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

...called Kauravya, which means “the scion of the Kuru race.” Other royal names applied to Nāgas are Dhanañjaya and Ambarīsha; the former is a regular title original: "epithet" of the Pandava hero Arjuna, and the latter name is held by a king of the Ikshvāku dynasty original: "race", who appears in the legend of Śunahśepa according to the version found in the Rāmāyana. In the Tāndya-mahābrāhmana (xxv, 15) there is a passage in which a Nāga named Janamejaya, together with other Nāgas, is said to have performed a sacrifice. The name “Janamejaya” also appears at the end of a list of Nāgas in the Mahābhārata (Sabhā-p, ix, 10). We may also include the example of Nala, who is well-known as the hero of a famous episode in the Great Epic, but is also mentioned in the Ceylonese chronicle Mahāvamsa as a Serpent King original: Nāgarāja residing in Mañjerika.

If we might assume that in ancient India deceased rulers were sometimes worshipped in the form of snakes (a supposition which in itself seems quite plausible), this would present yet another aspect of serpent-worship. We possess, however, no archaeological or literary proof of such a custom. There certainly are legends about kings who were changed into snakes as a result of a curse and as a punishment for their evil deeds. A well-known example is the story of Nahusha, an ancient king who, after being raised to the throne of Indra, insulted the seven Sages in his arrogance. Being cursed by the sage Agastya, he was doomed to live as a snake for ten thousand years. ¹ The Rājataraṅgiṇī (i, 153–67) tells of a mighty monarch of Kashmir named Dāmodara, who wished to bring water to the plateau that is still known as Damdar Udar. Once, hungry Brahmins members of the priestly caste came to him and begged for food, but the king said: “I do not give food until I have bathed. Get yourselves gone!” original: sarpata, a verb meaning "to go" or "to crawl" Then they cursed him: “Be a snake!” original: sarpa, the word for snake, sharing the same linguistic root as the king's command And the chronicler adds: “Even to this day, people recognize him by the steam of his breath, which the curse has made hot, as he rushes about far and wide on the Damdar Udar in search of water.” ²

From the above, it is evident that a great divergence of opinion exists among scholars regarding the character of the Indian serpent-demons. Yet it might be said that each of the authorities quoted is right in a certain sense. The mistake common to them all is taking one special feature of serpent-worship and making it the sole basis of interpretation. It is impossible to solve the problem in such a one-sided manner. The French scholar Auguste Barth has rightly emphasized the complicated character...

¹ Although the name Nahusha appears in lists of Nāgas, he is usually represented as a large serpent of the python or boa type original: ajagara. His story is told at great length in the Mahābhārata (Udyoga-p., x–xviii; see also Vana-p, clxxviii–clxxxi). The legend has been explained as a solar myth by J. S. Speyer in The Myth of Nahusha original: Le Mythe de Nahusha, published in the Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress of Orientalists, held in 1883 at Leiden original: Actes du sixième congrès international des Orientalistes, tenu en 1883 à Leide. Part iii, section 2, pp. 81 ff.

² Rājataraṅgiṇī, translated by Stein, vol. i, pp. 29 f. The popular legend of King Dāmodara, as Sir Aurel Stein observes, is still current in Kashmir.