Karkotaka

In Indian mythology, Karkoṭaka (Sanskrit: कर्कोटक) was a Nāga King who lived in a forest near the Nishadha Kingdom. According to mythology, he bit Nala at the request of Indra, transforming Nala into a twisted and ugly shape.

Karkoṭaka had deceived Nārada, who cursed him with the inability to move. Karkoṭaka was a friend of Nala and suggested Nala to go to Rituparṇa, king of Ayodhya and stay with him under the alias "Bāhuka".[1]

He is counted among the Eight Nāga Kings in Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist sources.[2]

Tibetan Buddhism

In the Nāga Menaka offering, Karkoṭaka is described as being white in color and situated in the southwest of the great lake visualized by the meditator.

See also

References

  1. Doug Niles (18 August 2013). Dragons: The Myths, Legends, and Lore. New York: Adams Media. pp. 131–132. ISBN 978-1-4405-6216-7. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  2. Zhang, Yisun (張怡蓀) (1993). Great Tibetan Dictionary (བོད་རྒྱ་ཚིག་མཛོད་ཆེན་མོ།་ 藏漢大辭典). Minorities Publishing House.
  3. Nayak, Meena Arora (2018). Evil in the Mahabharata. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199091836.


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