[HPforGrownups] Re: was Mrs. Figg, Crookshanks, now snakes

[tobeybickle at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 15617

In a message dated 3/30/01 2:26:56 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
rainy_lilac at yahoo.com writes:


> > > What kind of snake is Nagini?
> > > 
> > > Doreen
> > > 
> > 
> > Nagini couldn't be a Basilisk, because I'm pretty sure she's made 
> eye contact 
> > with Wormtail or Voldemort at some point...
> 
> 
> 
> A Naga is a kind of mythical serpent. Nagini sounds like a variation 
> on the name-- I think it would be translated as "little serpent"! 
> (Considering that she is 20 feet long, we can see JKR's sense of 
> humor at work here...) 
> 
> I found the following description on the web:
> 
> The word Naga is rooted in Sanskrit and means "Serpent". In the East 
> Indian pantheon it is connected with the Serpent Spirit and the
> Dragon Spirit. It has an quivalency to the Burmese Nats, or 
> god-serpents. In the Esoteric Tradition it is synonymous for Adepts, 
> or
> Initiates. In India and Egypt, and even in Central and South America, 
> the Naga stands for one who is wise. 
> 
>      Nagarjuna of India, for example, is shown with an aura, or halo, 
> of seven serpents which is an indication of a very high degree of
> Initiation. The symbolism of the seven serpents, usually cobras, are 
> also on Masonic aprons of certain systems in the Buddhistic ruins of
> Cambodia (Ankhor) and Ceylon. The great temple-builders of the famous 
> Ankhor Wat were considered to be the semi-divine Khmers.
> The avenue leading to the Temple is lined with the seven-headed Naga. 
> And even in Mexico, we find the "Naga" which becomes
> "Nagal." In China, the Naga is given the form of the Dragon and has a 
> direct association with the Emperor and is known as the "Son of
> Heaven"...while in Egypt the same association is termed 
> "King-Initiate". The Chinese are even said to have originated with the 
> Serpent
> demi-gods and even to speak their language, Naga-Krita. For a place 
> that has no serpents, Tibet, they are still known in a symbolic sense
> and are called "Lu!" (Naga). Nagarjuna called in Tibetan, Lu-trub. 
> 
>      In the Western traditions we find the sae ubiquity for the Naga, 
> or Serpent. One simple example is the Ancient Greek Goddess,
> Athena. She is known as a warrior Goddess as well as the Goddess of 
> Wisdom; her symbol being the Serpent as displayed on her
> personal shield. Of course, in Genesis the Serpent is a Naga who 
> instructs the new infant (humanity) in what is called the Knowledge of
> Good and Evil. The Christian church has, unfortunately transformed the 
> Initiate-Teacher into a tempting and negative demon-character.
> An apocryphal tradition says that Apollonius of Tyana, while on a 
> visit to India, was taught by the "Nagas" of Kashmir. (See The Life of
> Apollonius, by Philostratos.)  It is felt by many scholars of the 
> Western Tradition that the life of Apollonius was taken from the New
> Testament, or that the narratives of the New Testament have been taken 
> from the life of Apollonius. This is felt because of ! the
> undisputed and clear similarities of construction fo that particular 
> narrative. 
> 
>      Naga is one of a handful of rare words surviving the loss of the 
> first universal language. In Buddhism, Wisdom has always been ties,
> symbollically, to the figure of the Serpent. In the Western Tradition 
> it can be found as used by the Christ in the Gospel of Saint Matthew
> (x.16), "Be ye therefore as serpents, and harmless as doves." 
> 
>      In all mythological language the snake is also an emblem of 
> immortality. Its endless representation with its tail in its mouth
> (Ouroboros), and the constant renewal of its skin and vigor, enliven 
> teh symbols of continued youth and eternity. 
> 
>      The Serpent's reputation for positive medicinal and/or 
> life-preserving qualities have also contributed to the honors of the 
> Serpent as
> STILL seen by the employment of the Caduceus. To this very day, the 
> Hindus are taught that the end of every Universal Manifestation
> (Kalpa) all things are re-absorbed into Deity and the the interval 
> between "creations." He reposes upon the Serpant Sesha (Duration) who
> is called Ananta, or, Endlessness. (See Ophiolatreiaby Hargrave 
> Jennings) 
> 
> 
> 

Actually, I always assumed Nagini was named after Nagaina, the mother cobra 
in Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Nagaina was probaby named from the mythology 
you mention, because the story involves English colonists in India.


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