The hooded-serpent is an integral component of Indian mythology. The hooded serpent or Naga is an important creature in the my-thological landscape. It is associated with fertility and wisdom. People visit serpent shrines seeking good harvest (fertility of the land) and children (fertility of the womb). Serpents are often represented raising their hood as a parasol for gods and sages. Although there are many varieties of snakes in India, the only snake that is worshipped is the Cobra. The reason for this has to do with its hood that enables it to be easily distinguished in its still form and moving form. The hood is raised only when the Cobra is still and coiled. In art, stillness is always represented by the hooded serpent. Movement is typically depicted showing two copula-ting serpents because copu-lating serpents have to move continuously, twisting around each other. Thus, the serpent in its two forms — hooded and copulating — allows itself to be used to represent stillness and movement, the two fundamental principles of Indian philosophy. The former repre-sents the spirit and the latter represents the matter. The former represents the other world of divinity, the latter the mundane everyday world. Like all animals, serpents are children of Rishi Kashyapa; their mother is Kadru. It is said they rolled on the grass where the pot of nectar, Amrita, was once placed which is why they are able to shed old skin and rejuvenate themselves. This ability of serpents to rejuvenate themselves made them symbols of rebirth and renewal and worthy of worship. Nagas reside in a subterra-nean realm known as Bhoga-wati; bhog means pleasure and wati means land, indicating the land of the serpent is the land of the pleasure. The entrance to the land of serpent is usually through a termite hill. It is said to be made of gold and gems, perhaps leading to the folklore where treasures are usually protected by hooded serpents. The folklore exists that after the destruction of Khandava forest which was located in the North, serpent came to the south, which is why serpent shrines are found across South India. In Kerala, there are temples cared for by traditional family of priestesses who are believed to have access to secret serpent lore. It is said that some Nagas have one hood, but the more divine Nagas have multiple hoods. Kaliya had five hoods, Sesha has innumerable. The hood sometimes has a jewel known as Nagamani. These Naga-manis possess magical powers. In Mahabharata, serpent-princess Ulupi who marries Arjuna uses Nagamani to restore him to life when he is accidentally killed by his own son Babruvahana. In Tamil Nadu, the story goes that Arjuna sacrificed his son Aravan born of the serpent-princess Ulupi on the ninth day of battle to ensure victory for the Pandavas. The Mahabharata also speaks of King Nahusha, who abused his power when he was invited to temporarily rule the land of the gods, while their king Indra, was away. Nahusha, an ancestor of the Pandavas, demanded that the seven sages carry his palanquin. In anger, the sages cursed him to be born on earth as a serpent until he realised the error of his ways. Various serpents are associated with various gods. The Naga Karkotaka coils itself around Shiva's neck while Vishnu rests on the coils of serpent Shesha whose hood provides foundation to earth. Patanjali, the author of Yoga-sutra, is said to be a Naga. The worship of serpents in India is restricted not just to Hinduism; Buddhists and Jains worship Nagas too. It is said that serpent Vasuki raised its hood behind Buddha at the moment he attained Nirvana, just as he raised his hood to protect baby Krishna from torrential rains as his father took him across river Yamuna. In Jain art, Thirthan-kara Parshvanath is depicted as sitting under the hood of a Naga. The story goes that the king of Kashmir had banned the worship of Nagas after gett-ing converted to Buddhism. When he did this, there was drought. To restore rain and fertility in the land, he worshipped serpent. Serpents have a close as-sociation with water. The movement of serpent has been compared to the wavy movement of rivers. Serpents have always been associated with fertility, hence prosperity and secret art of healing.