167 



guised by its transference to fishes ; the snake (unguis) is 

 replaced by the eel (anguilla), the twin-serpents of Mercury* 

 by the twin-fishes sacred to Venus. 



Hindoo mythology constantly refers to the Nagas, a race 

 of beings intermediate between snakes and men and cor- 

 responding to the fallen angels of Semite mythology ; they 

 have a king, the eternal sei-pent Ananden or Vasuki, also 

 called Nagendren, Sarpendren.-f &c., &c. ; they live in a 

 world or Lokum of their own, the capital of which is 

 Bhogavati. The affinity of these Nagas to snakes, especially 

 to naga the cobra, is one practical reason of the respect 

 paid to snakes by Hindoos ; for the Nagas, like fairies and 

 demons, are very malicious, though beneficient to those 

 who pay them proper respect. An injury done to naga 

 the cobra would, in the mind of a good Hindoo, certainly 

 bring down on him the vengeance of the Nagas. 



The apparent contradictions constantly met with in 

 Hindoo mythology owing to the decentralization of the 

 Trimurtic attributes extend also to the mythical snakes. 

 Thus Siven, in his destroying personation, wears a necklace 

 of nagas emblems of death ; but as destruction is only 

 appai-ent and results in the re-appearance of force and matter 

 in new shapes, he is also a creative power and is adored 

 as such under the symbol of the lingam, with which the 

 snake in its phallic aspect is closely connected. Again, 

 Vishnu is called by many names significative of his reposing 

 on the great snake Ananden, whilst his vahum (carrier) 

 Garuden, king of the birds, is known by names derived 

 from his enmity to snakes. The great snake Ananden or 



* " Preller and Kuhn have already proved the phallical signification 

 of the eaditceus (tripetMon) of Hermes, represented now with two 

 wings, now with two serpents," (de Gubernatis, vol. ii, page 399^. 



t With Sarpendren, King of serpents, compare Sapengro in the 

 Gipsy language. 



