MANASA

folk goddess of snakes, worshiped mainly in Bengal and other parts of northeastern India, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite and also for fertility and general prosperity. As the protector of children, she is often identified with the goddess Sasthi (the Sixth, worshiped on the sixth day after birth). The antiquity of the goddess is a matter of conjecture. The written texts that contain her myth, the Manasa-mangals, date from the 16th17th century but are probably based on an earlier oral tradition. She is also celebrated in a variety of folk entertainment in the villages. Manasa is apparently a local goddess who was incorporated into the classical Hindu pantheon. She may be related to the nagas, a legendary half-human, half-serpent race in India.