Jawnomicon

Kaliya

Also called Kaliyanaga.

In Hindu mythology, Kaliya is the venomous, jeweled serpent king of the Yamuna river, subdued by the god Krishna and driven from the land in a well-known episode of his youth.

At a glance

Tradition
Indian folklore
Trait family
The Hero-Slain

Near this figure

and 2 more

Traits

Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.

Form

  • Serpentine elongated body
    why

    Kaliya is described in the sources as a serpent king, a Naga

  • Corrosive venom secretion
    why

    His poison is consistently described as extraordinarily potent, powerful enough to kill any creature that drank from or entered the river

  • Turquoise or jeweled scales
    why

    some sources give him five heads, bejewelled and imposing

  • Lethal breath alongside gaze
    why

    some accounts add that his mouths breathed fire and smoke, further poisoning the surrounding land, killing fish, birds, and the trees along the riverbank

  • Multi-headed body
    why

    Descriptions of his form vary between accounts: some sources give him five heads, bejewelled and imposing, while others record traditions of a much greater number, and this inconsistency appears to reflect genuine variation across tellings rather than a single settled image.

Sight and sound

Curses

  • Blighting venom
    why

    His poison is consistently described as extraordinarily potent, powerful enough to kill any creature that drank from or entered the river, and some accounts add that his mouths breathed fire and smoke, further poisoning the surrounding land, killing fish, birds, and the trees along the riverbank.

Roles

Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.