Snake or serpent worship is also in the form of worshiping gods dedicated to snakes. Snakes are integral to all religions, mysticism and sacred practices. It most probably originated in India. The word Sarpam in Sanskrit and other Indian languages means serpent or snake. Naga is another Sanskrit word for snake. But why do Hindus worship snakes ?
There is not a Hindu temple without the snake as a sacred part of it. Some iconic images are :
Lord Ganesha or Vinayaka or Pillaiyar, the God of auspicious beginnings, has a snake girding his stout belly.
Lord Vishnu lying on the snake, Adhishesha.
Lord Krishna taming the snake Kaliya
The snake around Lord Shiva's neck symbolizing the eternal cycle of life and death
A serpent at the feet of Lord Murugan
Durga Devi as Shakthi with a snake.
There are also numerous gods and goddesses in villages who are depicted holding snakes or having a hooded cobra over them. The cobra is the most commonly venerated snake. However, not all snakes are viewed as sacred beings.
The Buddha is sometimes represented as being protected from the elements by the serpent
Mucalinda after his enlightenment.
Ancient religious practices in Japan, China, Korea and Cambodia in Asia venerated the snake.
Ancient Mesopotamians worshiped the snake.
Egyptian pharaohs who were believed to be divine wore crowns adorned with snakes
An early archaeological discovery was the snake Minoan goddess of Ancient Crete, off the coast of Greece.
Ancient Native American religions worshiped snakes. The famous snake mound in Ohio, USA, is an example.
African religions regarded snakes as sacred creatures.
The Gnostic Christians believe that the serpent in the Adam and Eve story was not an evil being but imparted the knowledge of life to Eve. The word Gnostic is a derivation of gnana, knowledge in Sanskrit.
Kanchipuram's Mahaperiyava, Swami Chandrashekara Saraswathi, in Deivathin Kural has said that the story of Adam and Eve and the serpent is a derivation of a Hindu sacred story that predated Christianity in which the serpent was a wise creature that imparted mystical knowledge to people.
Why is the Snake sacred? Why do Hindus worship snakes?
Snakes are a creative life force and represent many things. As they shed or molt their skin, they renew themselves and thus are associated with fertility, rebirth, transformation, immortality and healing. The symbol of medicine around the world is the Rod of Asclepius which is a serpent entwining a staff. Snakes are also associated with a keen sense of perception especially through vibrations through the ground.
The Kundalini, the force that awakens during the spiritual development is a coiled serpent residing in the Muladhara chakra which is at the base of the spine. Kundalini progresses through the six chakras above to bestow spiritual awakening.
Today in Melmaruvathur Siddhar Peetam, Adhiparasakthi, who is residing there as the Universal Mother, is worshiped in many forms. One of them is the snake.
The big five-headed snake hooded over the Naga Devi grandly seated on the Naga Peetam Pedestal is a powerful and prominent feature in the temple.
Bangaru Adigalar Amma, as incarnation of Adhiparasakthi, has said in one Arulvakku; Divine Sayings
“The five heads of the snake represent the five elements of nature: Sky, Wind, Water, Fire and Earth. Nature is God; God is Nature”.
Adigalar Amma in another Arulvaaku said that
“Humans should learn to adapt to live contentedly under any circumstance just as the snake can live in small and large spaces and cold and hot climates”.
Universal Mother, Adhiparasakthi, gradually prepared Bangaru Adigalar to be Her incarnation from his childhood. In fact, the very first sign of Her divine touch was when She took the form of a snake and moved over the young boy, Bangaru’s, body which was observed by his parents.
In Adigalar's father, Gopala Naicker's lands in Melmaruvathur, was a neem tree which secreted sweet milk instead of the usual bitter-tasting milk. The local people consumed this as it cured many illnesses. By this tree was a big mound called Putru in Tamil, occupied by a serpent which was also worshiped by people. A seminal event of the Siddhar Peetam's history was the fierce storm of November 28,1966. The neem tree fell, the mound dissolved and the Swayambhu emerged.
The main sanctum of the temple, the Karuvarai, houses the Swayambhu and the Adhiparasakthi Amman Murthi behind the Swayambhu. A hooded serpent ring in silver is often placed around the Swayambhu as a mark of protection.
To the right of the Karuvarai is the Putru Mandapam which also has a significant place in the temple. It is here in this Putru or mound in which a serpent once lived that Adigalar Amma gives Arulvaaku to devotees.
A significant festival celebrated every year on a massive scale during the first full moon day of the month Chithirai (Late April-early May), the first month in the Tamil Calendar, is the Chithirai Pournami Vizha. Tens of thousands of devotees take part in this annual celebration invoking the spiritual powers of Siddhars or enlightened beings and Adhiparasakthi, the head of all Siddhars. Two important features of this festival are the creation of thousands of Chakras and sacrificial fire pits of various designs created by Bangaru Adigalar Amma and set up by devotees. One-hooded and multi-headed snake fire pits are a common feature of this festival.
Another significant event during the Adi Pooram festival that falls in the Tamil month Adi (late-July) is Adigalar circumambulating or going around the temple premises by rolling his body. Thousands of observers note that he resembles a snake hissing with his tongue out and spinning fast like a snake. He is the incarnation of Adhiparasakthi.
Countless devotees have recollected in oral histories and written records of experiencing divine miracles of Adhiparasakthi in the form of snakes in real-time and mystical visions.
Om Sakthi