Nagini's Breed

[ftah3]

No: HPFGUIDX 31821

heather (uma) wrote:
>Since Nagini seems to have something of a personality, though, he 
could flat out be a naga. As I recall, the Hindu deity Seshnaga was a 
five-headed cobra who sustained the god Vishnu throughout his various 
resurrections as different avatars.
> 

This is a wonderful concept, because it throws shades of gray on the 
role of Voldemort.  

On one hand, Voldemort can be viewed as a straight villain.  On the 
other hand, he could be viewed in terms of Hero Mythology, as the 
villain archetype.  In Hero Myths, all characters other than the Hero 
exist not as independent beings but as archetypes which further the 
Hero's journey.  In other words, they're all there for what they can 
provide the Hero ~ the Wise Man (i.e. Dumbledore) gives (duh) wisdom, 
the Gatekeeper (Hagrid could be considered such in PS/SS, as he 
showed Harry the 'door' to the wizard world) shows the Hero 
the 'doors of possibility.'  Even the Villain is not just a bad guy 
to be defeated, but one who, by challenging the Hero's 
strength/morals/understanding, is key to the Hero's growth and 
progress on the path to enlightenment.

Drawing a parallel between Vishnu & Voldemort is actually possible, 
in this light.  For example:

"...Vishnu, wanted to create the universe. To this end, he divided 
himself into three parts: from his rightside, he produced Brahma the 
creator; from his left, he produced Vishnu, the preserver; and from 
his middle, he produced Shiva, the destroyer. 

Vishnu has several avataras. According to the Puranas and the 
Mahabharata, whenever there is an imbalance between good and evil on 
the earth, Vishnu, as the preserver, is born to re-establish the 
balance."

Vishnu is known as the preserver of the universe and associated with 
mercy and goodness, but as you see above, he also is the originator 
of destruction.  In the Hindu philosophy, creation, preservation and 
destruction go hand in hand; can't have one without the other, and 
therefore destruction is not evil, per se, it's just part of the way 
of things.  Also, Vishnu's birth comes about to establish a balance 
between good and evil.  

Voldemort is, basically, destruction.  But without destruction, i.e., 
without such a terrible challenge to the good in his world, Harry 
would have no reason to push himself to the limits of his ability, or 
to grow and progress on his Hero's Journey.  

Also, and this is speculation on what may come in future books, 
Voldemort's existence, and especially his growing in power, causes an 
imbalance in terms of good and evil; however, his re-birth could be 
the turning point, the event that causes Harry (and his friends) to 
achieve enlightenment.  Also, it may be the event that causes 
Dumbledore to re-establish a strong, united force (starting with 
the "Old Crowd") to be an equally powerful stronghold against evil, 
and possibly to fix the icks that seem to pervade Cornelius Fudge's 
inept (in my mind) running of the wizard world (wherein magical 
beasts are slaughtered with only a token trial, criminals are 
Dementor-kissed without trial, slavery exists, creatures with 
potential to contribute to the wizard society ~ giants, werewolves, 
etc. ~ are shunned due to prejudice).

As for Nagini:

"Seshnaga, whose name literally means 'residue', is believed to have 
been born of what was left after the universe and its inhabitants had 
been created. Revered as the king of the snakes, he has a 1,000 heads 
('sahasrashirsha') which form a massive hood. He is believed to be 
Vishnu's couch, and his hood shelters the god during the periodic 
deluges. Earth is said to rest on Seshnaga .He is believed to spew 
venomous fire that destroys all creation at the end of each kalpa, 
and is worshipped as a manifestation of Vishnu."

So the snake, in this mythology, is part of the creation-destruction 
cycle.  He shelters and gives comfort to Vishnu, and is considered a 
manifestation of Vishnu.  

So snakes overall in HP could by this interpretation be not just evil 
(just as all Parseltongues are obviously not evil, a la Harry).  They 
are equal parts good and bad; they both give shelter as well as 
destroy.  The boa at the zoo was friendly, a manifestation of the 
gentle creator; the basilisk *was* destruction, but also was the 
conduit for Harry to find comfort, because the appearance of 
Fawkes/the Sorting Hat/Gryffindor's sword were proof that Harry is 
unlike Voldemort in important ways; and finally, Nagini shelters 
Voldemort and aides his destructive cause.  

...um, yeah, so, fun mental exercise.  Anyhow.  I'm just a geek with 
internet access. 
http://www.indiancultureonline.com/Mystica/html/vishnu.htm and 
http://www.indiancultureonline.com/Mystica/html/snake_worship.htm

Mahoney