Serpents (male: nagas, female: naginis) have been revered in India for over 2000 years. They are venerated for protection from snakebite, fertility, and prosperity as the guardian of gems. In this devotional representation, a pair of rearing semi-divine cobras each with three heads/hoods are shown in a symmetrical composition. Their smaller slithering offspring are beside them, suggesting that the stele was likely erected as a fertility icon under a tree in a village shrine.
