NAGAS Serpent-genies of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist myth, the Nagas are water gods, generally friendly in disposition. An example of this friendship is shown in the instance of the Naga Muchalinda protecting the Buddha from the storm. Nagas were depicted as having a human face with the tail of a serpent, and the expanded neck of the cobra. They are sons of Kadru, the daughter of Daksha, and inhabit subaquatic paradises, dwelling at the bottom of lakes, rivers and seas in splendid, jewel-encrusted palaces ever alive with dancing and song.