Mahakumbhnagar, December 11 (IANS). Nagavasuki temple has a special place among the mythological temples of Tirtharaj Prayagraj. In Sanatan faith, serpents or serpents have been worshiped since ancient times. The Puranas describe stories of many serpents, of which Nagavasuki is considered the serpent king. Nagavasuki is the throat-bearer of Lord Shiva, according to the mythology of Samudra Manthan, Nagavasuki was used as a rope to churn the ocean.
After the churning of the ocean, Nagavasuki rested in Prayag at the behest of Lord Vishnu. On the request of the gods, he settled here. It is believed that one can get full results only by having darshan of Nagavasuki after taking Sangam bath in Prayagraj. The temple of Nagavasuki ji is currently situated on the banks of river Ganga in Daraganj locality of Prayagraj.
The story of Nagavasuki ji is also described in Skanda Purana, Padma Purana, Bhagwat Purana and Mahabharata. It is described in the story of Samudra Manthan that when the gods and demons got ready to churn the ocean at the behest of Lord Vishnu, the Mandarachal mountain was made a churner and Nagavasuki was made a rope. But, due to the rubbing of Mandarachal mountain, Nagavasuki ji’s body got scratched. On the advice of Lord Vishnu, he rested in Prayag and got relief from his wounds by taking bath in Triveni Sangam.
King Divodas of Varanasi did penance and asked for a boon from him to go to Kashi, the city of Lord Shiva. Pleased with the penance of Divodas, when Nagavasuki started leaving Prayag, the gods requested him to stay in Prayag only. Nagavasuki said that, if I stay in Prayagraj, it will be mandatory for the devotees to have darshan of me after the Sangam bath and I should be worshiped in all the three worlds on the Panchami day of the month of Sawan. The gods accepted his demands. Nagavasuki was established on the banks of Sangam in the north-west of Prayagraj by building a temple by the Manas son of Brahmaji.
According to another mythological story, when the divine river Ganga ji descended on the earth, the speed of Mother Ganga was very fast even after coming down from the hair of Lord Shiva and she was directly entering the underworld. It was Nagavasuki who built Bhogavati Tirtha with his hood. Shyam Lal Tripathi, priest of Nagavasuki temple, said that in ancient times, there was Bhogwati Tirtha Kund in the western part of the temple, which has now become obsolete. It is believed that during the flood season, when Mother Ganga touches the steps of the temple, bathing in the Ganga at this ghat gives the virtue of taking a bath at Bhogwati Tirtha.
The priest of the temple told that the festival of Nag Panchami started due to the conditions of Lord Nagavasuki ji. A fair is organized every year in the temple on the day of Nag Panchami. It is believed that on this day, by seeing Lord Vasuki and offering a pair of silver snakes, one gets freedom from Kaalsarp Dosh. Apart from this, there is a provision for special worship of Nagavasuki on the fifth day of every month. By performing Kalsarp Dosh and Rudrabhishek in this temple, all kinds of obstacles in the life of the person are eliminated.
According to the mythological description, the place of Asi Madhav among the twelve Madhavs of Prayagraj was also in the temple. Due to the efforts of CM Yogi Adityanath, he has been re-established in the new temple of Asi Madhav Ji on the day of Devotthan Ekadashi this year. Earlier, the then MP Murli Manohar Joshi had also renovated the temple. In this Mahakumbh, restoration and beautification work of Nagavasuki temple and its courtyard has been done.
With the efforts of the UP government and the tourism department, the new generation is also being made aware of the importance of the temple. Only after the darshan of Nagavasuki after Sangam Snan, Kalpavas and Kumbh Snan, one attains full results and all the obstacles in life are removed.
–IANS
SK/ABM
