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Serpent figures in Hindu traditions can shelter a deity, carry a cosmic narrative or receive worship in a sacred grove. Their meanings emerge from these relationships. A naga in an image is therefore more than a general sign of fertility, danger or protection.
Naga is often translated as serpent or serpent being. Sacred narratives may give these beings names, personalities and divine roles. Understanding which one is present is a better starting point than treating every snake in Hindu art as interchangeable.
Vasuki and Ananta in the Gita
Bhagavad Gita 10.28 names Vasuki among serpents. The following verse names Ananta among nagas. Both appear in Krishna’s description of distinguished manifestations of divine splendour, yet they are named separately.
Swami Mukundananda’s commentary on 10.29 identifies Ananta as the divine serpent on whom Vishnu rests. The name evokes endlessness, and the figure belongs to a cosmic setting. This is a theological account, not the identification of an ordinary animal species.
Vasuki has his own place in sacred stories. Rather than assume that any hooded serpent beneath Vishnu is Vasuki, first consult the image’s label or the temple’s explanation. Similar forms do not erase different narrative identities.
Shesha in an identifiable image
The Met’s Vishnu and the Divine Serpent, also titled Shesh Narayana, is a print dated about 1900–1915. Vishnu sits with Lakshmi and Bhudevi on the serpent’s coils, while its multiple heads form a regal canopy.
The museum explains that the title joins Shesha’s name with Narayana, an epithet of Vishnu. Its description also notes the artist’s adaptation of a familiar divine-slumber narrative into a seated, royal presentation. The image is therefore a particular artistic interpretation, not a rule that every Vishnu-and-serpent image must share its pose.
The coils and hooded shelter can invite contemplation of support and divine presence. That reflection remains connected to the actual composition instead of assigning the same lesson to every serpent motif.
A regional tradition at Mannarasala
Kerala Tourism’s account of Mannarasala Ayilyam describes worship at Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple near Haripad in Alappuzha. Nagaraja means serpent king. The account gives a local origin narrative and describes a procession in which serpent images are taken to the ancestral house, the illam.
The presiding image is carried by the priestess known as Mannarasala Amma. That distinctive role shows why a regional observance deserves its own explanation. It should not be replaced by a generic claim that all serpent worship has the same sequence, priesthood or purpose.
The leaflet’s sacred stories include blessings associated with family life. They can be understood as devotional narrative without promising that an offering guarantees conception, cures illness or prevents a future misfortune.
Respect for image and animal
Worship of a serpent image is different from handling a living snake. Visitors should follow the shrine’s instructions and leave wildlife undisturbed. There is no need to capture, feed or approach an animal in order to understand a sacred story.
When learning about a naga, ask its name, its companions and the tradition in which it appears. This preserves the beauty of cosmic imagery and the particularity of living regional worship, while keeping reverence connected with care.