'king of the nagas') is a king of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human form.

[1] Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout South Asia for at least two thousand years.

He is the being that supports the earth, on the behest of the creator god, Brahma, obtaining the boon to stand ever firmly on the concept of dharma.

A temple devoted to nagraja exists in kaippattoor of Ernakulam district in Kerala, India.

Some of the most notable Nagarajas occurring in Buddhist scriptures are Virupaksa, Mucalinda, Dhrtarastra, Takshaka, Vasuki, Nanda, Upananda, Sagara, Balavan, Anavatapta, Varuna and Utpala.

[5] It is said that four weeks after Gautama Buddha began meditating under the Bodhi Tree, the heavens darkened for seven days, and a prodigious rain descended.

The subject of Buddha meditating under the protection of Mucalinda, also known as naga Prok attitude is very common in Southeast Asian Buddhist art.

[6] Buddhist literature features a Nāga King named Dhṛtarāṣṭra(Sanskrit; Pali: Dhataraṭṭha).

[9][10][11] In some Buddhist traditions a figure called Duo-luo-shi-qi or Talasikhin is described as a Dragon King who dwells in a palace within a pond outside the legendary kingdom of Ketumati and drizzles in it during midnight.