Vasuki

He is known in Chinese and Japanese mythology as being one of the "eight Great Dragon Kings" (八大龍王 pinyin: Bādà lóngwáng; Japanese: Hachidai Ryūō), amongst Nanda (Nāgarāja), Upananda, Sāgara (Shakara), Takshaka, Balavan, Anavatapta, and Utpala.

Legend

Vasuki is one of the sons of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru.

He is accorded a significant role in the legend of Samudra Manthana. He is described to have allowed both the devas and the asuras to bind him to Mount Mandara, so that they could use him as their churning rope to extract the amrita from the Ocean of Milk.

In the Mahabharata, Vasuki is stated to have been cursed by Kadru. He refused to aid her in her scheme of hanging to the tail of the divine horse Ucchaishshravas with his other siblings to cause it to appear black, so that she could cheat in her wager against her sister Vinata. Condemned to burn with numerous brothers in King Janamejaya's snake sacrifice, he sought refuge with the devas, participating in the churning of the ocean.

Having retreated to the netherworld, but wishing to save his brothers from the snake sacrifice, Vasuki sought the counsel of his siblings. One of them, Elapatra, stated that he had overheard Brahma informing the other deities that the son born to their sister named Jaratkaru and a sage who shared the same name would be their saviour. Vasuki made the arrangements to marry his sister to the sage. The son born to them, Astika, was able to successfully put an end to Janamejaya's persecution of the nagas.

In another episode of the Mahabharata, the Kaurava brothers administer poison to their cousin, Bhima, out of jealousy. They then throw him into the depths of the Ganges. Bhima sinks deep into the river and reaches the Nagaloka, where the nagas bite him, neutralizing the effects of the poison in his body. There he gets acquainted with a naga named Aryaka, who explains that his grandmother, Marisha, was also a naga. Based on this relationship, he introduces Bhima to Vasuki, king of the nagas, and Vasuki presents him with much wealth and other costly gems. Then Vasuki gives Bhima a divine drink, which gives him the strength of a thousand elephants.