Aśvatara
Aśvatara
Aśvatara is one of the best of nāgas. In the Brahma Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa, Sumantu Muni names the twelve nāgas to be worshipped in order in the twelve months: Ananta, Vāsuki, Śaṅkha, Padma, Kambala, Karkoṭaka, Aśvatara, Dhṛtarāshṭra, Śaṅkhapāla, Kāliya, Takshaka and Piṅgala. Aśvatara is the seventh.
In the account of the ratha of Bhagavān Sūrya, Aśvatara is among the nāgas with Bhagavān Sūrya in Caitra and Vaiśākha, with Khaṇḍaka and Vāsuki, and again in Māgha and Phālguna, with Kambala.
In the Uttara Parva, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa tells Yudhishṭhira of the devatās in the body of the cow: in her two nostrils dwell the two nāgas Kambala and Aśvatara.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 32, 52; Uttara Parva, Chapter 69
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 32, 52; Uttara Parva, Chapter 69