Naga, which means snake, can also refer to the tribes who lived in the forests when the Aryans were settling the plains. The human dimension to the fight for resources is often alluded to in the stories of the Mahabharata.

Parikshita was the grandson of Arjuna. He ruled over Hastinapura after the Pandavas retired into Kailasa. One day, Parikshita mistakenly wounded a Naga who had meant him no harm. Before he died, the Naga cursed Parikshita that he would die of snake-bite within a week.

Parikshita immediately retired to a home that was built on top of a single column and was guarded day and night. He thought that no snake could catch him there. On the seventh day, as the ladder leading into the elevated home was about to be drawn up, Parikshita saw a beetle crawling over a fruit.

``I have no more fear of Takshaka, the Naga prince,'' he crowed, ``than I have of this insect.'' The insect metamorphosed into the Naga prince and Parikshita received a fatal snake bite. Thus was the innocent Naga avenged by his king.