2-640-483 - © CM Dixon/Heritage Images

Naga King on a Guardstone at entrance to Ratanapasada, Anuradhapura, 8-9th century. (20th century). Naga is the Sanskrit and Pali word for a deity or class of entity or being, taking the form of a snake. The Ratana Pasada is a western Monastery complex of Anuradhapura, one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, at the center of Theravada Buddhism for many centuries.