nāga

See also: naga, nagą, and Nāga

English

Mucalinda nāga sheltering Buddha; Sandstone with traces of pigment and gold, Honolulu Academy of Arts

Borrowed from Sanskrit नाग (nāga, “serpent, snake”).

nāga (plural nāgas)

(Indian mythology) A member of a class of semi-divine creatures, often taking the form of a very large snake and associated with water.
- 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber 1992, p. 257:
  The five-coned towers form a quincunx, and their flanks are scooped into niches in each of which has been placed a smiling buddha shaded by a nine-headed naga like a big palm fan.

(Indian mythology) A member of a class of semi-divine creatures

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