Rivalry and Jealousy
I’ll tell you a story about the origin of the Nāga.
One of the sons of Brahmā is Marīci. His son is Kaśyapa, the “genetic engineer of the universe.” Kaśyapa married 13 sisters. With each wife he produced different species of offspring, from gods to insects.
According to Mahābhārata (Adi.16), one wife, Kadru, wanted to have many, many children; while another wife, Vinata, desired only two very powerful children. Kadru laid 1000 eggs which quickly hatched into so many different varieties of serpents, the foremost of whom were the Nāga. Vinata laid two eggs which took a very long time to hatch. One of the children became Aruṇa, who drives the chariot of the Sun and shields the world from the fury of his heat. The other was the gigantic King of Eagles, Garuḍa, who became the associate and carrier of Viṣṇu.
Kadru was jealous of the power her husband allotted to her sister’s two children, and devised a plan to ruin her. She made a bet: “I bet you that the color of the tail of the divine horse that emerged from the ocean of milk is not white! If I am right, you and your children are my slaves. If you are right, my children and I are your slaves.” Kadru, however, rigged the bet, by asking her black serpent children to mix into the hair of the horse’s tail. The serpents who refused their mother’s request on moral grounds became a separate, special branch of the Nāga race. The rest of the serpents mixed into the hair, making it appear black. Vinata thus lost the bet and became a servant of Kadru.
It was then that Garuḍa hatched from his egg, born into slavery. He submitted but developed hatred of the serpents as a result. Eventually, he asked the Nāga, “How can I be released of this debt to you?”
“Bring us soma, the nectar of immortality!” They replied.
Garuḍa “stole” soma from the Gods, but conspired with their king, Indra, so that Indra reclaimed the soma before the serpents had a chance to drink it. Garuḍa was freed from servitude the moment he placed the nectar before the Nāga. As Indra appeared from out of nowhere to snatch back the elixir, drops of it splashed onto the kuśa grass, which is sharp like a razor blade. The Nāga became very powerful by licking up these drops, but also split their tongues on the sharp grass in the process.
Āśleṣā has an inherent weakness towards deception and jealousy, owing to the fact that its deity was born into such an environment.
21 сен 2024
