N?ga
Nāga (Skt., ‘snake’; the Nāgās are derived from a different root).
1. In Indian mythology nāga is both snake and elephant, but especially mythical serpents. Sometimes nāgas are half-human and half-snake.
2. Devotees of an Indian snake cult, especially in the south, Bengal and Assam.
3. In Buddhism, Nāga is a half-human, half-divine figure. Mahānāga (Great Nāga) is an epithet of the Buddha and all who have passed beyond rebirth. In Tibetan Buddhism, nāgas are water deities who protect Buddhist scriptures until humans are ready to receive them.
4. A people and their country, in E. Assam, never fully assimilated into Hindu culture.
1. In Indian mythology nāga is both snake and elephant, but especially mythical serpents. Sometimes nāgas are half-human and half-snake.
2. Devotees of an Indian snake cult, especially in the south, Bengal and Assam.
3. In Buddhism, Nāga is a half-human, half-divine figure. Mahānāga (Great Nāga) is an epithet of the Buddha and all who have passed beyond rebirth. In Tibetan Buddhism, nāgas are water deities who protect Buddhist scriptures until humans are ready to receive them.
4. A people and their country, in E. Assam, never fully assimilated into Hindu culture.
More From encyclopedia.com
NEARBY TERMS
N?ga