Sacred Spaces
The statue at this Laotian Buddhist temple represents a five-headed mythical serpent called a 'naga' which is also related to the Hindu god Shesha, king of all the Nagas. The word Naga comes from the ancient Sanskrit 'Nag', still the word for snake, especially the cobra, in most Indian languages, can also comprise all kinds of serpentine beings including dragons. In Kashmir a nag also means lake.