Naga people (Lanka)

Not to be confused with the Naga people of modern-day Nagaland, India.

Cobra symbolism in a Sri Lankan Hindu statue of the Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple
According to Buddhist scripture the Naga king Muchalinda shielded the Buddha from getting wet in the rain by coiling round him and holding his large hood above the Buddha's head.[1]

The Naga people are believed by some to be an ancient tribe who once inhabited Sri Lanka and various parts of Southern India. There are references to Nagas in several ancient texts such as Mahavamsa, Manimekalai, Mahabharata and also in other Sanskrit and Pali literature. They were generally represented as a class of super-humans taking the form of serpents who inhabit a subterranean world.[2][note 1]

Certain places such as Nagadeepa in Jaffna and Kalyani in Gampaha are mentioned as their abodes.[3] The names of some Naga kings in Sri Lankan legends such as Mani Akkhitha (Mani Naga) and Mahodara are also found in Sanskrit literature among superhuman Nagas[note 2], and the cult of Mani Naga prevailed in India up to medieval times.[4]

The Jaffna Peninsula was mentioned in Tamil literature as Naka Nadu, in Pali literature as Nagadeepa and in Greek gazetteer as Nagadiba.[5][6][7][8] The name Nagabhumi was also found on a Brahmi-inscribed coin from Uduthurai, Jaffna and in a Tamil inscription from Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu referring to the Jaffna peninsula.[9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference sunob was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Senarath Paranavitana (1961). Journal of the Ceylon branch of the Royal Asiatic society# The Arya Kingdom in North Ceylon. Vol. VII, part II. Colombo apothecaries Co. Ltd. p. 181.
  3. ^ JCBRAS, S. Paranavitana 1961, p. 181.
  4. ^ B.Ch.Chhabra, ed. (1950). Epigraphia Indica. Vol. XXVIII Part VI. pp. 330–334.
  5. ^ Nicholas, C.W. (1963). Historical topography of ancient and medieval Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series (Vol VI). p. 10. Other obvious identifications are Nagadiba with Nagadipa or Nakadiva (the Jaffna peninsula) and Rhogandanoi with the inhabitants of Rohana (Ruhuna).
  6. ^ "Claudius Ptolemy's Sri Lankan Map". Archaeology.lk. 2 November 2020.
  7. ^ Intirapālā, Kārttikēcu (2005). The evolution of an ethnic identity: the Tamils in Sri Lanka c. 300 BCE to c. 1200 CE. M.V. Publications for the South Asian Studies Centre, Sydney. p. 172. ISBN 9780646425467.
  8. ^ Rajeswaran, S. T. B. (2012). Geographical Aspects of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. University of Jaffna: Governor's Office, Department of Geography. p. 61.
  9. ^ K. Rajan - Situating the Beginning of Early Historic Times in Tamil Nadu: Some Issues and Reflections (2008) p.56-57


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