Indian Serpent Lore Or the Nagas in Hindu Legend And
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D.G.A. 79 9 INDIAN SERPENT-LOEE OR THE NAGAS IN HINDU LEGEND AND ART INDIAN SERPENT-LORE OR THE NAGAS IN HINDU LEGEND AND ART BY J. PH. A'OGEL, Ph.D., Profetsor of Sanskrit and Indian Archirology in /he Unircrsity of Leyden, Holland, ARTHUR PROBSTHAIN 41 GREAT RUSSELL STREET, LONDON, W.C. 1926 cr," 1<A{. '. ,u -.Aw i f\0 <r/ 1^ . ^ S cf! .D.I2^09S< C- w ^ PRINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN & SONS, LTD., FORE STREET, HERTFORD. f V 0 TO MY FRIEND AND TEACHER, C. C. UHLENBECK, THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED. PEEFACE TT is with grateful acknowledgment that I dedicate this volume to my friend and colleague. Professor C. C. Uhlenbeck, Ph.D., who, as my guru at the University of Amsterdam, was the first to introduce me to a knowledge of the mysterious Naga world as revealed in the archaic prose of the Paushyaparvan. In the summer of the year 1901 a visit to the Kulu valley brought me face to face with people who still pay reverence to those very serpent-demons known from early Indian literature. In the course of my subsequent wanderings through the Western Himalayas, which in their remote valleys have preserved so many ancient beliefs and customs, I had ample opportunity for collecting information regarding the worship of the Nagas, as it survives up to the present day. Other nations have known or still practise this form of animal worship. But it would be difficult to quote another instance in which it takes such a prominent place in literature folk-lore, and art, as it does in India. Nor would it be possible to name another country where the development of this cult can be studied during a period which may be estimated at no less than three millennia. During so vast a space of time the deified serpents have haunted the imagination of the people of Hind. But even more astonishing is the endless variety of aspect xmder which the Nagas appear in Indian literature and art. We meet, on the one hand, with the primitive type of the reptile endowed with the magic properties which we are wont to associate with the dragon of Western fable. On the other hand, the Naga frequently has the character of a water-spirit. Again, he may be able to assume any form he chooses, and commonly appears in human shape. In Brahmanical legend he may become a pious ascetic, in Buddhist lore he may even develop into a self-denying saint Very often these various types appear strangely blended. In the present volume it has been my object to collect the legends relating to the Nagas which are found in the Brahmanical and Buddhist literature of India. V' e do not pretend that in that gigantic body of literary tradition there may not be a Naga story which has escaped our notice. The three chief repositories of serpent -lore—the Mahabharata, the Jataka Book, and the Rajatarangini—have, at least, been fully utilized. But for the rest it is questionable whether much would have been gained by aiming at completeness. The stories here presented will certainly suffice to show the Nagas in that great variety of aspect to which reference has been made. As the story-tellers of ancient India were fond of indulging in repetition and detail. ; viii PEEFACE it appeared often unavoidable to curtail the narrative considerably. In doing so it has been our endeavour to retain something of the exotic flavour of the Eastern tale, and, in particular, to preserve any such features as may be of interest for our present subject. While freely utilizing existing translations we have not refrained from making such alterations as seemed to be called for either for the sake of philological accuracy or on account of the general style of the book. The sculptures reproduced in our plates have been partly selected for their aesthetic or airchaeological interest, partly because they illustrate the legends contained in the text. My obligations for assistance rendered in various ways are numerous. For the supply of photographs to illustrate my book, I am much indebted to Sir John Marshall, Kt., C.I.E., M.A., Litt.D., Director-General of Archaeology in India, and to the various officers of his Department ; to Sir Aurel Stein, Kt., C.I.E., Ph.D. ; to Mr. Eamaprasad Chanda, M.A., Officer in charge of the Archaeological Section, Imperial Museum, the Curators Calcutta ; to of the Provincial Museums at Lahore and Lucknow ; to Narasimhachar, late Director Mr. R. of Archaeological Researches, Mysore State ; to D. Bosch, Ph.D., Director of the Mr. F. K. Archaeological Survey of Netherlands-India ; Louis Finot, Directeur de to M. I’Ecole Fran9aise d’Extreme- Orient, Hanoi ; to Mr. C. Stanley Clarke, Curator Indian Section, Victoria and Albert Kensington Museum, South ; to JVIr. T. A. Joyce, of the British Museum, and to M. Delaporte, Conservateur, Musee du Trocadero, Paris. Among the persons who have helped me with information I wish to mention Mr. Dines Andersen, Ph.D., Professor of Pali in the University of Copenhagen Rev. T. Grahame Bailey, Ph.D. ; I\Ir. J. J. L. Dujwendak, Reader of Chinese in the University of Leyden ; Rev. A. H. Francke, Ph.D. ; Sir George Grierson, K.C.I.E., Ph.D., Litt.D., I.C.S. (ret.) ; Pandit Hirananda Sastri, M.A., M.O.L., Superintendent for Epigraphy Mr. Sten Konow, Ph.D., Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Kristiania ; ; Pandit Nityananda, Srinagar, Kashmir ; Babu Prayag Dayal, Curator Provincial Museum, M. J. Przyluski, Professeur a I’Ecole des Langues Orientales, Lucknow ; Paris ; IVIr, B. Principal Queen’s College, Benares Mr. A. Rose, I.C.S. (ret.) Sanjiva Eao, ; H. ; Jlr. H. (ret.) Lee Shuttleworth, I.C.S. ; M. Philippe Stem, Musee Guimet, Paris. My special thanks are due to Mrs. Kuenen-Wicksteed, and to my friend. Sir Thomas W. Arnold, C.I.E., Litt.D., Professor of Arabic in the University of London, for their great care in revising my manuscript. J. Ph. Vogel. CONTENTS OHAF. PAGE. Introduction .......... 1 I. The Nagas in the Great Epic 47 The origin of the Naga race ........ 49 The wager of Kadrii and Vinata ....... 50 The rape of the soma by Garuda ....... 51 The myth of Sesha, the World Serpent ...... 57 How the Nagas held council ........ 58 The hermit Jaratkaru and the snake-maiden Jaratkaru 59 The Brahmin Uttanka and the Serpent-king Takshaka 61 How King Parikshit was killed by the Naga Takshaka 66 The Serpent Sacrifice ......... 69 How the boy Bhimasena was healed of poison and saved by the Nagas 71 Arjuna and Ulupi ......... 74 Arjuna and Asvasena the son of Takshaka ..... 77 King Nala and the Naga Karkotaka ...... 80 Matali, the charioteer of Indra, in search of a son-in-law . 81 The Gleaner. Story of the wise and virtuous Naga Padmanabha who drew the one-wheeled chariot of the Sun-god 84 How Krishna overcame the Naga Kaliya ..... 87 How Akrura beheld the World of Serpents ..... 91 II. The Nagas and the Buddha 93 The Birth of the Bodhisattva ....... 95 The river Nairanjana ......... 97 The Bodhisattva extolled by the Naga Kahka ..... 98 How the Serpent-king Muchilinda sheltered the Lord Buddha . 102 The Nagaraja Elapa^tra questions the Buddha . • 105 How the Lord Buddha subdued the fiery dragon of Uruvilva 107 How a certain Naga was ordained as a Buddhist friar 110 How the Elder Svagata subdued the Naga of the Mango Ferry . 111 The Great Miracle of Sravasti ..... • 113 How the Nagarajas Krishna and Gautamaka came to hear the Good Law ....... .... 115 X CONTEOTS CHAP. PAGE How the Buddha crossed the river Gahga with the aid of the Nagas . 116 The Nagarajas Girika and Vidyujjvala banished bj King Bimbisara 118 How the Naga kings Mahodara and Chulodara were reconciled by the Buddha .......... 118 The Kaga Gopala appointed the guardian of the Buddha’s shadow 120 The Naga Apalala subdued by the Buddha 121 * The Sakya youth who married a snake-maiden and became king of Udyana 123 The Nagas obtain a share of the Buddha’s holy relics 125 The Stupa of Eamagrama guarded by the Nagas 127 The tooth-relic of the Buddha entrusted to the Nagas 130 III. The Nagas in the J.Itakas 132 The Naga and the birds ..... 136 The foolish raftsmen and the angry Naga 137 The story of Dardara the exiled Naga 137 How King Senaka received a charm from a Nagaraja 138 The story of the greedy merchants .... 139 The old well . 140 The Naga Bandura who let his secret out 141 How a Naga and a Suparna were reconciled through the holy influence of a hermit ....... 142 Vidhura the Wise 143 Prince Padma sheltered by a Naga 145 The pious layman and the barber 146 The hermit and the too tender Naga 148 The virtuous Naga Sahkhapala .... 150 The Naga Champaka who was caught by a snake-charmer. 151 The story of the wise and virtuous Naga Bhuridatta 154 IV. The Nagas in Fables and Fairy-tales . 166 The gold-granting snake and the poor Brahmin 173 The maiden that w'edded a snake . 174 The poet Gunadhya the son of a Naga 175 King Udayana of Vatsa and the wonderful lute 176 The story of the jealous Naga 177 % CONTENTS xi CHAP. PAGE The Naga who let his secret out ....... 178 The curse of a Naga ......... 178 The legend of Jimutavahana ....... 179 The story of Prince Sudhana . .184 The legend of the young Naga . .187 V. The Principal NagarIjas 190 Sesha or Ananta the World Serpent .