Nagaraja

Nagaraja
Statue of the Naga King at Dasavatara Temple
Devanagari	नागराज
Sanskrit transliteration	Nāgarāja
Affiliation	Nāga
Abode	Earth

Nāgarāja "King of the nāga" (Sanskrit: नागराज nāgarāja; Wylie: klu'i rgyal po) is a figure commonly appearing in Indian religions.

Hindu texts refer to three main deities by this title, Shesha, Takshaka, and Vasuki, the children of the rishi Kashyapa and of Kadru, who are the parents of all nāgas.

Shesha, also sometimes known as Ananta, is the eldest brother, is a devotee of Vishnu, and represents the friendly aspect of snakes, as they save food from rodents. Lord Vishnu is always on continuous meditation (Yoganidra) with Ananta forming a bed for him, and this posture is called Ananta-Sayana.

Vasuki, the younger one is a devotee of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva always wears Vasuki around his neck. Vasuki also has a sister named Manasa.

Takshaka represents the dangerous aspect of snakes, as they are feared by all due to their venom.

An ancient temple of nagraj or snake god Vasuki is in gujarat's surendranagar district's "Thangadh" town. Thangadh's land is also known as land of snake.People do worship Vasuki nag as the rustic god of Thangadh.

At Nagercoil in Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, a temple dedicated to Nagaraja exists.

There is another famous temple named Mannarasala in Alleppey district of Kerala. The deity in this temple embodies both Anantha and Vasuki into one. A temple devoted to nagraja exists in kaippattoor of Ernakulam distinct in Kerala, India. It is known as thekkanattil nagaraja kshetram.