Serpent Gods

One thing amazed me in my childhood was a little forest (a grove) that was in the corner of our property. It had a beautiful pond near to it that had golden colour fishes in it. I used to accompany someone with a bowl of milk to this grove

Initially I was really scared to enter into this grove. As curiosity grew day by day, I got enough guts to enter into this grove and explore it.

To my surprise, I got a feeling that I entered into a different world. A World that was filled with mysteries and stories. I saw lots of serpent idols in the forest. I saw lot of birds that include both resident and visitor species. Rodents, snakes, frogs, lizards, millipedes, termites, ants, earthworms and snails etc.

We put the bowl on the bottom of a tall tree. My relative told me Naga Raja(Serpent King) will come here and will drink this milk.

Usually snakes will never drink milk There is a trick in it.

(MILK! None of the items offered to the snakes formed a part of the snakes’ food. But, it attracted the rats and in turn rat-snakes. These rat-snakes were the food for the poisonous snakes (King Cobra etc.)

We both prayed for a while and left.

After that I used to visit this grove alone and prayed in front of serpent idols and offered milk.

I have a serious thought about this. Why my ancestors made a small forest and why they didn’t put a picture in the house and prayed the serpent gods

I think this small grove is not exclusively for serpent Gods. It had other purposes also
I noticed that the grove is luxuriant evergreen and comprises of several storeys of trees, mixed with shrubs, herbs, epiphytes and lianas. The biodiversity of the sacred groves is very high and includes many endemic species of the Western Gnats.

The place assigned for the grove by the family is usually on the southwestern part of the house, near enough but sufficiently away from the house for the trees to grow and reptiles and birds to live without disturbance to and from the family.

All rare trees and plants would also be planted. When a new house (tharavaadu) is to be constructed, the master architect (known as perunthachan) not only lays out the building plan but also the plan for locating the sacred grove, which is an important element in the conventional house design.

The Vrikshayurveda states that one tree will serve the purpose of ten sons. If a man plants the following trees during his life-time he will never go to hell: 1 pipal tree, 1 neem tree, 1 banyan tree, 10 tamarind trees, 3 wood-apple trees, 3 goose berry trees, 5 mango trees and 5 coconut trees.


The Nayars being a martial community, in historical times, it was thought necessary for Nayar ladies also to be trained in the martial arts. The martial goddess, whose blessings should be obtained for proficiency in the martial arts and for victory in battles, was Kavilamma (the goddess residing in the Kavu), a popular name for “Durga”. Hence their belief regarding trees was not just a matter of blind faith. It was a judicious combination of reason and faith.


Now I can see a total different picture. There was a big marble house built by a gulf returned businessman. There is a beautiful garden filled with roses and other flowers.

The entire grove disappeared along with the serpent Gods
Rodents, snakes, frogs, and snails disappeared
Kites, owls, herons, mynahs, parrots, humming birds disappeared
Mysteries disappeared and stories also