Kaliya
Kaliya (Sanskrit: कालिय) is a Hindu deity or demon ( asura ) in the shape of a many-headed serpent ( naga ). It belongs to the legends of the Hindu god Krishna .
myth
The legend of Kaliya can be found in the 16th chapter of the 10th song of the Bhagavatapurana . As a result, Kaliya lived in Vrindavan in the Yamuna River, and its poison contaminated the river's waters for miles around. He had been driven here by Garuda , the companion animal ( vahana ) of Vishnu and enemy of all snakes, where the curse of a yogi protected him from Garuda. One day Krishna, who was playing with other shepherd boys, climbed a tree on the bank; from there his ball fell into the water and Krishna jumped after it. Kaliya rose immediately and his heads, over a hundred, spat poison; he also wrapped himself around Krishna, but Krishna puffed up so that Kaliya had to let go of him. Krishna tossed the snake around, jumped on it and danced on their heads until blood came out. At the request of the numerous women of Kaliyas, Krishna allowed him to withdraw into the sea; then the water of the Yamuna became drinkable again.
Representations
Depictions of Krishna ( keshava or venugopala ) and Kaliya can already be found frequently in medieval art in South India . With the increasing popularity of Krishna in the late Middle Ages and in modern times, painted representations also became more and more popular.
