Go deep: The Legend of Naga in Asia.
The legends of the Nāga — revered serpent beings — have long influenced the way of life across many Asian cultures, including those of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Whether or not they are connected to the Chinese dragon, countless stories continue to be told, keeping the faith in Nāgas alive for thousands of years.
Who exactly is the Nāga?
Where did the Nāga originate from?
Is the Nāga a mythical creature, a giant serpent, or an entity that exists in a dimension overlapping our own?
Many beliefs offer different explanations. Buddhist legends tell of the Nāga’s connection to the past lives of the Buddha himself, while Hindu mythology describes their creation alongside Garuda, the celestial bird. Born from the same egg, Nāgas and Garudas became sworn enemies due to the deception of their mothers — destined to fight each other whenever they meet.
Local folklore also abounds with tales of Nāgas: Nāgas who built cities, created rivers, or fell in love with humans. These stories continue to be retold through literature, drama, and television, keeping the belief alive even today.
In modern Thailand, devotion to the Nāga has seen a strong revival. Many believe that honoring these serpent deities can bring happiness, prosperity, and good fortune. As a result, rituals of worship and the construction of Nāga statues have become increasingly common.
This book will help you uncover the truths behind the Nāga legends you wish to explore. It traces their origins, the evolution of faith surrounding them, and the reasons for their enduring reverence. You will find narratives drawn from religious tales and folk traditions, thoughtful interpretations of people’s beliefs, and discussions of mystical phenomena attributed to Nāgas — such as the Naga Fireballs and the legendary Naga Gems.
For those interested, the book is available for download on Amazon and Google Play Books here.
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prologue
(The origins of belief of the goddesses)
“To dispel doubts regarding human beliefs about the birth of gods and goddesses in various myths, it is necessary to trace back and present the origins of these beliefs, so that readers may reflect and visualize how such beliefs came to be and who, in fact, gave birth to the deities.”
· Why must it be the Naga King”
The story of the Naga has been revived and widely discussed, with people paying respects and worshiping it extensively, especially after Thai television dramas gained immense popularity. It began with Kasane Naka, followed by Manee Sawat, and then Nakee, which was both a television series and later a feature film. This marked an unprecedented wave of popularity surrounding the Naga legend and its worship, which has since spread across Thailand. Previously, stories about the Naga were almost forgotten, kept only in archives, with occasional appearances in traditional mythological dramas. However, those portrayals never reached the level of public recognition seen today.
As for myself, I am someone who has always been fascinated by legends, art, and various forms of architecture. At temples, for instance, one often sees Naga stair railings or Garuda-grabbing-Naga carvings on pediments. However, these were not the true beginnings of my childhood interest. My first inspiration came from a small matchbox bearing the image of a Naga. I still remember that when I was about eight years old, I was able to draw a Naga from that matchbox and submitted it to an art competition and I actually won a prize at the primary school level.
These memories gradually faded over time until I reached the age of twenty, when my curiosity about the Naga was reignited. What sparked it was my interest in the mysterious Naga fireballs and my desire to seek the truth behind them. Let’s just say I will continue telling these stories in detail, scene by scene, in the following sections.
What I’m about to talk about happened when I was 22 years old, which would have been around the year 2003 (B.E. 2546). Back then, whenever I spoke to someone about the Naga, I can honestly say that some people didn’t even know what a "Naga" was. I often had to give examples like the Naga-shaped stair railings at temples or even the hooded serpent figures found beneath spirit houses to help explain what I meant. As for those who were familiar with the term, they tended to think of it merely as a mythical creature from folk tales or as one of the beings from the Himavanta forest.
At that time, it could be said that Thailand was just beginning to develop its internet infrastructure. We were able to go online via dial-up connections, and information could be searched albeit to a limited extent through Google, which had started to gain global popularity (Google was founded in 1998). The stories of the Naga grew in tandem with the rise of search engines. As more websites were created and more content was documented, the topic of the Naga gradually began to surface in public discourse as well. However, it was the Thai drama Kasane Naka, aired in 2007, that truly brought the Naga into the spotlight, introducing it to a wide audience and sparking widespread interest across the country.
When it comes to the question, “Why the Naga?” why I decided to write this book it's not only because of my fascination with the beautiful artistry and the mythical legends surrounding the Naga. Beyond that, I also recalled my childhood, which seemed to be mysteriously connected to snakes. Aside from winning an award for drawing a Naga as a child, I often found myself being the first person to spot a snake whenever I was walking with friends or family. Whether the snake was slithering on the ground or hiding in tree branches, I was almost always the one to see it first. Between the ages of 6 and 12, I lived in a traditional Thai wooden stilt house. The house had wooden windows with no mosquito screens, and most importantly there was no ceiling to seal the space between the walls and the roof, leaving open gaps that allowed for airflow but also invited a swarm of mosquitoes. Back then, we relied heavily on mosquito repellent coils every night. To sleep, I would set up a mosquito net inside the bedroom and use a wardrobe to divide the room in half, separating my sleeping area from my sister’s. Every morning, when I opened the window, I would see a star gooseberry tree branch stretching right past the window frame along with various kinds of snakes that visited almost daily. There were green vine snakes, golden tree snakes, mock vipers, sunbeam snakes, and rat snakes. Within a week, I could count several different species. This strange bond with snakes during my childhood became one of the key reasons I felt compelled to seek answers—why was my early life so deeply intertwined with these creatures?
Another story is a belief held by my father about my birth. Before my mother became pregnant, my father dreamed of setting fishing hooks and nets, as was done in the old days. In the dream, when morning came and he went to collect the nets and hooks, he saw a dark-skinned child with a topknot asking to board the boat to live with them. My father initially refused, saying, “How can you stay? There isn’t enough room in the house.” But the little boy persistently pleaded, “Please, Father, let me stay. I will help earn money.” Eventually, my father relented and agreed. The child, who had been floating in the water, climbed onto the boat to go home with him. That very morning, my mother began experiencing morning sickness and became pregnant with me. My father also recalled that the day he went to retrieve the fishing hooks and nets was an exceptionally successful day—he caught so many fish that after selling, making fish sauce, and cooking meals, there was still plenty left over. He earned over a thousand baht, which was a significant amount in 1980 (B.E. 2523). When pieced together, this story led me to wonder whether I might have a karmic connection to the realm of the Naga.
When I was 20 years old, I had a strange dream about two Nagas—one white with golden fins and the other green with golden fins—swimming and playing in a lotus pond in front of my house. When I shared this dream with my elders, they all said in unison, “Your destiny has been connected with the Nagas since childhood.” Since then, members of my family have frequently dreamed of these two Nagas, and this has continued up to the present day.
This is also a surprising personal experience and belief of mine. Fueled by this curiosity, I began studying and reading various legends and stories about the Naga. Through this, I learned about their origins, the roots of the belief, and the tales passed down through generations that have turned into sacred traditions worshipped today. Although I hold great faith and respect for the Naga, I do not agree with the superstition that leads people to attribute everything to the Naga and worship indiscriminately, which ultimately obscures the true path to happiness and success. This book aims to reveal the mysteries and legends behind the Naga belief and stands as one of the best explorations of this topic.
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