Vasuki

Vāsuki is the second king of serpents in Hindu and Buddhist religion. He is described as having a gem called Nagamani on his head. Manasa, another naga, is his sister. Vāsuki is Shiva's snake. He is known in Chinese and Japanese mythology as being one of the "eight Great Dragon Kings" (八大龍王 pinyin: Bādà lóngwáng; Japanese: Hachidai Ryūō),[3] amongst Nanda (Nāgarāja), Upananda, Sāgara (Shakara), Takshaka, Balavan, Anavatapta and Utpala.

The multi-hoodeded Vasuki wrapped around the Mount Mandara, during Samudra manthan, the churning of the ocean of milk. ca 1760
For other uses, see Vasuki (disambiguation).

Vāsuki
King of Sārpas[1]
The serpent Vasuki is coiled around the neck of god Shiva.
AffiliationNāga
AbodeEarth
SymbolsNagamani
Personal information
ParentsKadru(mother), Kashyap(Father)
SiblingsManasa, Shesha
ConsortShatashirsha[2]

Nagamani of narmatha

Vāsuki is famous for coiling around Lord Shiva's neck, who blessed and wore him as an ornament.

Vāsuki took part in the incident of Samudra manthana by allowing both the devas and the asuras to bind him to Mount Mandara, so that they could use him as their churning rope to extract the Amrita from the ocean of milk.[4] Vasuki is also mentioned in other Hindu scriptures, such as Ramayana and Mahabharata.

In the Buddhist religion, Vāsuki and the other Nāga Kings appear in the audience for many of Gautama Buddha's sermons. The duties of the Nāga Kings included leading the nāgas in protecting and worshiping the Buddha, as well as protecting other enlightened beings.

Vāsuki's Naga priest is Tatig Naga.

Descendants

Vāsuka/Vāsuca temple is found near Mannarasala in Kerala and also Visakha district in Andhra Pradesh. The very powerful Kukke Subramanya temple in Karnataka, is where Lord Subramanya offered protection to Vasuki from the attack of Garuda, who is the king of birds and also Lord Visnu's disciple. They claim that their ancestors were Nāga serpents spared when the Khandava Forest (modern day Delhi) was burnt and cleared by Krishna and the Pandavas to make way for their capital Indraprastha.[5]

See also

Bibliography
  • Handa, Om Chanda (2004), Naga Cults and Traditions in the Western Himalaya, Indus Publishing, ISBN 978-8173871610

References
  1. Handa 2004, p. 91.
  2. "The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Bhagwat Yana Parva: Section CXVII".
  3. "Eight great dragon kings - Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia".
  4. Jones, Constance (2007). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. New York: Infobase Publishing. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-8160-5458-9.
  5. Social History of Kerala: The Dravidians By L. A. Krishna Iyer p.003
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