Nag Dhunga

A Nag Dhunga (often also called a Naga Dhunga) is a common single sacred basalt rock or erratic boulder that can be found all over Nepal; in remote villages as well as in the center of any city. Dhunga is Nepalese for "Stone". Nag is a derivative from the 5 Naga's (The caretakers of lakes and water sources) which are the five serpents worn as ornaments by Lord Shiva. Villagers just leave the Nag Dhunga exposed in the landscape and worship it as a place where Lord Shiva had been resting once upon a time.

Others are keeping an ornamental wrought iron fence around it and lock it with a gate that can be opened by getting a key from the local priest or elder on request. Many times the Nag Dhunga is an the premise of a shrine or small pagoda style Temple.

A Nag Dhunga has been identified by ancient Brahman priests and is embedded into the folklore and history of every village and city that hosts one or more of these stray boulders from prehistoric ice age glacier expansion. Most people do not know when this identification has happened. It is shrouded in the history of expansion of Brahmanism from the Indian Subcontinent deep into the mountain regions of Nepal's Himalayas and to Mount Kailash in Tibet. People are usually very proud to have a Nag Dhunga in their vicinity. They make picnic in front of it during festival times and decorate it with vermilion powder, flowers, small amounts of cash and often offer milk, beaten rice and fruit to the Naga that lives under or inside the Dhunga. If a large snake is seen around the Dhunga they consider it a manifestation of the Nagas. (the Water Gods of the Himalayas) Most of the Nag Dhunga are inside the compound of the many Places of Worship and Temples that are in Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara Valley. Some very famous ones can be found in old parts of all Nepalese Cities. Tour Guides bring Visitors to such Nag Dhunga Temples as a routine of their program.

The Nag or Naga has the shape of a giant cobra. Therefore if people in Nepal encounter more than usual a cobra or a snake that looks similar at a path crossing or typical spot like under a Peepal tree;(which is the native name for the holy Bo-Tree ficus religiosa) then they worship the spot where they have seen it by offering milk and boiled eggs etc. Very often the people mix up the in Nepal very common Ptyas mucosus (Indian Rat Snake)with a cobra. They mark the spot with vermilion as a sign for other passers by that they are at a Naga crossing. Others will follow suit and place small offerings and conduct a Puja (prayer ceremony). Those who are careless and do not notice such a crossing and who urinate or defecate near it will be punished by disease and bad luck. This believe is deeply entrenched int rural farmers population all over Nepal.

Many Nepalese villages and places have the word Nag, Naga or Dhunga added to their name. If one searches Wikipedia for this word then the special search request shows many samples of villages and areas that have Nag or Dhunga added to them. Too many to be mentioned here.Try it out. This always signalizes that there is a sacred snake stone in their vicinity. The Nag Dhunga is a very popular common cultural phenomena in Nepal which is worth to be known by foreign visitors and guests.

External links

• Famous Nag Dhunga of Nepal / Pokhara
• Nag Dhunga Kathmandu