Cashonly x Mixdo -Vasuki Giclée SOLD OUT

Original artwork from the Cashonly x Mixdo collaboration, available in two designs, each limited to a single print.

Printed by Avocado using contemporary digital printing technology of the highest quality, each work is produced on 192 gsm Epson Enhanced Matte Paper, flush-mounted on a Bakelite display board, and finished with a minimalist black frame. Each piece bears the handwritten signatures of both brand founders and the edition marking “1/1” in the lower-right corner.

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THE CONCEPT

Vasuki (वासुकि) is a serpent deity in Hindu mythology and one of the Eight Great Dragon Kings in Buddhism. A sovereign among serpents, he also plays a pivotal role in the creation myth known as the Churning of the Ocean of Milk.

Like mortals, the gods of Hindu mythology are subject to birth, aging, illness, and death—a predicament that has long troubled them. Mount Sumeru, the highest mountain at the center of their world, is surrounded by the cosmic Ocean of Milk, said to contain amrita, the nectar of immortality. After a prolonged struggle to obtain it, the gods, led by Shiva, and the asuras agreed to work together. They used Vasuki’s mountain-sized body as a rope, with 92 asuras holding one end on one shore and 88 devas grasping the other on the opposite shore. His body was coiled around Mount Mandara (Mount Sumeru), which served as a churning rod. Together, they churned the ocean with tremendous force, hoping to draw the nectar from its depths.

After a thousand years of continuous churning, Vasuki could no longer endure the agony. He released a terrible poison from his mouth, powerful enough to destroy the three worlds. At this critical moment, Shiva stepped forward and swallowed the poison, saving the world and all living beings. To prevent it from entering his stomach and harming him, Shiva’s wife, Parvati, the goddess of the mountains, clasped his throat. The poison scorched his throat a deep blue-violet, earning him the name Nīlakaṇṭha, “the Blue-Throated One.”

From that moment on, Vasuki became a devoted follower of Shiva, remaining coiled around his neck. In the Mahabharata, Vasuki is portrayed as just, compassionate, wise, and mindful of all living beings. Closely associated with Shiva, he often serves as another symbol of the deity and appears frequently in the paintings and sculptures of Shiva temples.

In the Hindu myth of the great deluge, Manu, the ancestor of humankind, was instructed by Vishnu in the form of a fish to build a great ark to save all living things. According to the story, Manu used Vasuki’s long body as a rope, fastening one end to the bow of the ark and the other to Vishnu, who had taken the form of an enormous fish. The fish then towed the ark to the Himalayas, bringing its passengers to safety.

Vasuki and other serpent deities were later incorporated into Buddhism as the Eight Great Dragon Kings, benevolent protectors present at the assembly of the Lotus Sutra. The Buddhist dragon originated in the form of a serpent. As Buddhism spread to China, this figure merged with the dragon of Chinese mythology. In later Buddhist temples, Dragon Kings came to be depicted with horns and claws. Whether serpent deities or Dragon Kings, these beings embody the awe and imagination with which earlier generations regarded the forces of nature and the immense creatures that inhabited their world.