36 Facts About Manasa

Manasa is worshipped mainly in Bihar, Odisha, Bengal, Jharkhand, South Assam and other parts of northeastern India and in Uttarakhand, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite, and for fertility and prosperity.

In Hinduism, Manasa is the sister of Shesha and Vasuki, king of Nagas, and wife of sage Jaratkaru.

Manasa is known as Vishahari, Nitya and Padmavati.

Manasa is depicted as kind to her devotees, but harsh toward people who refuse to worship her.

Bhattacharya and Sen suggest that Manasa originated in South India as a non-Vedic and non-Aryan goddess and is related to the Kannada folk snake-goddess Manchamma.

Manasa was accepted in the pantheon worshipped by Hindu groups.

Bhattacharya suggests another influence on Manasa being the poison-curing Mahayana Buddhist goddess, Janguli.

Manasa's popularity grew and spread to southern India, and the cult of her followers began to rival the earliest Shaivism.

Alternatively, Vasudev suggests that the Bengali tale of Manasa reflects rivalry between Shaivism and the goddess-centric Shaktism.

Manasa is depicted as a beautiful woman with a golden complexion and smiling face.

Manasa has four arms, with her upper right hands holding a shankh and her left hand holding her favorite flower, lotus.

Manasa's lower left hand holds a snake and the right lower right hand displays Varadamudra.

Manasa is covered with snakes, sitting on a lotus platform or standing upon a snake.

Manasa is sheltered by the canopy of the hoods of seven cobras.

Manasa gave birth to a son, Astika, who freed his ancestors.

Manasa gained control over the earth, by the power of mantras she chanted.

Manasa then propitiated the god Shiva, who told her to please the god Krishna.

Once, when Jaratkaru was awakened by Manasa, he became upset with her because she awakened him too late for worship, and so he left her temporarily.

The Mangalkavyas were devotional paeans to local deities such as Manasa, composed in Bengal between the 13th and the 18th centuries.

When Shiva saw Manasa, he was attracted to her, but she proved to him that he was her father.

On one occasion, when Chandi kicked her, Manasa rendered her senseless with a glance of her poison eye.

Chandi advised Manasa to wear snake ornaments and then threw a frog in the bridal chamber which caused the snakes to run around the chamber.

Manasa was initially mocked by the people but then Manasa forced them to worship her by raining calamity on those who denied her power.

Manasa managed to convert people from different walks of life, including the Muslim ruler Hasan, but failed to convert Chand Sadagar.

Manasa wanted to become a goddess like Lakshmi or Saraswati.

At last Manasa conspired against two dancers of Indras Court who loved each other, Anirudha and Usha.

Manasa killed him but Behula floated on water for nine months with the dead body of her husband and finally brought back the lives of the seven sons and the lost prosperity of Chand.

The Mangal kavyas say that after this, the worship of Manasa was popular forever.

Manasa is a phase of the mother-divinity who for so many worshippers is nearer and dearer than the far-off and impersonal Shiva.

Manasa is worshipped for protection from and cure of snake bites and infectious diseases like smallpox and chicken pox.

Manasa is a very important fertility deity, especially among the lower caste Hindus, and her blessings are invoked during marriage or for childlessness.

Manasa is usually worshipped and mentioned along with Neto, who is called Neta, Netidhopani, Netalasundori in various parts of Bengal.

Manasa is an especially important deity in Bengal for the mercantile castes.

Manasa is the prime deity of Anga Region, specially in Anga's capital, Champa.

Manasa is worshipped extensively in Assam and Tripura, and a kind of Oja-Pali is dedicated entirely to her myth.

Manasa is ceremonially worshipped on Nag Panchami - a festival of snake worship in the Hindu month of Shravan.