More About Dragons

7/28/2019 More About Dragons

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magic powers that were called upon when Buddha made an expedition to subdue and convert thefierce dragon-king Apulala. He could make himself smaller and smaller until he seemed todisappear. When he is shown among the other disciples, he is the one depicted charming adragonintohis alms-bowl.

Lung-chun or Dragon-host is the Chinese form given for an Indian name appearing in Buddhistdiscussions.

The dragon is the emblem of one of the Tibetan Buddhist schools descending from Milarepa.

That is because the founder of the Dragon or Drukpa lineage,

" ... Tsangpa Gyare, whose existence was in fact earlier predicted by the Dakinis (youknow, some forms of spiritual beings), while looking for a suitable site to build aproper place to spread the teachings of the holy lineage, met with nine dragons.These auspicious creatures flew up into the sky, followed by a loud clap of roaringthunder. At this sight, Tsangpa Gyare decided to build his monastery in this holyplace then and there. Therefore, the first monastery, Nam Druk Sewa JangchubLing, was built, located not too far from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

Based on this remarkable incident, I think that was the first time the dragon wasassociated with our lineage. Then it became quite natural for the followers of thislineage, or for that matter, the lineage holder and the lineage itself to be called theDrukpa or Druk lineage. As you know, the dragon is supposed to be an importantand auspicious celestial creature, and even Bhutan is commonly called Drukpa orDruk Yul, meaning the Country of Dragon. The Bhutanese people also refer tothemselves as Drukpa, meaning people from the dragon country."

~ interview with HH the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa

Guardian

The eastern dragon is a symbol of divine protection and vigilance. In its form that combines fish,reptile and bird it has the ability to swim in the seas, fly in the heavens and coil up in the landwhere its humped back forms the ridges of mountain ranges.

Generally generous and benevolent, it wards off wandering evil spirits protect the virtuous and theinnocent. Therefore, children born in the dragon year of a 12-animal cycle especially are consideredto enjoy health, wealth, and long life.

Medea, Mistress of Dragons

Once a king of Thebes, desperate to protect his kingdom from his nephew Jason, sent him off on adeadly mission: to journey across the sea far to the northeast to retrieve the Golden Fleece ofHermes' flying ram. (Sheep's fleece has been documented in western Asia today as still being usedto filter and trap gold from mountain streams.) But this fleece, besides being of sacred origin, wasalso the totemic object bound to the longevity of the king of Colchis. It was protected there, not farfrom the Black Sea where it had been nailed to a tree in a dragon sanctuary.

Jason sought help from the foreign king's daughter, Medea, an adept of the cult of Hecate, theMoon goddess. Unfortunately for her, she had become the target of one of Eros' arrows and wassmitten with Jason. When he promised before the deities of that Asian land to take her back withhim to an honorable estate, i.e. as his lawful wife, she agreed to betray her own father and thusendanger the welfare of her state, to sing thedragontosleep.

Jason accomplished his quest and returned to Greece with her, which must have taken some timefor they had two sons together. When his uncle did not keep his part of the bargain, Jason and hisfamily had to flee to Corinth. There, in an attempt to make a place for himself, he became involvedin an arranged marriage with the daughter of Creon, ruler of that city.
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Medea was appalled primarily by the broken sacred vow, and pretended to accept the situationmaking for the younger woman, a poisoned dress of cloth-of-gold. When that poor victim sufferedher final agony, Medea then slew her own two sons before their father's eyes. She conjured up adragon-drawn vehicleand flew off in it as Jason fell upon his own sword on the threshold of theirhome.

Honouring theDragon

Temples and shrines were built in honor of dragons as they were understood to be the controllers ofthe rain and the wealth of rivers, lakes, and seas. Incense and prayer were offered especially on thefirst and fifteenth of every month at pagodas and shrines such as Black Dragon Pool Chapel nearBeijing said to have been reserved especially for the use of the Empress and her court.

Temple Island in Japan's inland sea is a famous dragon pilgrimage destination. There are also lutemples in Tibet where various reptiles are also considered members of the naga class of beings.

TheDragon Image

The dragon is one of the four spiritual animals; the others are the phoenix, qilin (a kind of unicorn)and the tortoise.

Much has been made of the distinguishing characteristics of the various Asian dragons. There is aniconographic convention in which the common dragon is four-clawed, the five-clawed one is thecelestial one that is the Chinese Imperial emblem, and the colonial type such as the Japanese one isshown with only three.

The image of a dragon, its face or mask (Skt.: mukha,) or an abstract design representing itsserpentine form is generally used as a protective mark. For example, the winding design used toframe the corners of a page of Tibetan writing has its origin in protective dragons; sometimes theireye dots are indicated.

In the Tibetan tradition, theturquoisedragon is said to protect against discord of all types but

especially slanderous gossip and the misuse of words. Dragons often appear on metal musicalinstruments such as bells, gongs and the small cymbals that can serve to represent the musicoffering on a Buddhist shrine. This may relate to the roar of righteous indignation of the protectivedragon but also to its legendary love of music.

They are also often found in architecture where they protect against fire and earthquakes. Theirimage functions as a kind of amulet or talisman of security so they are found at the bases ofmonuments, on bridges and on the eaves of roofs.

Lifespan of theEastern Dragon

While male dragons have undulating steep,concave horns, female dragons are described as havingstraight noses, round manes, thin scales (81 in number) and a strong tail. They lay their eggs nearwater and they can take 1000 years to hatch. When water runs from the eggs as they begin to hatch,it is said that the parents cry out. The sounds of father and mother differ which dramatically affectsthe weather causing darkness, torrential rain and the thunder and lightning which induces the eggsto crack.

The different forms of the dragon are attributed to its stage of development. At 500 years they areconsidered Kiao (scaled dragons,) at 1000 years they are mature Lung. It takes another 500 years forthe horns to develop fully- Kioh-lung- and another millennium for the dragon to fully develop intothe Ying-lungor winged dragon capable of flight. They are believed to have shape-changingabilities except when being born, sleeping, lustful or angry.

There are four major kinds of Chinese dragon: t'ien lung, (celestial guardians)who support the mansions of the gods; shen lung (weather makers) who govern the clouds andbring rain; ti lung (earth-dragon) who control rivers; and the fu-ts'ang lung (treasure keepers) whoguard deposits and hoards of precious metal.
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Dragons are said to like precious stones and roasted swallows but to be afraid of the leaves of thewang plant, leaves of the lien tree, 5-coloured silk thread, wax, iron and centipedes [scorpions?].

~ Alt.fan.dragons"Eastern dragon"

Classes of Dragons

There is a popular classification of Chinese dragons that aims to identify 9 types. It lists: thehorned dragon, the winged dragon, the celestial dragon supporting and protecting the mansions ofthe gods, the spiritual dragon which generates wind and rain for the benefit of mankind, the dragonguarding concealed wealth and the sinuously moving water dragon.

The most powerful is the horned dragon or Lungwhich produces rain and is believed to be totallydeaf. It is described as having a head like a camel, horns like a deer, eyes like a hare, ears like abull, a neck like an lizard, a belly like a frog, scales like a carp, paws like a tiger, and claws likethose of an eagle.

The homeless dragon known as Ii lives in the ocean, and the Chiao is a scaly green creature withyellow sides and a crimson underbelly that inhabits marshes or mountain dens. It has a pair oflarge canine teeth in its upper jaw and long whiskers which it uses like those of a catfish. It canvary from greenish to golden and is said to have alternating short and long spines all the way downits back and tail, ending in a long brush

"One specimen had wings at its side, and walked on top of the water. Another tossedits mane back and forth making noises that sounded like a flute. Cow-heads are alsocommon. A ten-footer, found lying on the banks of China's Yangtze River, wasdifferent from most because of its long, thick eyebrows. A Yellow River variety, seen

on shore in the 1920s by a Chinese teacher, was bright blue, and as big as five cows.Both dragons crawled into the water as soon as it started to rain."

~ Crystal Links ChineseDragonspage.for above quotation and some of the other material

The four directional dragon kings form a distinctive type of Chinese dragon. In pictures, the redone is associated with the West, black is for the North, yellow for the Eastern one and green for theSouthern one. When a central one is depicted, it is usually white, but may be blue.

Dragons are also thought of as features of geography: For having brought rain without the JadeEmperor's permission, the troops of heaven were ordered to arrest four rebellious dragons and the

Mountain God collected mountains with which to pin them down.

" Determined to do good for the people forever, they turned themselves into fourrivers, which flowed past high mountains and deep valleys, crossing the land fromthe west to the east and finally emptying into the sea. And so China's four great riverswere formed -- the Heilongjian (Black Dragon) in the far north, the Huanghe (YellowRiver) in central China, the Changjiang (Yangtze, or LongRiver) farther south, andthe Zhujiang (Pearl) in the very far south."

~ Crystal Links ChineseDragonspage.

Reversal of Fortune

A type of European dragon known as theguivrecan cause disease with its breath, but it has thecurious characteristic of being so embarrassed by nudity that it will flee from the sight.

see also Picatrix' dragon page

What type of dragon is represented on the Qing dynasty (17th century) robe described as achuba, from the Metropolitan's collection?
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The Western dragon is the diametric opposite of its Eastern counterpart. We can almost visit thetime and the place where the transformation occurred.

The scripture designated by its opening Babylonian words EnumaElishdescribes how "gorgeousTiamat" whose domain is the earth's water is cruelly slain by Marduk. This Lord, the champion ofthe sky gods and titans, slays the dragon with a blow from his mace and a bag of evil wind that hegets her to swallow so that she explodes. Her remains "like a clam shell" form the heavens andearth as we know it.

King of the Indian devas, Indra, slays Vritrathe water dragon also by means of a blow from themighty mace.

Beowulf

As metal-working is refined, the spear and sword replace the mace or hammer. The skill oftempering blades moves west and the dragon, too, changes. In the Cotton-Vitelius manuscript #15that was given the name, Beowulf, a monster called Grendel periodically emerges from his deepmarsh den to raid the darkened castle hall during the night. "Every nail, claw-scale and spur, everyspike and welt on thehandof that heathen brute was like barbed steel."

The tale is estimated by scholars to be from the 6th or 7th century CE; there is only one survivingmanuscript which dates from around 1000. It tells how Grendel and his mother are killed by theGeat [Jut = southern Swede] hero, Beowulf. He and his men had come south from across the sea toaid the Danes who for 20 years had been preyed upon, sometimes 30 at a time.

The 'dragons' are described as "... huge marauders from some other world. One ... looks like awoman; the other, warped in the shape of a man, [but] bigger than any man, ... . They dwell ... onwindswept crags ... where cold streams pour down the mountain and disappear under mist andmoorland." but at night "the water burns." and when "the skies weep ... out of its depths a dirtysurge is pitched towards the heavens."

There are three encounters with Grendel, and we learn that this monster does not conform to thestandard dragon type. He is described as wanting to cram the men into "this roomy pouch ...intricately strung and hung at the ready, a rare patchwork of devilishly fitted dragon-skins." Thedragon escapes, but loses his right "hand" which is pinned to the castle wall as a trophy. (When heis finally beheaded it takes 4 men to carry off the head.)

When the men visit the blood-tinged waters, they see "writhing sea-dragons" and all manner ofmonsters. The hero goes into the water and it takes him all day to reach the lair at the bottom. Hestruggles with the 'ides aelwyf' a phrase that can mean 'thirsty barmaid' but seems more to signify'hideous alewife.' That is, the monstrous eel-like naga who is Grendel's mother, but she "pouncedupon him and pulled a broad, whetted knife." Beowulf finally manages to cut off her head but onlywith an enormous sword from her own hoard.

The men have given him up for dead when after 9 hours he emerges, but his sword "began to wiltinto gory icicles, to slather and thaw" from the effects of the dragon-blood so that only the goldenhilt remained. The inscription on the hilt tells the tale of God'sdestructionof thegiantsthat the 'idesaelwyf' is related to.

Years later, from the depths of a barrow that someone had plundered came again "the slick-skinneddragon, threatening the night sky with streamers of fire." It "rippled down the rock" and later"hurtled forth in a fiery blaze" that did "burn bright homesteads" so that Beowulf now an old man,goes forth once more.

Assisted by young Wiglaf, the dragon is stabbed to death but it "caught the hero in a rush of flame

and clamped sharp fangs into his neck." The hero gets to see its golden hoard but "The woundbegan to scald and swell" and he dies, the last the Geat warriors from over the sea. Before thecremation of Beowulf, "The fire-dragon ... scorched all colours." and measuring 50 feet from head totail who had "shimmered forth on the night air once." is pitched unceremoniously over a cliff.
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The poem ends with a Geatish woman singing a dirge "a wild litany of nightmare and lament" withpredictions of invasion, "bodies in piles, slavery and abasement." The hoard along with Beowulf'sremains are covered up in a great stone barrow that 12 warriors ride around singing the praises ofthe great and good Beowulf.

~ new bilingual verse translation by Seamus Heaney (N.Y.: Farrar, Strauss& Giroux, 2000.)

It was Professor J.R.R. Tolkien (famous for his Lordof theRings trilogy) who first showed that thetale of Beowulf was more than a fictional work of entertainment. Though there are references

throughout the poem of the Judeo-Christian world view, but there are also allusions to the beliefsand customs of an earlier tradition. Surely the dire prediction at the poem's end is in some wayrelated to the slaughter of the dragons - especially "Grendel's mother."

Saint George, a dragon-slayer along the model of the Beowulf of folk memory, is the patron ofRussia, Greece and England (adopted by Edward III in 1348). The characteristic depiction showinga helmed knight on horseback spearing a recumbent dragon appears on the jewel of the Order ofthe Garter as revived by Queen Elizabeth the First in 1506.

In mediaeval Christian art, Michael theArchangel (usually depicted standing) slays the dragonunder his feet that represents the Evil One a.k.a. the 'Old Serpent'.

The Greek Cadmus is said to have sowed the ground with dragon's teeth from which sprang anarmy of armed men.

The chariot of the Greek moon goddess Cynthia, was drawn by dragons.

OldTestament references to 'dragons' result from an error in translation of the Hebrew "tan" whichmeans jackal but it was taken to refer to a 'giant water-serpent' as a consequence of its relation to thename Tanith, a Semitic (Phoenician and hence also Carthaginian) goddess ie. a naga.

To play a St. George game.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------There are literally hundreds of dragon pages on-line ranging from the silly to the scholarly. Thispage is intended only to underline the fact that a naga by any other name is still a naga. When itflies, it is often referred to as a dragon.

The phrase 'fire drake' that is, 'fiery dragon' was used to refer to comets especially as ill omens suchas the one that is reported to have preceded the Battle of Hastings [1066] when the Normanssuccessfully invaded England.

AwakeningtheDragon is a comprehensive article by Shelagh Pierce about the Chinese traditionof Dragon-Boat racing (near end of page.)

Some European legends of dragons.

See frogs, serpents (2 pages) & nagas (2 pages) on this site.

Beowulffor beginners, links for the more advanced.

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Dragons ] [ Garuda ] [ Makara ] [ Nagas ] [ Next ]

Nov. 1883 Societyof Antiquariesarticle on Dragon of St. George plus Edward Burnes-Jones'pre-raphaelite painting.

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