Naga Durgai and Nagar at Dharamaraja Draoupadi Amma temple
Representing our culture and creed of inhabitants and their practice
The word naga is also used in Hindu literature to refer to distinguished persons (nagadhipa), certain place names, names of superior or semi-divine elephants (nagendra), female elephant (naganjana), a particular group of Saivite ascetics (nagababas), Ganesha (naganana), a womb related disease, a fragrant flower bearing tree (nagakesara), the name of a constellation (naganaksatram), chemicals (nagajam), precious stones (nagamani), festivals (nagapancami), flowers (nagamalli), names of trees, elephant catcher (nagabandhaka), a subterranean world (nagalokam), a snake maiden (nagakanya), and so on.
However, Hindu Puranas describe both male and female nagas as very charming and beautiful as the following image of a naga queen suggests. It is possible that there might be a connection between the ancient Indians and the ancient Indian tribes of Americas, since the American Continent was like the subterranean world for the people of the Indian subcontinent, being on the opposite side of the globe.
The Beautiful presence of
(1)Nagas (eternal breed of snakes),
(2) Nagar on Naga peedam (centre picture)
(3)Naagalingam flowers (cannonball tree, (Couroupita guianensis)) tree in vicinity, in one of medieval temple tucked in corporate jungle of old Coimbatore (Dharamaraja temple)
Ancient Indians both feared and revered the snakes. The tradition still continues. Hindus worship snakes in temples as well as in their natural habitats, offering them milk, incense, and prayers. In Christianity a snake symbolizes evil or Devil. In Hinduism the symbolism is much more complex. In Hindu ritual and spiritual tradition, a snake is not an evil creature but a divinity representing eternity as well as materiality, life as well as death, and time as well as timelessness. It symbolizes the three processes of creation, namely creation, preservation and destruction.
You will find references to snake deities in both Hindu folklore and literature. It is possible that Indus people worshipped snakes. They are also popularly associated with both Vishnu and Shiva and several other divinities, including Indra, who rides an elephant called Nagendra, the lord of the snakes, which is probably a reference to Indra’s control over the snake world. The Puranas mention several large serpentine deities like Kadru, Manasa, Vinata and Asitka. Vasuki the king of snakes, played a vital role in the churning of the oceans.
#coimbatorediaries #srinivasanramachandran
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