In Indian Mythology, the Naga, a half-snake half-human race living in the wetlands called Patala, under the city of Bhogavati, is the protector of rivers, springs and wells.

People who sought the help of the Nagas during times of drought are worshiped in South India even today for bringing rain and fertility.

It is believed that Ananta-Shesha, the queen of the Nagas, has a thousand heads and that one day the Nagas will set the world on fire. The Sanskrit word naga means cobra snake, but also refers to all snake species. It is also associated with words with the same meaning in Indo-European languages such as English snake, German seneka.

Nagas, who emerged with the mythization of the cobra snake after the Vedic period in Indian Mythology, are depicted in three different forms as snakes, snake-headed humans or human-headed snakes. Females are called Nagi or Nagini.

According to some legends, it is seen that nagas take human form, marry women and have human-looking children. Venomous in their snake form, nagas rarely harm humans if they have to defend themselves.

Although the Nagas are not evil beings, when angered, they can cause floods by making it rain too much.

There are four classes of nagas: celestial, sacred, terrestrial and occult, each of which performs a separate task such as guarding the heavenly palace, making rain, keeping rivers flowing, and waiting for treasures. Nagas are depicted as half-human, half-crocodile in Burma, multi-headed dragon in Malaysia, and 5-headed dragon in Thailand and the island of Java. It is believed to be the guardian of a treasure in almost all variants.

In Indian mythology, the Nagas, who are the representatives of the underworld and identified with darkness, and the celestial bird Garuda, the representative of the sun, are depicted as mortal enemies.

It is believed that the Nagas emerged from the thousand eggs of Kadru, one of the wives of the saint Kasyapa. In a legend, it is told that the Gandharvas managed to reclaim their occupied homeland with the help of their sister Narmada river.