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Sri Nagendra Ashtottara Shatanamavali
1. Om Anantaaya Namah
2. Om Aadi Sheshaa Ya Namah
3. Om Agadaaya Namah
4. Om Akhilorveecharaaya Namah
5. Om Amita Vikramaaya Namah
6. Om Animishaarchitaaya Namah
7. Om Aadi Vandyaa Nivrittiye Namah
8. Om Asheshaphanaamandalamanditaaya Namah
9. Om Apratihataanugrahadaayine Namah
10. Om Anamitaachaaraaya Namah
11. Om Akhandaishvaryasampannaaya Namah
12. Om Amaraadipastutyaaya Namah
13. Om Aghoraroopaaya Namah
14. Om Vyaalavyaaya Namah
15. Om Vaasu Kaye Namah
16. Om Vara Pradaayakaaya Namah
17. Om Vana Charaaya Namah
18. Om Vamsha Vardhanaaya Namah
19. Om Vaasudevashayanaaya Namah
20. Om Vatavrikshaa Shritaaya Namah
21. Om Vipraveshadhaarine Namah
22. Om Vinaayakodarabaddhaaya Namah
23. Om Vishnupriyaaya Namah
24. Om Vedastutyaaya Namah
25. Om Vihitadharmaaya Namah
26. Om Vishaadharaaya Namah
27. Om Sheshaaya Namah
28. Om Shatrusoodanaaya Namah
29. Om Shankaraabharanaaya Namah
30. Om Shankhapaalaaya Namah
31. Om Shambhupriyaaya Namah
32. Om Shadaananaaya Namah
33. Om Panchashira Se Namah
34. Om Paapa Naashanaaya Namah
35. Om Pramadhaaya Namah
36. Om Prachandaaya Namah
37. Om Bhaktavashyaaya Namah
38. Om Bhakta Rakshakaaya Namah
39. Om Bahu Shirase Namah
40. Om Bhaagya Vardhanaaya Namah
41. Om Bhavabheeti Haraaya Namah
42. Om Takshakaaya Namah
43. Om Tvarita Gamyaaya Namah
44. Om Tamoroopaaya Namah
45. Om Darveekaraaya Namah
46. Om Dharanee Dharaaya Namah
47. Om Kashyapaatmajaaya Namah
48. Om Kaala Roopaaya Namah
49. Om Yugaadhi Paaya Namah
50. Om Yugandharaaya Namah
51. Om Yuktaayuktaaya Namah
52. Om Yugma Shirase Namah
53. Om Rashmivantaaya Namah
54. Om Ramya Gaatraaya Namah
55. Om Keshava Priyaaya Namah
56. Om Vishvambharabhaayaaya Namah
57. Om Aaditya Mardhanaaya Namah
58. Om Sarva Poojyaaya Namah
59. Om Sarvaa Dhaaraaya Namah
60. Om Niraashaaya Namah
61. Om Niranjanaaya Namah
62. Om Airaavataaya Namah
63. Om Sharanyaaya Namah
64. Om Sarva Daayakaaya Namah
65. Om Dhananjayaaya Namah
66. Om Loka Trayaadheeshaaya Namah
67. Om Shivaaya Namah
68. Om Vedavedyaaya Namah
69. Om Poornaaya Namah
70. Om Punyaaya Namah
71. Om Punya Keertaye Namah
72. Om Paradeshaaya Namah
73. Om Paaragaaya Namah
74. Om Nishkalaaya Namah
75. Om Varapradaaya Namah
76. Om Karkotakaaya Namah
77. Om Shreshthaaya Namah
78. Om Shaantaaya Namah
79. Om Daantaaya Namah
80. Om Jitakrodhaaya Namah
81. Om Jeevaaya Namah
82. Om Jayadaaya Namah
83. Om Janapriya Namah
84. Om Vishvaroopaaya Namah
85. Om Vidhi Stutaaya Namah
86. Om Veedheendrashivasamstutaaya Namah
87. Om Shreyah Pradaaya Namah
88. Om Praanadaaya Namah
89. Om Avyaktaaya Namah
90. Om Vyaktaroopaaya Namah
91. Om Tamoharaaya Namah
92. Om Yogeeshaaya Namah
93. Om Kalyaanaaya Namah
94. Om Baalaaya Namah
95. Om Brahmachaarine Namah
96. Om Vaturoopaaya Namah
97. Om Raktaangaaya Namah
98. Om Shankaraananda Karaaya Namah
99. Om Vishnu Kalpaaya Namah
100. Om Guptaaya Namah
101. Om Guptataraaya Namah
102. Om Raktavastraaya Namah
103. Om Rakta Bhooshaaya Namah
104. Om Kadruvaasambhootaa Ya Namah
105. Om Aadhaaraveedhipadhikaaya Namah
106. Om Sushumnaadvaara Madhya Gaaya Namah
107. Om Phaniratnavibhooshanaaya Namah
108. Om Naagendraaya Namah
Iti Shree Naagendra Ashtottara Shatanaamaavali
Meaning
A hundred and eight names of Nagendra, the lord of serpents - Om Anantaaya Namah, Om Aadi Sheshaaya Namah at the head of the list, with Om Vaasukaye Namah among the names that follow. Ananta, Adishesha and Vasuki are the great serpents of the Puranas, and this namavali gathers them and the rest under one archana. In Karnataka it is read at the naga kallu, and most of all on Naga Panchami.
Significance
In coastal Karnataka and the Malnad the naga is not a minor deity you visit occasionally. For many families he is the kuladevata, and the stone stands where it has stood for generations - under an ashwattha tree at the edge of the field or the compound, often with a tulsi katte nearby, carved with entwined serpents and dark with turmeric and oil.
What people bring to the naga kallu says what they are asking for: milk, tender coconut water, turmeric, and tambittu - the rice flour and jaggery offering shaped by hand. Families come about sarpa dosha in the horoscope, about delayed marriage, about children, and about skin ailments, which tradition connects with offence against serpents. Tradition also holds that neglect of the family naga stone shows up in the family's fortunes, which is why an abandoned stone being re-established is a serious matter and why sarpa samskara is performed at Kukke Subramanya and at Ghati Subramanya near Doddaballapur.
The names themselves reach past fear into something older. Adishesha holds the earth and is the couch of Vishnu; Vasuki was the rope at the churning of the ocean. The serpent in this tradition is not the enemy - he is the one the gods borrowed when they needed something strong enough to move a mountain.
How and when to chant
Naga Panchami, the fifth tithi of the bright fortnight of Shravana, is the day. In Kannada households women observe it, and it is one of the few festivals where the married daughters of the house are called back. The Ashlesha nakshatra day each month is the other regular occasion, and Ashlesha Bali at Kukke is performed on it.
At the stone: bathe before going, take milk, turmeric, a tender coconut, flowers and tambittu. Pour milk and turmeric water over the naga kallu, apply turmeric and kumkuma to the carved hoods, offer flowers at each name as the ashtottara is read, then place the tambittu and light the lamp. Many families keep the fast until this is done. Fried food is avoided in some households on that day - the reason given is that the naga should not be offended by anything put on the fire.
One thing to say plainly, because it is a live issue: the offering is meant for the stone, not for a live snake. Pouring milk into an occupied burrow, or into the mouth of a captured snake, harms the animal - snakes do not drink milk. Most temples now direct devotees to the naga kallu for exactly this reason, and following that is not a dilution of the practice. It is the practice.
Frequently asked questions
Which great serpents are named in the Nagendra Ashtottara Shatanamavali?
Why does the Nagendra namavali call him Shadanana and Brahmachari?
When is the Nagendra Ashtottara recited?
What do Vinayakodarabaddha and Vasudevashayana mean in the Nagendra namavali?
What does the Nagendra Ashtottara say about the birth of the nagas?
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