Excuse me, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, you often see several snakeheads or faucets. What are they? Is there any story or culture?

Naga is a word in Sanskrit and Pali, which refers to a mysterious creature in legend. This creature looks like a giant snake with one or more heads; Its image often appears in Brahmanism, Hinduism and Buddhist classics. When Buddhism was introduced to China, Naga was equated with the legendary dragon in China, or Tianlong.

Naga in Hinduism

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The legend of Guanaja is still a part of the traditional culture of many Asian countries (such as India, Nepal and some Southeast Asian countries) influenced by Indian civilization. In India, the naga is regarded as a spiritual creature, a spring.

The patron saint of water, well water and rivers. They can make rain (similar to dragons in China), thus bringing a bumper harvest; But it will also bring disasters such as floods and droughts. The representative story is the legend of the giant snake Frido blocking water. have

There is a saying that Naga will only cause disaster if it is treated disrespectfully by human beings. Because the image of Naga is associated with water, the entrance to the underground palace where they live is often considered to be located in wells, lakes and rivers.

The bottom of the stream. The worship of Naga is particularly popular in southern India, and locals believe that Naga will bring a bumper harvest to worshippers.

The story of Naga has been mentioned in ancient Vedic literature. Varuna, the god of the universe and the master of the river in the Vedas, is regarded as the king of Naga, and his attribute may be due to his relationship with water. Among the hundred books of Taoism,

Speaking of it, the Naga clan is descended from Jia and Jia Delu (daughter of Dasha). The most famous myth about Naga is the story of stirring the milk sea. It is said that the gods (devas) joined hands with Asura to get immortal nectar.

Together, they struggled to stir the sea of milk; They used Datura Mountain as a stirring rod and Suu Kyi, Wang Po and Naga as ropes, and finally succeeded in obtaining the nectar of immortality. This myth has been mentioned in past books and Mahabharata. Except po sugyi.

In addition, the famous Naga also includes Shesha (Vishnu's faithful partner) and Monadi (the goddess of harvest).

Naga in Buddhism

Because Buddhism was also introduced

The traditional concept of naga in India is no stranger to naga in Asian countries and regions where Buddhism originated. In these places, the image of Naga originally belonging to India is often similar to that in local legends.

Things (especially giant snakes or dragons) are mixed together. In Tibet, people equate Naga with the local legend "Lu", a creature that lives at the bottom of a lake or underground water, just like the dragon in the western legend.

Guard the treasure. China Buddhism usually translates Naga as "dragon"; Of course, the dragon in Buddhism is not the dragon in China traditional culture.

Buddhism believes that the dragon is one of the so-called eight dragons. Tianlong Babu is the patron saint of Buddhism, especially all beings in Tianlong Babu take it as their duty to defend Buddhism. When someone really practices Buddhism, Longbu sentient beings will be sent down to protect the practitioners. But Buddhism also mentioned the existence of "disobedient" dragons.

According to Buddhist legend, Naga and Dapeng Golden-winged Birds are both part of the Eight Dragons, and they are sworn enemies (this comes from Brahmanism mythology). Golden-winged birds feed on Naga: "Dragons are different from eggs, fetuses, wet and metaplasia, and are swallowed by four kinds of golden-winged birds: eggs, fetuses, wet and metaplasia." But Naga was poisonous, so the goldfinch was finally poisoned. Similar legends also appear in Hindu mythology.

Buddhism mentioned some important names of Naga (Dragon King):

"There are seven dragon kings, such as Xiangmian, Poxiuji, Degas, Putuo Luo and so on. Those who are resentful, remember Ford and follow the law, so they don't suffer from hot summer wind and sand, but rain on time with kindness to make the world's grains mature. "

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