6 Mysterious Temples Of Nag devatas In India

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The Snakes are generally referred to as Naga Devtas. Vasuki, Asktika, Manasa, Sheshnag, and Kalinga are the primordial divine snakes. People respect and worship snakes for getting the blessings of fertility and progeny. Nag devata is believed to take care of children and any problem related to children is mitigated by worshipping Nag Devata. Although they are ferocious, they are believed to possess some powers and they are not to be messed with.

Scriptures say that one incurs sarpa dosha and curse of snake if he or she has killed or harmed a snake or even if his or her forefathers have killed snakes. One must also not see serpent dying or serpents fighting with each other as it causes snake dosha. They are the divine caretakers of health and progeny and bless people when worshipped.

People worship snakes during Naga Panchami and Naga Chaturthi. Naga Panchami falls on the Panchami of shravan month whereas Naga Chaturthi falls on the previous day. There is a huge crowd of devotees gathered in major snake temples in India during festivals of Nag devatas in temples dedicated to them. Here is a description of five such mysterious temples of Nag Devatas in India.

1. Bhujang Nag Temple, Gujarat

Bhujang Nag temple is in Kutch Gujarat. On the outskirts of Bhuj, there lies a fort called Bhujiya which is dedicated to Bhujanga or naga clan. A temple was built on the Bhujiya hills to honour the Bhujanga Clan. A fair is organized during Naga Panchami near the Bhujanga temple.

The local legend says that bhujang nag saved Kutch from the oppression of daityas and that it came all the way from Than in Kathiawar to achieve this feat.

2. Kukke Subramanya Temple, Karnataka

Lord Subramanya, Lord Vasuki, and Lord Shesha are worshipped in Kukke Subramanya temple. Surrounded by Kumar parvata on all sides and situated on the banks of the Kumaradhara River, it is believed that these divine snakes have taken shelter in the Subramanya caves. This is the place for removal of Kala sarpa dosha. The temple is in South Kanara, in the village Subramanya where serpents abound. Built by Sandur Royal family and dedicated to Subramanya, it is considered as a major pilgrimage center in the state.

Malekudiya tribe were earlier inhabitants of this region. Once there was a fire that broke out in these hills. The same tribe carried serpents in baskets to a safe place which is why this place is called Kukke subramanya. Kukke means basket in Kannada. Relief from all sorts of Naga dosha can be experienced if Pooja is offered to Muruga who is merged with Vasuki. Devotees also offer other types of puja namely sarpa samskara and so on.

3. Mannarasala Temple, Kerala

The largest 3000 year old snake temple in India, Mannarsala temple is located in Alleppey district, Kerala. Nagaraja is the chief presiding deity here. People can find around 30000 stone idols of snakes with in the compound of the temple. The devotee base mainly consists of newly-weds and childless couples seeking blessings for progeny in this temple.

Parashurama is known to have created it. The deity is not just seshnag but a manifestation of Vasuki also. The priest of this temple is a lady from the Namboodiri community who dedicates her life to the service of the God in this temple. The major festival celebrated here is known as Aayilyam that coincides with the Aayilyam star in the month of Thulam (October-November).

4. Naganathaswamy Temple, Tamil Nadu

Tirunageshwaram in Kumbakonam is a holy place that is home to the temple of Naganathaswamy. It is a famous shiva and rahu sthalam. According to scriptures, the famous primordial snakes like Adishesha worshpped Lord Shiva here. Hence this village came to be known as Thirunageswaram.

Adisesha is known to have penanced here. Since this area has a lot of Shenbaga trees, this place is addressed as Senbaranya Kshetram. Shiva gaved a darshan to Adisesha here and blessed him with a boon and hence Shiva bore the name Naganatha.

5. Sheshnag Temple, Jammu & Kashmir

Situated on the eastern bank of Mansar lake, Sheshnag temple is visited and worshipped by pilgrims before visiting Amarnath cave. As per the scriptural legends, Sheshnag built this temple near the lake Pahalgam and even lives here. Pilgrims going to the Amarnath Cave visit the temple and worship Sheshnag. This is not a temple with regular features like shikhara etc.

It is just a large boulder on which some iron chains representing small serpents are seen. Newlyweds do three parikramas here to gain Sheshnag's blessings. It was in the Sheshnag lake that Lord Shiva removed all the snakes around his body so that he can tell Parvati the secret to his immortality. Snakes were removed from his body so that no one will be able to hear the secret.