In Buddhist mythology, Mucalinda sheltered the Buddha shortly after his enlightenment.
The tradition says that the Buddha sat in meditation during the seventh week after enlightenment when a violent storm began. Mucalinda, a nāga king living beneath the earth, rose from his dwelling. He wrapped his coils around the Buddha and spread his hood over him until the weather became calm.
When the storm ended, Mucalinda took human form and bowed before the Buddha. The episode emphasizes protection offered to the newly awakened teacher and illustrates the respectful relationship between the Buddha and powerful nonhuman beings in Buddhist cosmology.
This question is distinct from stories about other nāgas such as Apalala, who is associated with a conversion tradition in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Mucalinda’s defining episode is specifically the storm shelter and hooded canopy.