On an elevated stretch of pious ground in the village of Goshal, a collage of woodwork, stone and slate mesh together to unveil the temple of Kana Naga, locally known as Goshali Naga.
The temple is a product of the Kath Kuni style of architecture, a very common style of architecture in villages dotting the scenic hills of Himachal. Traditionally made out of natural materials such as timber and stones, the Kath Kuni, is considered by the local populace to be a highly efficient building technique with thought and consideration embedded in the blueprint.
A complete building is conceived to be everything from a seismic structure, a natural thermal storage, and a fitting example of modern-day sustainable architecture. Its origin remains unexplored, but the style very likely sprouted in a geographical region where resources were scarce, other than the availability of wood, and inhabitants endured harsh, cold weather.
Greetings Cards by Farbound.Net for Goodwishes.
Actual Dimension: 1200 x 1203 pixels.
Like the architecture, the origin of the temple, too, remains obscure. However, what is presently known is that the temple, for some time now, has been dedicated to the trinity of two venerable sages from Vedic mythology and a Serpent deity.
Namely, Gautam Maharishi, a learned sage, who turned his wife into stone after her supposedly adulterous affair with the king of the Gods, Indra. Ved Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata, and Kana Naga, one of the many children of Vasuki, the mythical lord of snakes who stays coiled around the neck of Shiva.
Among the trio, Kana Naga is the oldest, and if we abide by the most popular legend mentioned in the pages of western Himalayan folklore. He is not only the patron deity of the village of Goshal but also the undisputed master of the temple.
Kana is one of the 18 Serpent Deities mentioned in the legend of the Atthara Kardu, and the brother of Shirgan Naga, whose temple is located at the village of Bhanara, some distance from Goshal (see the Farbound.Net Story: The Himalayan temple of Shirgan Naga). His father, Vasuki, begot him and his siblings in union with a local girl from the village of Goshal itself.
According to the legend, Vasuki, disguised as a handsome young man, had wooed and bedded the girl from Goshal. Later, when the time had come for him to depart, he had instructed his wife to place his children in a basket and to place a bowl of milk and a lit incense in front of it every morning.
One day, with the mother away on an errand, the responsibility of placing the offerings was handed to her mother (sometimes said to be her sister). This woman, hitherto oblivious to what was in the basket, is curious and, upon opening the lid, is so horrified to find the 18 Serpents that she accidentally drops the burning incense into the basket, thereby starting a fire. The Serpents eventually escape, but not before one of them has lost an eye.
This Serpent was Kana Naga. The name “Kana” literally means, one eye blind (see the Farbound.Net Story: Behind the myth of the Serpent people). Kana Naga was later rescued and edified as the patron deity of Goshal.
In another legend, and which emerged much later than the popular legends mentioned in the western Himalayan folklore, the temple was built after a man tilling his farm had stumbled upon a holy relic and a heavenly voice had revealed the identity of the object as the embodiment of the Trinity. Born dumb, this encounter had blessed him with the power of speech.
Like the second legend, which emerged later, the addition of the Vedic sages probably happened at a later, unspecified date, too. A newspaper clipping that I found online mentioned the village of Goshal maintains silence for a month out of respect for the Serpent deity.
However, when I last visited the temple, despite the fact that it was evening and getting dark, the sleepy little village was abuzz with activity. The original temple was probably a mound of stones.
I F I This is an independent story exploring the temple of Kana Naga in relation to his legends in Western Himalayan Folklore. The story is primarily built out of facts curated from literary sources, but also takes into account local folklore and information available in local publications. I
