Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c11.s1.32

c11.s1.32

*Naga* NĀGA. The *naga*, or cobra, in relation to Indian religion and art is sufficiently well known to need no long description. We do not find in the later Sinhalese art the semi-human forms seen at Barāhat, Ajanta, or Anurādhapura. The Nāga Rāja, Ananta, is often referred to in Sinhalese poetry; the Nāga Mucalinda who sheltered the Buddha is often depicted or wrought (see Pl. XVIII.). In decoration we find the *naga* as a simple cobra, e.g., on woven cloths, embroidered on betel bags; in architecture as a protective symbol, e.g., the *naga bandha* or ‘cobra knop’ marking the transition from the square to the octagonal part of a wooden pillar.* The *naga poruva* is a whorl of cobras interlocked in succession, often seen on modern brass trays; the simple *naga paṭṭuva*, or pair of cobras with heads only entwined I have only once seen and then not quite obvious; but the *naga dangaya* (*daraṇa* or *dangaraya*) an elaborate entwining of two cobras is not very rare (Pls. VII., 6, and LII., 3); it is probably the same as Mr. Bell’s *naga-puṭuva* (for *paṭṭuva*) and *naga vriksha*; if so, it may also be called *naga paṭṭuva*, though I have never heard it. The form is well known in widely separated parts of India (see Journal of Indian Art, Vol V., Pl. 84), it is of interest as corresponding to, and perhaps the origin of the classical caduceus. The cobra’s hood is one of the 108 *magul-lakuṇu*.