N is for Naga Mani (Gemstone Folklore)

Welcome to the 2022 A to Z Blogging Challenge! My theme this year is Gemstone Folklore. Because I love stories about shiny things. Read the introduction to the project here.

CHLOROPHANE

Chlorophane (also known as cobra stone) is a rare variety of the mineral fluorite, with fluorescent and thermoluminescent properties. When exposed to sunlight or heat, it emits a faint light in the dark.

Serpent stones

India, Sri Lanka, Bengal

Naga mani (cobra/serpent gem) is the Sanskrit name used for legendary "snake stones". They are one of the Nine Sacred Pearls of Vedic texts. In 1890 a Professor H. Hensoldt published a fascinating account of his journey to India in search of such stones. He found that some young cobras tended to "guard" fluorescent chlorophane pebbles (found in riverbeds) because their light attracted fireflies as easy prey. Various minerals and stones are seen as "cobra stones" or "Naga stones" all over India, and from there this ancient belief has spread all the way to Europe.

There are several folktales that feature such magical serpent stones. In The Golden Tree from Sri Lanka a king sends out his sons to find a magic tree. The youngest prince encounters a city threatened by a cobra that carries a magic gem. The prince manages to obtain the gem and kill the Naga King. The luminous gem allows him to find the three princesses who can transform into the magic tree together.

A similar adventure happens in the amazing story of Brave Seventee Bai from India. Here a brave young woman disguised as a man goes through many adventures, including one where she sets a trap for a cobra and takes its radiant diamond. Using the diamond she enters the snake's underwater gardens, and rescues a princess who agrees to marry her. (Don't get too excited, Seventee Bai rescues many princesses, but in the end gives them all to her husband. Boo.)

In the tale of Pakir Chand from Bengal, a prince and a minister's son acquire a serpent's luminous stone by similar means, and use it to enter an underwater realm where a princess resides. The jewel plays a key role in the rest of the story. In the Jataka tales a Brahman acquires a wish-granting serpent jewel from young Nagas who play "all night in the waters by its radiance."

There is also a tale from Thailand about a magician who creates rubies by injecting serpents with magic. (!) Any serpent that lives to be a thousand years old develops a radiant ruby in its forehead. The magician doesn't live long enough to see the result, but one in a thousand snakes survives, and causes a lot of trouble for a kingdom.

Sources: Read Hensoldt's account here. Read more about cobra pearls here.

If you had a wish-granting, light-giving magic stone, what would you use it for?