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Lord Shiva is often shown with a snake curled three times around His neck and looking towards His right side. The three coils of the snake symbolize the past, present and future – time in the cycle of life. The snake looking in the right direction of Lord Shiva signifies that the Lord’s perpetual laws of reason and justice preserve natural order in the universe. The snake is believed to be the Vasuki Naga, a deadly cobra.
Who was Vasuki?
Vasuki is believed to be the king of the Sarpas according to Puranas and the snake depicted around the neck of Lord Shiva. Vasuki was born as the second son of Kashyapa and Kadru, the eldest being Adisesha. Vasuki finds mention in our Puranas and one such mention claims that he became the string of the bow used by Lord Shiva to destroy Tripuradahana or the 3 cities. Vasuki is worshiped by Hindus on different festivals, especially during Naga pujas and Naga Panchami.
Vasuki has been represented with multiple heads in some art works of the past. He has also been described as the thousand headed king of serpents.In some exclusive paintings of Vasuki, the Naga is depicted with numerous heads. Mahabharata states that Vasuki resides in the palace of Varuna, the sea god.
Why Does Lord Shiva wear Vasuki around his Neck?
According to the Puranas, during the churning of the ocean of milk (samudra manthan), the deadly poison (halahala) came out which Shiva had to drink to save the world. There were some snakes in the water who drank it with him and Vasuki was one of them. Vasuki also served as the rope that was tied to Mandar mountain during the churning of the ocean of milk. Shiva was impressed by this and hence accepted Vasuki (king of sarpas) around his neck. The Lord wearing the deadly snake like an ornament signifies that He is independent of time and death and as a matter of fact, is in control of the time.
Lord Shiva is also known as Pasupathinath, the lord of all creatures and as another story goes, it is believed that once when the snake species was in danger, they approached Lord Shiva for Shelter. Lord Shiva gave them shelter by letting them stay in Kailasa. But due to cold weather, the snakes used to approach Lord Shiva for warmth of Body. Thus, He as a protector used to wear these snakes as an ornament to provide warmth to them.
Being a Lord of the animals He also has a complete control on their behavior. Since a snake is one of the most feared and dangerous animals in the world, the garland of snakes around the neck firmly establishes this fact that even the snakes fear Him and remain under His control.
The snake stands for all the evil and demonical nature in the world. By wearing the snake around his neck, Lord Shiva gives us the assurance that no evil can touch us or destroy us once we surrender to him, seek his protection and worship him with deep devotion.
The snake also suggests the dormant energy, called Kundalini Shakti, that resides within one and is described as a coiled serpent lying dormant in the muladhara chakra of all human beings and descends upwards when one starts one’s spiritual journey and becomes increasingly divine oriented. The snake around the neck of Shiva, thus, conveys the meaning that in him the kundalini not only has arisen fully but is also actively involved in the divine activity by keeping an eye on all the devotees who approach Shiva with their individual problems.
The snake also stands for all passions and desires and by wearing the snakes around his neck, Lord Shiva conveys the message to all his devotees that He has overcome all desires and is in full control of Prakriti, or maya and its various machinations.
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