Nāga

In various Asian religious traditions, the Nagas are divine or semi-divine beings that blend human and serpentine characteristics. These mythological entities typically dwell in Patala (the netherworld) and are also recognized as dragons and water spirits. A female naga is referred to as a Nagin or Nagini, while their descendants are known as Nagavanshi.

According to mythology, Nagas were born to the sage Kashyapa and his wife Kadru. Rituals honoring these supernatural beings have been practiced throughout South Asia for at least two millennia. They appear in three primary forms in artistic and literary representations: as humans with snakes adorning their heads and necks, as ordinary serpents, or as hybrid creatures with human upper bodies and snake lower bodies in Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

The ruler of the nagas bears the title Nagaraja. These beings hold significant cultural importance in the mythologies of many South and Southeast Asian societies. Several communities, including the Nagavanshi, Khmer, and Eelamese peoples, claim ancestral connections to this mystical race.