Quaint Snake Shrine: Naag Devta in Adalaj, Gujarat

There is an Orissa style Jagannath Mandir near this Trimandir ashram complex, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in Gujarat. We went there on a stroll once, enroute we came to a small shrine at the side of the road. Curious, I checked which deity it was – the Naag Devta.

A quaint, small shrine with a photo of the Naag devta, some lamps and few other paraphernalia lying inside. A few flags stuck high up on poles fluttering in the wind – white, with a snake symbol.

I have not seen such kind of quaint Naag Devta shrines on the side of the road elsewhere – may be a feature of these regions of Gujarat.

The other day, I noticed another snake shrine within this ashram complex itself, which I had somehow not acknowledged properly earlier. It looks like the remnant of whatever was here before this ashram was constructed. And not a proper temple/shrine that the ashram management may have constructed. :)

It is at the base of a Neem tree, which is interesting. Typically it is usually a banyan tree. And someone else also thinks so, because a Banyan sapling has been planted there. One evening, I spotted a lady doing aarti at this shrine. I watched curiously.

Snake shrines are also common in Jain & Hindu temples. In Jainism, they are considered as kshetrapal devtas – guardian deities. For sure, having some snakes around would scare a lot of people away :D

I checked with my domestic help about these small snake shrines in the area. She said, “where there are fields and some of these things are there, then they put a snake shrine there.” Does it help? “Yes, definitely it helps, then nothing will trouble over there. My mother in law has a snake shrine in her house, though there is no field or farm there“.

In Himachal, when I stayed in the town of Jibhi for a month, I had gone trekking to the nearby Serolsar lake. It is considered to be the abode of the mother of all (Himachali) Naag devtas. A feminine devi shrine but with many arcane practices around. 😁

With varied travel experiences I can see these shrines as part of a larger culture of worshipping, deifying snakes across the subcontinent. 🙏🏻 Much joy to see this connectedness. And to see this little Naag shrine below the Neem tree on my daily walks. Happy vibes.