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Nagas are a race of semidivine serpent creatures in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Female Nagas are called Nagis or Naginis. Usually depicted as human above the waist and snake below the waist, Nagas can also change shape to appear fully human or snake. Nagas and Nagis are known for their strength, supernaturalrelated to forces beyond the normal world; magical or miraculous wisdom, and good looks. When Nagis take human form, they can marry mortal men, and some Indian dynastiessuccession of rulers from the same family or group claim descent from them.

According to legend, Nagas are children of Kadru, the granddaughter of the god BrahmaHindu creator god, and her husband, Kasyapa. Nagas lived on earth at first, but their numbers became so great that...