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The Legends of Dragons
Ryu, Ryuoh, Ryujin, Tatsu, Jikoku Dragon, Dragon King, Luminous Being. Sanskrit; Naga Raja

Author: * Julia Manach
Date: Jul 9, 2003 - 05:49
In Chinese mythology the dragon is described as having the body of a snake, the face of a horse, antlers of the deer and claws of the eagle. The dragon has the beard of a goat and the scales of a fish. But where did such a creature come from? One explanation is that early societies had as their tribal mascot an animal that would serve as a religious or military symbol... as a tribe went to battle and conquered another, it would incorporate some form of the conquered tribe's insignia. In this way it is believed the Xia clan, who had a snake as its emblem annexed states such as the Shang - an eagle. Thus, to the snake's body was added the claws of the eagle. Soon the scales of fish, antlers of the deer, face of the horse and the beard of the goat all came to be incorporated, and thereby the Chinese dragon came into being.
The word dragon comes from "derkesthai" (Greek: to glance dartingly) which, in a Hindu tradition, was the hungry look of the very first being when its fiery spirit was born out of the abyss of water.... There is the Indian story with Buddha who honors the Naga king and queen, and the story of the Zen priest who continued his devotion to the Dragon who turned into Kuanyin, the Goddess of Compassion. The Hindu Dragon goddess that sleeps in the lotus at the base of the spine is Kundalini the Coiled.

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Dragon Lore Japan and the Origin of the Sword of Heaven ,one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan
Author: * Miyako Shizuko No Sa Mutemwiya
Date: Jan 16, 2004 - 14:45
Susano-O-no-Mikoto descends to the mountain Torikamiyama in Izumo, where he comes upon an old couple weeping beside their daughter. The man says that he's a god of the land (kunitsukami) and that each year the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent, the dragon-prince Yamata no Orochi has devoured one of his daughters [some versions say 12 most say 8 daughters], and that the time has come for him to claim the last. Susano-o-no-Mikoto transforms the girl, Kushinada Hime, into a comb, which he puts in his hair, and orders that a special wine [The first gift of Saki to mortal men] be brewed and barrels of it placed along a fence with eight apertures or gates.
When the serpent drinks the potion and falls into a drunken sleep, Susano-O-no-Mikoto severs each of the heads with his sword. As Susano-o-no-Mikoto is dismembering the dragons body to dispel the dragon-prince's strong magics in one of the tails he discovers a sword, which he presents to Amaterasu. This is the sword that is later known as Kusanagi (Mower of Grass). It is given to Ninigi no Mikoto by Amaterasu as one of the three symbols of his authority over Ashihara no Nakatsukuni.