Vasuki
Vasuki is a nagaraja, one of the King serpents, who coils over Shiva's neck. He is the brother of Manasā and serves as an ornament and companion to Shiva.
↻ synthesized from 11 sources
When
- First attested
- 1500 BCE
- Attested period
- -1500 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Mentioned in the Mahabharata epic.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Airavata, Adishesha, Śeṣa, Śiva, Parvati, Heramba-Ganapati, Ekadanta, Lambodara, Mahodara, Bhalachandra, Rina-Mochana-Ganapati, Ekadanta-Ganapati, Chandi, Jaratkaru, Neto, Neta, Behula, Chand Sadagar, Anirudha, Lakhinder, Durga, Caṇḍikā, Kṛṣṇa Nagarjā, Ucchī, Vasudanta, Jākh, Ghaṇḍiyāl, Hayagriva, Nārada, Maya, Bali, Prahlada, Namuchi, Hemaka, Kalanemi, Vainateya, Kirmira, Naiṇī Devī, Sheshanāga, Vishnu, Daksha, Brahma, Vinata, Shitala, Renuka, Draupadi, Nagavalli, Paravataksha, Surasa, Susna, Astika, Indra, Patanjali, Kaliya, Hasan, Hiranyaksha, Karkotaka, Ulupi, Uṣas, Bhumi
- allied with
- Ganesha, Nanda, Sagara, Anavatapta, Upananda, Balavan, Utpala, Takshaka, Puloman, Elapatra, Kārtikeya
- aspect of
- Nāgas
- manifests as
- Mariamman
- enemy of
- Garuda
- served by
- Tatig Naga
Mentioned by
- Paravataksha
- Surasa
- Susna
- Astika
- Indra
- Patanjali
- Kaliya
- Hasan
- Hiranyaksha
- Karkotaka
- Ulupi
- Uṣas
- Bhumi
- Puloman
- Elapatra
- Kārtikeya
and 4 more
Sources
Source passages
“Vasuki is a nagaraja, one of the King serpents, who coils over Shiva's neck.”
#4691 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“The cosmic snake Shesha, the nagarajas (nāga kings) Vasuki, Takshaka, Airavata and Karkotaka, and the princess Ulupi, are all depicted in the Mahabharata.”
#10189 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread (IAST: yajñyopavīta) wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne.”
#23126 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“snakes are considered divine and protective, as seen in Shesha, and Vasuki.”
#35039 · extracted by deepseek/deepseek-chat
“Vasuki accepted Manasa as his sister, and granted her the charge of poison that was produced when King Prithu milked the Earth as a cow. When Shiva saw Manasa, he was attracted to her, but she proved to him that he was her father.”
#35075 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001