Vasuki

Vasuki (वासुकि) is one of the great kings of the nagas, the serpent beings of Hindu tradition, and the serpent who coils around the neck of Shiva. Like his brother Shesha, he is a son of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru; the serpent goddess Manasa is often called his sister.

The rope of the churning

Vasuki’s great moment comes in the Samudra Manthan, the churning of the ocean of milk. The devas and asuras use Mount Mandara as the churning rod and Vasuki as the rope wrapped around it. On Vishnu’s advice the devas take his tail while the asuras seize his head, and the fumes and fire from his mouths weaken them. As the churning goes on, the terrible poison halahala rises, which Shiva drinks to save the worlds; some accounts say part of it came from Vasuki himself. After the churning, Shiva wears Vasuki as an ornament around his neck.

Vasuki and the nagas

In the Mahabharata (Adi Parva) Vasuki is the leader of the serpents who seek to escape the curse of their mother Kadru and the great snake sacrifice of King Janamejaya. He gives his sister Jaratkaru in marriage to the sage Jaratkaru, and their son Astika stops the sacrifice and saves the serpent race, an event still remembered on Nag Panchami.

Where is Vasuki worshipped?

Vasuki is honoured at the Kukke Subramanya temple in Karnataka, where serpents are said to have taken refuge under Kartikeya’s protection, at Vasuki Tal near Kedarnath, and on Nag Panchami across India, when snake images are offered milk and flowers.