Nāga

Nāgas are semi-divine entities in Hindu mythology typically with the head of a human and the body of a serpent. They have precious stones in their heads. Unknown. (1972). "nāga", in Leach, M. (ed) Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. 3rd ed. pp.780
== Origin ==
The Nāgas were originally a tribe from Sri Lanka and southern India, notable for worshipping serpents. They were demonised by early Hindu groups, along with the Rakshasas and Yakshas. 
== Myths ==
The Nāgas were originally born to Kadrū and Kaśyapa, with the intention being for them to inhabit Pātāla (the Kashmir Valley). 
While they are not predisposed to antagonising humans, nāgas retaliate when harmed. They are immortal (and can grant immortality to others), and also have a deadly venom. 
In the Mahābhārata, the story of Hanamejaya is recounted, wherein he attempted to destroy the nāgas through a great snake sacrifice before being talked out of it. 
The nāgas live in the underwater city of Bhagavati, with its jewel-encrusted palaces. Around the city there are flowers, dancing, and city. The women are beautiful, well-dressed, and incredibly knowledgeable and charming. They are known to occasionally marry mortals, with many (minor) royal families in southern and western India and Pakistan claiming descent from a nāgīnī. 
In the Buddhist tradition, the Buddha's almsbowl was a gift from the nāgas, and the Nāga Rājā Mucilinda protected him from a storm. 
In the Jātaka and Kathā Sarit Sāgara, the nāga kings are Takshaka and Vāsuki. Another nāga is Śesha, a thousand-headed nāga who either serves as Vishnu's couch and canopy, or supports the world with his thousand hoods. Śesha is also depicted as being able to assume the form of a human called Balarāma. The mortal enemy of the nāgas is Garuda. 
Vāsuki had leprosy, so his daughter acquired some amṛita, and cured his whole body save for his thumb. When she went to get more to cure his thumb, she was abducted by the Pāṇḍavas, causing his thumb to remain leprous. This serves as an explanatory story for why leprosy was historically common in the Punjab. 
In Nepal, there is a legend about King Gunkāmdeva who conquered the nāgas. Each gave him a self-portrait drawn in their own blood, and told him that worshipping the portraits would cause rain, leading to the tradition that has survived into the present of worshipping nāga pictures during droughts. St. Gorakhnāth sealed nine nāgas in a hill, causing a twelve-year drought. In the modern day, the naga king Kārkoṭaka is believed to control the weather. 
In India, and Bangladesh, serpents are associated with life, and are worshipped in many Hindu and Buddhist regions. Nāga statues are often placed at the entrances of temples to serve as door guardians. The Gaddī of the Punjab make offerings of beestings, male goat kids and lambs, and the first fruits to the nāgas. In Mysore, cobra effigies are placed at the entrances of most towns. 
== References ==
Category:Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend
Category:Nagas