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Snake

Worship of snakes or serpents is very common in india and seems to have existed even from the times of the atharva-veda. According to the puranas snakes (called ‘sarpa’ or ‘naga’) are the offsprings of the sage kasyapa and kadru (one of the daughters of Daksha Prajapati). Sometimes they are depicted as created by the ten great sages like marici, atri and others.

Serpents have been closely associated even with the major and popular hindu deities like visnu (as his couch), siva (as his ornaments), durga (as the breast band) and ganapati (as belly band or belt).