Arulmiku Sri Nagaraja Temple Nagercoil Tamil Nadu

Description

The temple of Sri Nagaraja in Nagarcoil is dedicated to the serpent king of the underworld known as Nagaraja. Due to the fact that the temple worships the king of the snakes, the majority of the temple is dotted with snake statues and sculptures, and also has two giant snake statues posing as guards at the temple entrance. The temple celebrates the powerful nagas of India, and their ability to grant life as well as take it away. The temple also has a number of Jain tirthankar images as decorations that are carved on the various pillars of the Sri Nagaraja Temple

History

While the year in which Sri Nagaraja Temple was built is not known, there have been references to nagas in the scriptures that date back ages, leading to the belief that the temple is immensely old. It is said that the King of Kalakkad visited the temple, seeking a cure for his leprosy. Upon completing his penance in front of the status of the serpent king, he was miraculously cured. In gratitude, the king ordered the repair and expansion of the temple, and made it into the current majestic structure that it is today.

Mythology

The celebration and veneration of nagas in the temple is simply incredible. Nagas have been closely involved with the Hindu gods over the years and have served them on numerous occasions. Shesha Naga is said to possess a 100 heads and balances the very world on himself, his coil serving as the bed for Lord Vishnu. Similarly, Vasuki Naga aided the god when the very seas needed to be churned, and offered himself to be used as a giant rope that could wrap itself around the behemoth mountains so that the gods and the demons could extract the riches hidden beneath the seas. According to Hindu mythology, nagas are different from regular snakes. They possess the ability to don human form, and are believed to be highly inquisitive in nature. They are also held as the protectors of treasures, as well as the nature, and there are many stories where nagas strike back against humans when the latter disturb the balance of the nature. Due to the fact that the temple pays tribute to the king of the nagas, it is said that poisonous snakes do not bite humans when they are near the temple. In the past years, the city has not seen even a single death from snake bite, and this holds true for an area of 5 km surrounding the temple.