What is Manasa?
{{Infobox deity | type = Hindu | image = Manasa Devi.jpg | caption = An 20th century art of Manasa | name = Manasa | affiliation = [[Devi]], [[Nāga]] | script_name = [[Bengali language|Bengali]] / [[Hajong language|Hajong]] | script = মনসা / কাণি দেউও (Kānī Dīyāʊ) / চেংমুড়ি কানী (Cēṅmuṛi Kānī) | god_of = Goddess of Serpents | siblings = [[Vasuki]], [[Shesha]], [[Kaliya]], [[Takshaka]], [[Karkotaka]], Irāvatī | children = [[Astika (Hinduism)|Astika]] | spouse = [[Jaratkaru]] | mount = [[Swan]], Serpent | parents = [[Shiva]] or [[Kashyapa]] (father) [[Kadru]] (mother) | mantra = Ōṁ hrīṁ śrīṁ klīṁ aiṁ manasādēvyai svāhā | Assamese = | gender = [[Female]] | texts = [[Manasamangal Kāvya]] | festivals = [[Naag Panchami]] | tree = [[Cactus]] | father = [[Shiva]] or [[Kashyapa]] | mother = [[Kadru]] }} '''Manasa''' ({{Langx|sa|मनसा|translit=Manasā}}) is a [[devi|Hindu goddess]] of snakes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2012-06-29 |title=Manasa Devi, Manasā Devī: 1 definition |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/manasa-devi |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en |archive-date=20 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120061636/https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/manasa-devi |url-status=live }}</ref> She is worshipped mainly in [[Bihar]], [[Odisha]], [[Bengal]], [[Jharkhand]], [[South Assam]] and other parts of [[Northeast India|northeastern India]] and in [[Uttarakhand]], chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite, and also for fertility and prosperity. In [[Hinduism]], Manasa is the sister of [[Shesha]] and [[Vasuki]], king of Nāgas (serpents), and wife of sage [[Jaratkaru]]. She is the mother of the sage [[Astika (Hinduism)|Astika]].{{Sfn|Wilkins|2004|p=395}} She is also known as ''Vishahari'' (the destroyer of poison), ''Nityā'' (eternal) and ''Padmavati''.{{Sfn|Dowson|2003|p=196}} == References == [[Category:Hindu gods and goddesses]]