Naga's of kashmir

KASHMIR:

Kashmir is surrounded by a girt of mountains, which is crossed through 

a few mountains. Ou-Kong (759A.D.) has described the 3 passes leading to 

the Valley. One pass leads from Tou-fan (Tiben); the other from Po-

liu (Baltistan) and the third from Kien-to-lo (Gandhara). It is evident that 

Kashmir had established links with the people of Ladakh, Tibet, Gilgit, Taxila.

 

HISTORY OF NAGAISM IN KASHMIR:People of that time settled around a lake or a spring. In Kashmir, a spring is known as a Nag. These 

early settlers had to clear forests from the wild animals and snakes, whom they feared and 

respected.they were non idol worshipers but later As such, they started worship of the snakes. 

Then came the Aryan tribes around 4000 years back approximately, who introduced their 

customs and rituals in the Valley. However, in the beginning they met with opposition from 

the Nagas.

As Kashmir formed a part of Gandhara during the ancient period, the whole area from Anantnag 

to Peshawar was termed as Gandhara. Its capital was situated at Taxila. The Nagas inhabited this 

area. They were always at war with the Aryans. After some centuries, they became masters of the 

Sanskrit learning and produced famous scholars, important among those are Kapila, Patanjali, and 

Naga-Arjuna. At the outset, the Buddhists had to face a strong opposition from the Nagas of 

Kashmir. However, Madhyantika succeeded in winning over the Nagas and they began to abandon the 

rites and ceremonies prescribed in the Nilamatapurana. Further, as they could not appreciate 

the caste system, they adopted the doctrine of Buddhism, which taught universal brotherhood. 

Subsequently, they started to worship the image of Buddha and mixed their own ceremonies with 

it. In the same way, the Greek, the Iranian and the Scythian doctrines got mixed up with the tenants 

of Buddhism.