https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=KarkotakaKarkotaka - Revision history2026-07-31T11:07:48ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Karkotaka&diff=428682&oldid=prevAjay Kumar at 17:57, 18 September 20232023-09-18T17:57:39Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Naga in Hinduism}}<br />
{{Infobox deity<br />
| type = Hindu<br />
| name = Karkotaka<br />
| affiliation = [[Nāga|Naga]]<br />
| texts = [[Mahabharata]]<br />
| parents = [[Kashyapa]] (father), [[Kadru]] (mother)<br />
| siblings = [[Shesha]], [[Vasuki]], [[Manasa]], [[Takshaka]], and the rest of the [[Nāga|Naga]] race<br />
}}<br />
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}<br />
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'''Karkotaka''' ({{lang-sa|कर्कोटक|translit=Karkoṭaka}}) is a [[Nagaraja|naga king]] in [[Hinduism]]. One of the children of [[Kashyapa]] and [[Kadru]], Karkotaka is regarded to have lived in a forest near the [[Nishadha Kingdom]]. According to [[Hindu mythology]], he stings King [[Nala]], transforming him into a twisted and ugly shape.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2012-06-29 |title=Karkotaka, Karkoṭaka, Kārkoṭaka: 23 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/karkotaka |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> <br />
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== Legend ==<br />
{{Hindu mythology}}<br />
Karkotaka once deceived [[Narada]], the divine sage, in a game of chance. Angered, Narada cursed him that he would remain stationary in the forest until he is saved by King [[Nala]]. In the [[Mahabharata]], Karkotaka encountered King Nala when there was a wildfire in the forest where he dwelt, calling out to the king to rescue him. Reducing himself to the size of a thumb, he urged Nala to save him, and the king promptly moved the serpent to a safer spot. Thus, he was freed from Narada's curse. Karkotaka asked the king to step forward ten steps, and after he did so, stung him, causing him to turn ugly. The serpent explained that he had bit the king because the malevolent [[Kali (asura)|Kali]] had possessed him, and the latter should have to suffer for it. He assured Nala that he would face no danger and be undefeatable in battle as along as the poison remained in his body. He then asked Nala to go to [[Rituparna|Rituparṇa]], King of [[Ayodhya (Ramayana)|Ayodhya]], and work for him as a charioteer under the alias [[Bahuka (Nala)|Bahuka]].<ref name="Niles2013">{{cite book|author=Doug Niles|author-link=Douglas Niles|title=Dragons: The Myths, Legends, and Lore|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mLrDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT131|access-date=16 September 2017|date=18 August 2013|publisher=Adams Media|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4405-6216-7|pages=131–132}}</ref> He told the king to teach Rituparna the Aśvahṛdaya mantra, and learn the Akṣahṛdaya mantra in exchange, after which he would be reunited with his family. He also offered Nala two garments, which he could wear to regain his original form.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2019-01-28 |title=Story of Karkoṭaka |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/compilation/puranic-encyclopaedia/d/doc241686.html |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bane |first=Theresa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DvYWDAAAQBAJ&dq=karkotaka+narada&pg=PA184 |title=Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore |date=2016-04-25 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9505-4 |pages=184 |language=en}}</ref> It is believed that dwelling on Karkotaka allows one to be safeguarded against the asura Kali.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2021-08-14 |title=Ashtanaga—Eight important Nagas [Chapter 5.2] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/essay/animal-kingdom-tiryak-in-epics/d/doc825709.html |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> <br />
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He is counted among the Eight [[Nāgarāja|Naga Kings]] in Hindu sources.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zhang |first1=Yisun (張怡蓀) |title=Great Tibetan Dictionary (བོད་རྒྱ་ཚིག་མཛོད་ཆེན་མོ།་ 藏漢大辭典) |date=1993 |publisher=Minorities Publishing House |url=https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=W29329}}</ref><br />
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==Tibetan Buddhism==<br />
In the Nāga Menaka offering, Karkotaka is described as being white in color and situated in the southwest of the great lake visualized by the meditator.<br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[Kadru]]<br />
*[[Shesha]]<br />
*[[Manasa]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Nāgas]]</div>Ajay Kumar