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<p>In the summer of 1901 a visit to the Kullu Valley brought the author face-to-face with people who still pay reverence to the serpent demons known from early Indian literature. In the course of his subsequent wanderings through the western Himalayas he had ample opportunity for collecting information regarding the serpent worship or Naga. Other nations are known to practice this form of animal worship but it is impossible to find any other place where it takes such a prominent place in literature folklore and art as it does in India. The existence of this cult may be estimated to be no less than three millennia. During this vast space of time the deified serpents have haunted the imagination of the people of India. Besides the three chief repositories of serpent-lore – the Mahabharata the Jatakas and the Rajatarangini have been fully utilized. About the Author J. Ph. Vogel (1871-1958) was a Dutch Sanskritist who worked with the Archaeological Survey of India from 1901 to 1914 and later as a Professor in the University of Leiden. As an archaeologist he participated in excavations in Gandhara¸ the Punjab Hill States Kushinagar and Mathura.</p>
