Nagaraja
Nāgarāja "King of the nāga" (Sanskrit; Wylie: klu'i rgyal po ) is a figure commonly appearing in Indian religions.
Hinduism
Hindu texts refer to three main deities by this title, Shesha, Takshaka, and Vasuki, the children of the rishi Kashyapa and of Kadru, who are the parents of all nāgas.
Shesha, Vasuki, and Takshaka
Shesha, also sometimes known as Ananta, is the eldest brother, was a devotee of Vishnu, and represents the friendly aspect of snakes, as they save food from rodents. Lord Vishnu is always on continuous meditation (Yoganidra) with Ananta forming a bed for him, and this posture is called Ananta-Sayana.
Vasuki, the younger one was a devotee of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva always wears Vasuki around his neck. Vasuki also has a sister named Manasa.
Takshaka represents the dangerous aspect of snakes, as they are feared by all due to their venom.
Temples
At Nagercoil in Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, a temple dedicated to Nagaraja exists.
There is another famous temple named Mannarasala in Alleppey district of Kerala. The deity in this temple embodies both Anantha and Vasuki into one. A temple devoted to nagraja exists in kaippattoor of Ernakulam distinct in Kerala, India. It is known as thekkanattil nagaraja kshetram.
A temple devoted to Nagaraja exists in Poojappura of Thiruvananthapuram District in Kerala, India. It is known as Poojappura Nagarukavu Temple. The uniqueness of this temple is that here the family of the Nagaraja including Nagaramma, Queen of Naga and Nagakanya, Princess of the Naga kingdom is placed inside a single temple.
See also
References
- H.Oldenberg: TheVinaya Pitakam. London 1879, pp. 24–25
External links
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