ཀླུ། | Glossary of Terms

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of serpentine water spirits and repositors of subaquatic and subterranean treasure.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A nonhuman class of beings who live in subterranean and/or aquatic environments and are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in aquatic environments and who are said to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of nonhuman beings that live in subterranean environments and are said to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A nonhuman class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semi-divine being similar to a large snake.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of semidivine beings that inhabit bodies of water and act as guardians of treasure.

Type of being in Buddhist cosmogony.

In India, this was the cobra deity, which in Tibet was equated with water spirits and in China with dragons, neither country having cobras.

Semi-divine aquatic beings, often appearing in half-serpent, half-human form.

In India, this was the cobra deity, which in Tibet was equated with water spirits and in China with dragons, neither country having cobras.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

In India, this was the cobra deity, which in Tibet was equated with water spirits and in China with dragons, neither country having cobras.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of nonhuman beings with bodies that are half snake and half human.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments where they are known to guard wealth and esoteric teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and often assume a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, nāgas are regularly portrayed as being half human and half snake, and, as mentioned in this sūtra, said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. Nāgas likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. Nāgas are associated with snakes and serpents, and often assume a snakelike appearance.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments where they are known to guard wealth and esoteric teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and often assume a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, nāgas are regularly portrayed as being half human and half snake, and, as mentioned in this sūtra, said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. Nāgas likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments where they are known to guard wealth and esoteric teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and often assume a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, nāgas are regularly portrayed as being half human and half snake, and, as mentioned in this sūtra, said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. Nāgas likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and are said to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents, and are subordinate to Virūpākṣa, the Great King of the West.

A semidivine class of beings who live in aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings that live in subterranean aquatic environments and that are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

Nāgas are associated with springs, streams, rivers, and water in general, and among their many magical powers is the ability to produce rain.

A mythical being usually depicted as having the top half of a human and the bottom half of a snake. However, the nāga has a myriad of associations within Buddhism and Indian traditions in general; the term may be associated with deities, snakes (more specifically cobras), elephants, subterranean spirits, water spirits, or ethnic groups of people from the Indian subcontinent. In Tibet they became specifically associated with water spirits (klu), and in China they came to be associated with dragons. Here the image of the nāga is the twenty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean acquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

One of the lords of the ocean, appearing as a great, many headed, sea dragon.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

Nāgas are serpent-like animals who live (invisibly) in the human realm and have an ambivalent status, on occasion positive but also frequently harmful.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are said to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A type of serpentine spirit, often associated with underground or aquatic environments.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean acquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are said to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of nonhuman serpentine beings. They can change their shape and are usually said to reside in water.

A class of semidivine beings who live in aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth. They are associated with snakes and serpents. 

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings that live in subterranean aquatic environments and that are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

Snake-like mystical creatures with supernatural powers, which belong to the animal realm.

A serpentine class of beings associated with intelligence and wealth.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean and aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A supernatural being usually depicted as having the top half of a human and the bottom half of a snake. However, the nāga has a myriad of associations within Buddhism and Indian traditions in general; the term may be associated with deities, snakes (more specifically cobras), elephants, subterranean spirits, water spirits, or ethnic groups of people from the Indian subcontinent. In Tibet they became specifically associated with water spirits (klu), and in China they came to be associated with dragons (龍).

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments where they are known to guard wealth and esoteric teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and often assume a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, nāgas are regularly portrayed as being half human and half snake, and, as mentioned in this sūtra, said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. Nāgas likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lighting, hail, and flooding.

Nāgas belong half to the animal realm and half to the god realm (Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary). They are believed to abide in subterranean realms, having control over rain, ponds, rivers, and soil productivity. Some are Dharma protectors, but they can bring retribution if they are disturbed. Often in Buddhist arts and in written accounts, they are portrayed as being half human and half snake (Rigzin 9).

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments where they are known to guard wealth and esoteric teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and often assume a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, nāgas are regularly portrayed as being half human and half snake, and are said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed.

A nonhuman class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.

A class of semi-divine beings with bodies that are half human, half snake.

A class of nonhuman beings, half-human and half-snake.

Serpentine beings typically associated with waterways, springs, and the rains.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. Nāgas are associated with snakes and serpents and often assume a snakelike appearance.

A class of terrestrial beings.

A class of semidivine beings that are half serpent, half human.

Class of semi-divine serpent-like beings.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. Associated with snakes and serpents, they can both obstruct and protect human life.

A class of snake-like beings.

A class on nonhuman beings, half-snake and half-human.

A class of nonhuman beings that live in subterranean aquatic environments and are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. Nāgas are associated with snakes and serpents, and often assume a snakelike appearance.