nagapatri at belle brahmastana

Nagabana at Belle Badagumane, Moodubelle, Udupi

Union of nagabrahma and nagakannike at a mandala held in Belle Brahmastana, Udupi

A Mandala drawn during nagamandala

Nagaradhane (Tulu:ನಾಗಾರಾಧನೆ) is a form of snake worship which, along with Bhuta Kola, is one of the unique traditions prevalent in coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada , Udupi and Kasaragod alternatively known as Tulu Nadu

Origin of Nagaradhane[link]

Snakes, especially the cobra have been revered from ancient times all over India. Due to their mysterious appearances and slithering movements, snakes had always been held in awe in India. Snakes find mention in famous religious epics like Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana etc. Hindu Gods like Vishnu and Shiva have been associated with snakes. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu takes rest under the shade of the giant snake, Adisesha. Lord Shiva wears a snake vasuki around his neck.

It is difficult to trace the origin of Nagaradhane, though the Bunts of Tulu Nadu claim to be kshatriyas of Nagavanshi descent, thus maybe snake worship was popularised by them. Though most rituals of snake worship are done by brahmins, there is not a single Bunt house that does not have a nagabana. Mostly, snakes were seen as a symbol of fertility. Elsewhere in India, snakes are worshiped during the Nagarapanchami Day. They are offered milk (research has shown that snakes are allergic to milk) and thilak is applied on their forehead.

The snake worship rituals practiced in Tulu Nadu are quite unique and different from the other rituals. Snakes have their own snake shrines in a sacred grove known as Nagabana. The shrines have images of cobras carved of stones. Accordingly, nobody is allowed to chop the tree near the Nagabana. It is also believed that snakes, specifically the cobras, are not be harmed or killed by anyone. If harmed, the individual has to perform a ritual to cleanse the sin of killing or harming the snake. The belief is that the individual who refuses to perform the ritual will be cursed by the snake for eternity.

It can also be noted that in Tulu Nadu or the South Canara region in Karnataka, agriculture is predominant that too paddy is the main crop. In these fields snakes help in saving the crop from rodents. This can be a plausible reason for worship of snakes in line with other nature worships such as cow and the banyan tree.

The ritual[link]

Mandala drawn during ashleshabali at Belle Badagumane Moodubelle, Udupi

There are two distinct rituals performed in reverence to the snake. They are, Aashleshabali and Nagamandala. Of these, Nagamandala is longer and colourful than Aashleshabali. Nagamandala depicts the divine union of male and female snakes. It is generally performed by two priests. The first priest, called as patri inhales the areca flower and becomes the male snake. The second priest, called as Nagakannika or the female snake dances and sings around an elaborate serpent design drawn with natural colours on the sacred ground. The ritual is supplemented by playing an hour glass shaped instrument called as Dakke. The drawings in five different colours on the sacred ground are white (white mud), red (mix of lime powder and turmeric powder), green (green leaves powder), yellow (turmeric powder) and black (roasted and powdered paddy husk). Aashleshabali is similar nature to the after death rituals performed for the humans as per the Hindu tradition.

The ritual, centered around the serpent design, continues till early in the morning. A similar kind of ritual is found in Kerala and is known as Sarpam Thullal and Sarpam Kali. All communities of Tulu Nadu revere snakes.

Significance of Nagabanas[link]

Nagabanas or the sacred groves are deemed to be the resting place of the Snake God. Cutting of trees or defacing the grove is considered as sacrilege. People are wary of the wrath unleashed by the deity. Nagabanas once remained unspoilt and have contributed immensely to the preservation of valuable trees and medicinal plants in Tulu Nadu, but not now. With rapid and unplanned urbanisation many nagabanas have disappeared and in their place small temples for serpent god have been built clearing valuable trees and plants.

See also[link]

• Bhuta Kola
• Bunts
• Snake worship
• Theyyam

References[link]

• http://www.udupipages.com/art-culture/nagamandala.php
• http://www.gurjari.net/ico/Mystica/html/snake_worship.htm

External links and videos[link]

• naga possession videos
• naga darshana video
• dakke da bali video
• nagamandala with tulu explanation
• tying the knot
• untying the knot

v t e  Karnataka topics Overviews Architecture Cinema Climate Cuisine Demography Economy Education Folk Arts Geography History Media People Sports Transportation Wildlife History Aihole Alupas Amoghavarsha Badami Banavasi Chalukyas Chitradurga Nayaka Gangas Halmidi Hampi Hoysala Empire Kadambas Keladi Nayaka Kittur Chennamma Manyakheta Pattadakal Pulakesi II Rashtrakutas Srirangapatna Tipu Sultan Unification of Karnataka Vijayanagara empire Western Chalukyas Mysore Kingdom Geography Cities and towns Districts Rivers Taluks Villages Bayaluseeme Malenadu Karavali Western Ghats Culture Bharatanatya Bhuta Kola Bidriware Channapatna toys Chitrakala Parishat Gaarudi Gombe Ilkal saree Kamsale Kannada Karnatik music Kasuti Khedda Mysore Dasara Togalu Gombeyaata Udupi cuisine Veeragase Yakshagana Mysore musicians Literature Haridasa Hoysala Kannada (Medieval Modern Poetry Vijayanagara Western Chalukya) Kannada Sahitya Parishat Kannada Sahitya Sammelana Karnataka Rashtrakuta Vachana Vijayanagara Western Ganga Mysore Society Karnataka ethnic groups People Akka Mahadevi Aluru Venkata Rao C. N. R. Rao U.R. Ananthamurthy Anil Kumble Rahul Dravid Basavanna Bhimsen Joshi K.M. Cariappa Chandrashekhara Kambara Da Ra Bendre Kuvempu Vi Kru Gokak Masti Venkatesh Iyengar Shivarama Karanth Gubbi Veeranna Jakanachari Kengal Hanumanthaiah Kuvempu H. Narasimhaiah N.R. Narayana Murthy S. Nijalingappa Pampa Prakash Padukone Purandara Dasa Rajkumar Vishnuvardhan Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji Visvesvaraya Tourism Beaches Dams Forts National Parks Temples Waterfalls Awards Karnataka Ratna Pampa Prashasti Basava Puraskara Rajyotsava Prashasti Jakanachari Award Varnashilpi Venkatappa Award

Anushka Shetty
Shetty at TeachAIDS launch event in 2010
Born	Sweety Shetty[1] (1981-11-07) 7 November 1981 (age 30)[2] Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Other names	Sweety, Tommulu
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2005—present

Anushka Shetty (born on 7 November 1981 as Sweety Shetty) is an Indian film actress who works mainly in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. She debuted in the 2005 Telugu film Super and rose to fame following her performance in Vikramarkudu (2006).^[3] After starring in a series of high-budget productions alongside leading Telegu and Tamil actors, she went on to became one of Telegu and Tamil cinema's leading actresses in the successive years,^[4] while receiving high critical acclaim for her portrayal of the titular character in Arundhati,^[5] and as Saroja in Vedam,^[6] which fetched her two Filmfare, one Nandi and two CineMAA Awards.

Early life[link]

Anushka Shetty was born as Sweety Shetty on 7 November 1981^[2] in Mangalore. Shetty is an ethnic Bunt hailing from the landed Bellipady Uramalu Guthu family.^[7] Her parents are Prafulla and A.N. Vittal Shetty.^[7] She has two brothers Gunaranjan Shetty and Sai Ramesh Shetty who is a cosmetic surgeon.^[7] She attended her schooling in Bangalore. She did her Bachelor of Computer Applications at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.^[8] She was also a Yoga Instructor and has trained under yoga guru Bharat Thakur.

Film career[link]

Shetty made her acting debut in Puri Jagannath's 2005 Telugu film Super alongside Akkineni Nagarjuna. The same year, she acted in another film Mahanandi, which was an unsuccessful venture. In 2006, she had four releases, the first being S. S. Rajamouli's Vikramarkudu opposite Raviteja, in which she portrayed the character Neeraja Goswami. The film went on to become very successful and got her much recognition, that eventually made her very popular in Andhra Pradesh.^[3][9] She next had starred in the film Astram, a remake of the 1999 Hindi film Sarfarosh, following which she debuted in the Tamil film industry, acting in the Sundar C.-directed action flick Rendu, sharing screen space with R. Madhavan. Later that year, she made a special appearance in A. R. Murugadoss' directorial debut in Telugu, Stalin.

Her first release in 2007 was Lakshyam, after which she starred in Raghava Lawrence's Don opposite Nagarjuna again. The former, in particular, succeeded at the box office.^[10] In 2008 she had appeared in six films. Okka Magaadu was the first release, in which she played one of three female leads. Her subsequent releases Swagatam alongside Jagapati Babu and Bhumika Chawla and Baladur opposite Ravi Teja garnered poor reviews and box office returns.^[11][12] She next appeared in the film Souryam with Gopichand which became a box office hit.

In 2009, Shetty first starred in the blockbuster hit Arundhati. In this heroine-centric film, she essayed two roles for the first time.^[4] It was a critical as well as commercial success. Critics heaped praise on Anushka for her performance. Idlebrain's Jeevi wrote that she was "simply amazing in two roles" and that she did "exceptionally well with subtle yet impact creating performance", while Rediff claimed that she was "brilliant and breathtaking in parts",^[13] labelling Arundhati as "totally Anushka's film".^[14] Sify noted that she was "at her best with great performance".^[15] She went on to win the Nandi Special Jury Award and the Filmfare Best Actress Award among other accolades. Her next film, the action flick Billa, a remake of the 2007 Tamil namesake, itself a remake of the 1978 Hindi film Don, featured Shetty in a role contrary to that in Arundati. Her final release in 2009 was her second Tamil feature film, Vettaikkaran with leading Tamil actor Vijay which was one of the highest grosser of the year.^[16] She had an array of releases in 2010, with her Tamil release Singam co-starring Suriya emerging her highest-grosser of the year, while most her Telugu films performed poorly. She portrayed a prostitute in Krish's critically acclaimed anthology film Vedam,^[6] winning accolades for her performance, including her second consecutive Filmfare Award, following which she was selected to reprise the character in its Tamil remake, Vaanam as well. Her other 2010 releases were Panchakshari, Khaleja, Nagavalli and Ragada.

Vaanam became her first 2011 release, which received critical acclaimed reviews as well. Her next release Deiva Thirumagal with Vikram became a critical and commercial success, fetching her laurels for her portrayal as Anuradha, a lawyer. The successes of her Tamil films led to Anushka growing in popularity in Tamil cinema. She was subsequently offered several high-profile productions, including A. R. Murugadoss' new project starring Vijay and the Gautham Menon-directorial Neethane En Ponvasantham featuring Jeeva.^[17] with Sify calling her the "most wanted heroine in Kollywood".^[17] She confirmed that she had signed two Tamil films, Selvaraghavan's Irandam Ulagam opposite Arya and an action-masala film to be directed by Suraj, co-starring Karthi.^[18][19] She agree to be part of another Tamil production, Thaandavam, in November 2011.^[20] She is shooting for two Telugu projects as well, the fantasy film Damarukam alongside Akkineni Nagarjuna and the period drama Rampachodavaram.^[21] She is also acting in Koratala Siva's Vaaradhi opposite Prabhas.^[22]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Wins

• 2010: Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Telugu - Arundhati
• 2010: Nandi Special Jury Award - Arundhati
• 2010: CineMAA Award for Best Actress - Arundhati
• 2010: Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine - Vettaikkaran
• 2011: CineMAA Award for Best Actress (Jury) - Vedam
• 2011: Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Telugu - Vedam
• 2011: Jaya Award for Favorite Actrees - Deiva Thirumagal

Nominations

• 2011: Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Telugu - Nagavalli
• 2011: Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine - Singam

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anushka Shetty

• Anushka Shetty at the Internet Movie Database