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Naga
Patala (Underworld)
Danger Level: 6/10
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Abilities
ShapeshiftingWater ControlTreasure Guardianship
Lore & Legend
Serpent Lords of Patala
Nagas are a people more than a single beast: Vasuki, Shesha, Takshaka. They hold Patala, marry humans, and guard jewels. The Mahabharata burns them in Janamejaya's snake-sacrifice; the Bhagavata Purana seats Shesha under Vishnu. Buddhist and Jain canons keep their own naga-kings.
Danger varies with the tale. Some nagas rain; some bite kings.
Primary Sources
“The nagas, sons of Kadru, dwell in Patala; Vasuki became the churning-rope, and Takshaka bit King Parikshit.”