Lord Serpent of the Mekong

Deity (a serpent-class divinity / nak). English title leads; native Phaya Nak (พญานาค / ພະຍານາກ) in alt/transliterations. Naga belief predates and was absorbed into Buddhism along the Mekong.

Domains

• rivers and waterways
• guardianship of the dharma

Powers

• Exhales glowing fireballs from the river at the end of the rains-retreat
• Coils beneath and hoods the meditating Buddha against the storm

Epithets

• พญานาค

Relations

• rival: Sky Lord

Sources

• S. J. Tambiah, Buddhism and the Spirit Cults in North-east Thailand, CUP, 1970
• Justin Thomas McDaniel, The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk: Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand, Columbia University Press, 2011