Within Cambodian Brahmanism and Buddhism, the naga serpent motif gathers together several layers of meaning that link land, cosmos, and spiritual life. At its deepest level, the naga is associated with primordial waters, fertility, and the very ground of the Khmer world, embodying ancestral powers tied to the earth and the life-giving rains. Khmer origin legends in which an Indian figure such as Kaundinya unites with a naga princess, Soma, express the fusion of indigenous serpent cults with Brahmanical culture and provide a sacred genealogy for Khmer kingship. Through this mythic ancestry, the naga becomes not only a guardian of the land but also a symbol that sacralizes royal authority and binds the people to their rulers under a shared cosmic order.

Architecturally and ritually, naga imagery marks thresholds and transitions. The multi‑headed naga balustrades that line temple causeways and stairways evoke bridges between realms: from the human world into the sanctified space of the temple, and from the solid earth toward the cosmic ocean of Hindu–Buddhist cosmology. As guardians of sacred sites, these serpents stand watch at entrances, signaling that one is passing from the profane into the sacred. Their multiple heads, often seven or nine, can be read as representing different naga races or branches, and by extension the unity of the kingdom under a single, divinely sanctioned order.

Within the Brahmanical framework, the naga resonates with well-known Hindu serpent imagery while remaining rooted in local belief. Its association with Vishnu resting upon the cosmic serpent and with Shiva’s mastery over serpentine forces situates Cambodian temples within a broader Sanskritic cosmology. At the same time, the naga retains its character as a powerful indigenous being that supports the earth, guards hidden treasures, and maintains balance in the natural and cosmic realms. In this way, the motif becomes a visual theology of how imported deities and doctrines are grounded in the Khmer landscape and its ancestral spirits.

In the Buddhist sphere, the naga takes on a particularly intimate protective role. The image of the Buddha seated in meditation, sheltered by the coiled body and expanded hoods of the naga king Mucalinda, is central in Cambodian art and devotion. This episode, in which the serpent shields the Buddha from storm and danger, symbolizes the protection of awakening by the powers of nature and the willingness of indigenous spirits to serve the Dharma. The naga thus becomes a guardian of the Buddha, the teachings, and the sacred spaces where those teachings are preserved, visually expressing the harmonious integration of older serpent veneration with both Brahmanical cosmology and Buddhist ideals.