The Egyptian Book of the Dead
Serpent motifs permeate jewellery. But the human obsession with serpents goes way back
In Egypt, snakes symbolized royalty.
As far back as 2500 B.C., the burial mounds in Egypt had solid gold bracelets made using the snake motif.
Snake protecting a God
When the Buddha was in a state of blissful enlightenment, the heavens poured for seven days.
Legend has it that a serpent, Muchalinda coiled itself around him and spread its hood to protect him, thus creating the Naga Buddha statues.
Snakes in water
Many cultures including the Mayan, Aztec, Chinese, Korean, and Aborigine cultures worship the snake because they link it to rebirth and regeneration.
The snake sheds it skin, after all, and is born anew.
The givers of fertility
Since snakes snakes eat rodents and save crops, farmers link it to fertility.
Women wear a hair jewellery resembling a snake.
The three parts of the braid are called “Triveni” or the three rivers. Snakes naturally inhabit these rivers.
Christianity views snakes as a symbol of sexuality– Eve was tempted out of the Garden of Eden by a snake.
In Hinduism, snake imagery abounds. Vishnu rests on the primordial serpent, Adishesha.
Kundalini energy is represented by two coiled serpents crossing each other at the chakras.
Snake as a churner of the oceans
Vasuki is the other serpent used to churn the waters to get the nectar of immortality.
Krishna subdued the evil serpent, Kaliya.
Chinese mythology
In China, Nuwa, the snake goddess is credited with creating humans, holding up the heavens, and get this, inventing the idea of marriage.
She and her brother, Fuxi are intertwined as snakes who hold up the earth and sky.
Later, Nuwa got lonely and took her brother as her husband, hence the idea that she invented marriage.
The rod of Asclepius
In Greece, snakes represented wisdom and healing.
In fact, the Greek god of healing, Asclepius is symbolized as holding a rod with a snake coiled around it.
Doctors often use this as their logo or symbol.
Sometimes they confuse Asclepius’s single rod with Hermes’ staff which contains two coiled snakes and perhaps looks more visually pleasing.
A sign with snakes
An interesting aside: As I wandered the streets of Chickpet, Bangalore, where jewellers made their ornaments, I saw an ayurvedic doctor with the same sign in front.
दूर्जन: परिहर्तव्यो विद्ययाऽलङ्कॄतोऽपि सन्ज्ञन्ब्स्प; |
मणिना भूषित: सर्प: किमसौ न भयङ्कर:ज्ञन्ब्स्प;ज्ञन्ब्स्प; ||
One should avoid crooked person even if he/she is educated. Isn’t snake adorned with gem, dangerous?
Sanskrit Subhashita (or Saying)
