The female version of the Nagas is called Naginas. Waist upwards they are women and descend below into snakiness. Naginas are viewed by Hindus as holy creatures and worshipped not only in temples but in their natural habitats as well. Hindu mythology gives high status to Naginas or the Nagadevata. In Kundalini yoga (Hindu based yoga), serpent power is a popular practice in awakening and awareness in disciples.
Devotion for serpent goddesses is a tradition called snake worship which prevails in many cultures since ancient times especially in mythology and religion. Snakes have been considered as beings of renewal and strength in ancient cultures.
Snakes cast off their skin and are ‘reborn’ symbolically, due to which rebirth, death and mortality is primarily represented by them. Representations of Naginas and cobras are seen in carvings in many parts of India. Flowers and food is offered to the snake deities and lights are burned before their habitats.
A celibate priestess is known to carry the image of the serpent goddess in an annual procession. In India no one kills the Nagina snake intentionally and if in case it is killed accidentally, then it is burned like a human being. Snakes are worshipped in India in an important festival known as Nag Panchami, the fifth day of Shravana. Incense and milk are offered to the snakes by the devotee to gain wealth, knowledge and fame. Live snakes or a clay model of the serpent goddess is worshipped during this period. Worshippers believe that the snake deities have the power to cure illnesses and diseases in children.
