A Note on the Role of Nāgas in Ancient Indian Epic : especially in the two stories of the Ādi-parvan of the Mahābhārata
Authors:   Korean Institute for uddhist Studies, Ryoo Hyun Jung 
Published: September 2023

This paper examines the role of nāgas, mythical beings with serpentine features, in the Ādi-parvan of the Mahābhārata (Mbh). In the epic period, nāgas were repositioned as semi-divine beings with typical characteristics in the Hindu pantheon, and some narratives depicted them as the subject of immense sacrifice. This paper analyzes two nāga narratives in the Mbh: the birth of the nāga race and Āstīka’s salvation of nāgas from Janamejaya's snake-sacrifice (sarpa-sattra).
The first narrative integrates nāgas and Garuḍa, a bird-like creature, into the offsprings of Kaśyapa’s two wives, Kadrū and Vinatā. This depicts them as beings belonging to the same paternal lineage. The subsequent narratives dealing with the conflict between nāgas and Garuḍa, and Garuḍa's theft of amṛta (an elixir of immortality) are also connected to the existing independent mythical elements of the Vedas or Brāhmaṇas. These narratives are situated in a new system through their birth narratives in the epic.
Nāgas and Garuḍa play somewhat different roles in the formation of a hierarchy of Hindu mythology centered on Viṣṇu, the supreme deity. Nāgas are depicted as menacing beings that need to be subdued, while Garuḍa attains the status of Viṣṇu's vāhana (vehicle) and establishes a predator-prey relationship with nāgas by making them his food under the grace of Indra, the king of the devas. The difference of the final blessing verses which are placed at the end of each story also indirectly reflects their mythical hierarchy or their roles.
The second narrative, which deals with Janamejaya's snake-sacrifice and Āstīka's salvation of nāgas, is closely related to the Mbh's main plot as a frame story. In particular, Takṣaka, the king of nāgas, is one of the significant characters that acts as a link of different narratives and constitutes the core of the mythical narrative. Takṣaka's deeds and status centered on the snake sacrifice are at the intersection of two narratives: the Bhārata war and the tradition of nāgas.
Janamejaya, who is in an antagonistic position with Takṣaka and is also one of the key characters of the frame narrative of the Mbh, performs two roles in those nāga stories. One is a descendant of the Bhārata clan and the other is a patron of the snake-sacrifice. By performing these two roles of ‘succession of Bhārata race’ and ‘eliminating threatening enemies’, he demonstrates how two independent traditions are merged in the Mbh's frame narrative. At this point, nāgas are regarded as having represented authority before the Bhārata story's appearance and, moreover, are configured as threatening enemies to be vastly sacrificed. Āstīka, on the other hand, who is configured as a savior of the nāga clan, was born between a Brahmin sage and a maiden of the nāga clan. This symbolically represents the combination of Veda and non-Veda traditions.
In conclusion, Mbh's nāga narratives in Ādi-parvan can be cited as a good example of how independent traditions were incorporated into the epic and found their place in the mythological structure of the new system.