In early India, Hindu myth identified the Dragon with nature, images of the Dragon were represented by the form of the snake and crocodile, such as the makara. One Hindu dragon is similar to the Ouroboros' seemingly endless representation with its tail in its mouth, the Hindu dragon serpent circles the tortoise which supports the four elephants that carry the world. Hindu serpents often wear blood red rubies of immortality on their heads and are identified with earth's intestines.
Hindus believe that at the end of every Kalpa or universal manifestation, all things are reabsorbed into Deity and the interval between creations. Sesha a serpent of duration is also called Ananta. The snake's constant renewal of its skin and vigour, continued youth and eternity is a symbol of immortality.
ANANTA the Infinite, is the serpent mother who embraced Vishnu and other gods during their dead phase. Kundalini, sleeps coiled in the lotus at the base of the spine, rises through chakras bringing infinite wisdom. When Ananta is understood, she will climb to the forehead where illusion will fall from the inner eye to reveal the Golden Embryo of Life.
KUNDALINI, the female serpent, resembles the archaic Egyptian serpent-mother said to have created the world. At the beginning of the universe, Kundalini uncoiled in a spiral line representing death and rebirth. This symbolised the movement into the disappearing-point of formlessness and out of it again, into a new world of form. Spirals therefore appear on tombs, as one of the world's first mystical symbols.
VITRA, is an Indian serpent dragon from Vedic (Hindu - Sanskrit) mythology. Vitra absorbed the cosmic waters, causing drought and then laid in coils upon the mountain side. Indra killed Vitra with a bolt of lightning, releasing the waters thus starting the monsoon. Vitra is sometimes interpreted as a personification of winter, as the slaying of winter releases the frozen waters. Vitra is also known as Vritra, or Ahi
KADRU, the Hindu, Indian serpent Goddess gave birth to all Nagas.
NAGA dragons originated in India, have a human head with a serpent body and no wings. The magical Naga can shape-shift from human to snake form. As water serpents they guard great treasures of precious stones and books of secret teachings in underwater places. Naga, the word derives from Sanskrit and means "Serpent", it is considered one of the few of words surviving from the first universal language. In Buddhism, the Serpent has always symbolised Wisdom. The East Indian pantheon associates the Naga with Serpent Spirits and Dragon Spirits, the patrons of water and clouds that can cause flooding or drought if disturbed. Esoteric tradition considers the Naga synonymous with Adepts, or Initiates.
NAGARJUNA has the halo or aura, of seven serpents indicating a high degree of Initiation. The symbolism of seven serpents, usually cobras, also appear on Masonic aprons of Buddhistic ruins in Ceylon and Cambodia (Ankhor), where the avenue leading to the Temple of Ankhor Wat is lined with the seven-headed Naga and the temple builders were considered semi-divine Khmers.
Naga has an equivalency to the Burmese Nats, or god-serpents. In Tibet, a place that has no serpents, the Naga are still known in a symbolic sense and are called "Lu!" (Naga). Nagarjuna called in Tibetan, Lu-trub.
KUANYIN, Goddess of Compassion evolved from a Zen priest's continued devotion to the Dragon.
The story in Mahabharata, an epic Indian poem, portrays a hero seeking immortality who visits the underworld "city of serpents" where the dual Mother of Life and Death weaves a web of nights and days with white thread, binding them with the red thread of life.
In Hindu tradition, all great snakes carry blood red rubies of immortality in their heads, the red jewel symbolising drop of blood.
Indra, God of thunder, pierced a cloud with his thunderbolt, causing the cloud to split and flood the dry earth with rain. The cloud symbolises dragon's breath and the hot breath represents the hot winds of drought.
