Nagraj, a prince of the snakes, meets Princess Himal. The two fall in love and get married, but their happiness is threatened when Nagraj’s secret identity and his life in the realm of the snakes are revealed.
Himal and Nagraj is a traditional Kashmiri folk tale compiled by Pandit Shiva Ram of Bana Mahal, Srinagar, and published by the British Reverend James Hinton Knowles in Folk-Tales of Kashmir. Parts of this story have been edited by gaathastory for language and context.
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You can listen to the Parikatha Podcast version of Himal and Nagraj as a Spotify Exclusive. The story is available as part of the Parikatha collection of traditional Indian folk tales.
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हिमाल और नागराज की कहानी | Princess Himal and Nagraj
Princess Himal and Nagaraj (Kannada)
About this Story
Himal and Nagraj comes from the Kashmiri folk-tale tradition. It combines romance, transformation and the supernatural world of serpents, with the central relationship between Princess Himal and Nagraj, the prince of the snakes. The story was compiled by Pandit Shiva Ram of Bana Mahal, Srinagar, and published by James Hinton Knowles in Folk-Tales of Kashmir. The version presented here has been edited by gaathastory for language and context.
Read this story below
Nagraj, a prince of the snakes, enters the garden of Princess Himal. He takes human form when he enters the garden and visits the pool where the princess comes to bathe. On the third day, Himal decides to watch the mysterious young man and, when she sees him, falls in love with him. Himal sends a maid to follow the young man. The maid discovers that he transforms into a snake before leaving the garden. Himal learns of his identity and tells her father that she will marry only Soda Ram’s son. Soda Ram is summoned before the King, and Himal and Nagraj are eventually married.
A palace is built for the newly married couple near a river and surrounded by beautiful orchards. For a time, Himal and Nagraj live together happily, but Nagraj’s other wives eventually come to visit him. One of Nagraj’s wives disguises herself as a glass seller. Another takes the form of a sweeper and reveals Nagraj’s true identity to Himal. Himal confronts Nagraj and asks him to return to their married life, but he explains that he is destined to live in the realm of the snakes.
Nagraj warns Himal about the danger posed by his snake wives. Himal nevertheless accompanies him and enters their world. The snake wives make her their housekeeper and force her to perform all the household work. One day, Himal is asked to boil milk for the little serpentine children. Exhausted from the household chores, she accidentally knocks over the pot while the milk is still boiling hot. The consequences are tragic, and Himal’s life takes another turn as the story moves between the human and supernatural worlds.
The story continues with Himal’s death and resurrection. A holy man discovers her body and prays to Lord Narayan. Himal returns to life, although she has no memory of her past. Nagraj eventually discovers that Himal’s body has disappeared. The holy man has taken her into his home, where she remains while he goes to the river to bathe and meditate. Nagraj, still attached to Himal, enters the house in his serpentine form and finds her sleeping.
About This Story | इस कहानी के बारे में
हिमाल और नागराज की कहानी श्रीनगर के बाना महल के पंडित शिव राम द्वारा संकलित की गई थी और ब्रिटिश जेम्स हिंटन नोल्स ने अपनी पुस्तक फोक-टेल्स ऑफ कश्मीर शीर्षक से प्रकाशित की थी। इस कहानी के कुछ हिस्सों को भाषा और संदर्भ के लिए गाथास्टोरी द्वारा संपादित किया गया है। यह एपिसोड मीनू पंडित द्वारा लिखा गया था और अमर व्यास द्वारा संपादित किया गया था। अमर व्यास ने सुनाया। थीम म्यूजिक का टाइटल ब्यूटीफुल मोमेंट्स है। परिकाथा पॉडकास्ट गाथास्टोरी द्वारा निर्मित है। । आप फेयरीटेल्स ऑफ इंडिया पॉडकास्ट को अंग्रेजी, हिंदी और कन्नड़ में सुन सकते हैं, विशेष रूप से Spotify पर।
हिमाल और नागराज कश्मीर की लोककथाओं की परंपरा से जुड़ी एक कहानी है। इसमें राजकुमारी हिमाल और नागराज, सांपों के राजकुमार, की प्रेम कहानी के माध्यम से मनुष्य और नागलोक की रहस्यमय दुनिया को प्रस्तुत किया गया है। इस कहानी का संकलन श्रीनगर के बना महल के पंडित शिव राम ने किया था और इसे जेम्स हिंटन नोल्स ने अपनी पुस्तक Folk-Tales of Kashmir में प्रकाशित किया। इस संस्करण को भाषा और संदर्भ के लिए gaathastory द्वारा संपादित किया गया है।
About Parikatha Podcast
This episode was written by Minu Pandit and edited by Amar Vyas. It was narrated by Sheerali Biju. The theme music is titled Beautiful Moments. The Parikatha Podcast is produced by gaathastory, with audio editing by Prashanth. The story was compiled by Pandit Shiva Ram of Bana Mahal, Srinagar, and published by James Hinton Knowles in Folk-Tales of Kashmir. Parts of the story have been edited by gaathastory for language and context.
Images used with the Spotify-exclusive podcasts were generated using AI imaging tools or sourced from the public domain. The original publication notes that these images are available under a Creative Commons licence unless otherwise stated.
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इस कहानी को मृणाल पंडित द्वारा पोडकास्ट के लिए अनुकूलित किया गया था और अमर व्यास द्वारा संपादित किया गया था। शीरली बीजू द्वारा कथन सीज़न 4 में कुछ एपिसोड अमर व्यास द्वारा सुनाए गए हैं। सीज़न 4 के लिए ऑडियो संपादन प्रशांत द्वारा किया गया है, और सीज़न 3 ऑडियो संपादन कृष्णदास द्वारा किया गया है। हमारे पॉडकास्ट एपिसोड में उपयोग की जाने वाली कुछ छवियां एआई इमेजिंग का उपयोग करके उत्पन्न होती हैं और क्रिएटिव कॉमन्स लाइसेंस के तहत उपयोग की जाती |
This Spotify exclusive episode is brought to you by gaathastory. This story was adapted for Devgatha Podcast by Mrunal Pandit and edited by Amar Vyas. Narration by Sheerali Biju, some episodes of Parikatha Podcast in Season 4 are narrated by Amar Vyas. Audio editing for Season 4 is by Prashanth, and Season 3 audio editing by Krishnadas. Theme music: Frost Waltz. Some images used in our podcast episodes are generated using AI Imaging tools and are used under Creative Commons License. Translation and narration for Kannada version of this podcast has been done by Shruthi Prakash. Audio editing by Krishnadas.
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Seasons 3 and 4 of this podcast are published as Spotify Exclusives. आप Spotify पर Parikatha Podcast को सुन और सब्सक्राइब कर सकते हैं। इस पॉडकास्ट के सीज़न 3 और 4 को Spotify एक्सक्लूसिव्स के रूप में प्रकाशित किया गया है।
This episode was published on 2023-03-24 and has been updated since. Length of the audio stories my vary depending on the language.