magician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
         The Dard Dard: An ethnic group living in the mountainous regions of northern India and Pakistan. chieftain punished by the Nāga . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

VII THE NĀGAS AS THEY SURVIVE IN WORSHIP AND LEGEND . . . . 247

         Nāg Pāl of Bhadarvāh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
         The destruction of Dughānagar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
         How the Nāgas provided Tinan with springs . . . . . . . . . . 254
         How the eighteen Nāgs of Kuḷū were born . . . . . . . . . . . 256
         Basheru of the Simla Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
         The legend of Gūgā . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
         The Festival of the Nāgas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

         Additional Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
         Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289