Nga god snake

Nāga is an animal in Hindu tradition with a solid body often described with many scary heads: beard, dog's muzzle, protruding eyes and human-like.

>>>The poisonous snakes in Vietnam
>>> Interesting things about snakes

In Indian and Southeast Asian legends, Nâga snakes are underground inhabitants who guard the treasures. Its enemy is the giant Garuda falcon, but in fact Nâga and Garuda are just two incarnations of Vishnu, two aspects of divinity.

The most famous Nâga is Ananta that Vishnu sits on in the middle of the time when the world is destroyed and the creation of a new world. Nāga is the guard and guard, the mediator between heaven and earth, the messenger between the living world and the afterlife, sometimes combined with the rainbow (Buddha descends from the sky with a rainbow staircase , 2 handrails are 2 Nga snakes).

At Angkor (Angkor-Thom, Prah Khan, Banteai Chmar) there are roads with the Nga solid railing symbolizing that rainbow, and the thunder god and Indra rain at the head. In the Khmer symbol, the male Nga snake has the odd number of heads and the female snake has an even number of heads. At some of the door arches of Angkor symbolize the door to the upper realm with the spirit of Indra and Makara spitting out two Nga snakes.

In Cambodian fairy tales and legends, Nāga snakes can borrow the form of people traveling underground, swimming in the water or flying in the sky. Malaysia also gives fertility and women fertility.

People find many legends about the Nāga snake in Indian mythology and Buddhism. Nâga's kingdom consists of rivers and lakes and the sea. There, these royal animals live in luxurious palaces decorated with pearls and gems. Nâga is not only a man who protects the life force of water, but also coral, shellfish and pearls. It carries a jewel on its head. The curving shape of Nâga creates arches around the pillars, railings around the lakes and paths. These paths are often referred to as "Nga bridges" , but in all cases long bodies represent rainbows connecting heaven and earth.

The popularity of the Nāga snake in Khmer art comes from the pre-Indian beliefs about souls living underground and in the country. With the expansion and dispersion of Indian beliefs among Khmer tribes 2,000 years ago, the Indian symbol created an abundance of ways to express those souls as well as the ability to integrate with beliefs. local and the legends of Hinduism and Buddhism.

Genealogies of many Khmer kings reach us through the songs of Sanskrit carved on stone steles. Many kings claim to be descendants of the combination of a Brahmin god with a half-snake and half-woman, Nagga is also the descendant of a snake king.

In Indian mythology, the world cycle is divided into 4 kalpa (period). After being created, through 14 stages will lead to the end of the world. In the sixth phase of the present period, the gods and demons will fight for world domination, but there is a time of temporary reconciliation to take from the ocean of amrita, the immortal medicine. This stage is called "sea milk" and Mandara mountain is used as an axis. Nâga Vasuki snakes around the mountain, gods and demons pull each side to beat (milk) the ocean of milk and take out the remedy.

At the end of a period will come to destroy. First, the power of Vishnu is in the form of the sun drying out all life on earth. Then the god has the form of wind, sucking out the air and spraying fire to burn everything to ash. After that, the god turned into clouds and poured the rain of milk from the cosmic ocean down. The ash of creation is retained and dissolved in the ocean, including the moon and stars. It is also a period of darkness that lasts as long as the day. God Vishnu takes human form and sleeps on top of Ananta or Sesha's first Nga 5 snake.

Nga's enemy is the Garuda falcon and they are often drawn together as rivals, Nâga snakes in Garuda's claws.

Nga is also present in Buddha's life. While Buddha was meditating, a violent storm rose up to raise water. The seven-headed King Muchalinda appeared from the roots of the trees, wrapped into seven rings and then covered his head with the Buddha until the water drained. Many Buddha paintings sitting on the Nga snake became popular in Khmer art from the 11th century and especially in the late XII century, when Khmer kings introduced Buddhism into the country.

The Nga Snake symbolizes the period of time like the Greek of Ouroboros. Perhaps it should be noted that the similarity between Nga and Uraeus, the cobra on the pharaoh's forehead, the animal concentrates on the sun's characteristics, brings life and proliferation, but can also be killed by drying. withered or burned. Many legends speak of a snake in the underground world (Celte's Vouivre snake or a snake-bird god of South America).