Nagaina is the name of the cobra Nag’s mate in Rudyard Kipling’s story “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.”
Nagaina is a spectacled cobra and the story’s principal surviving antagonist after the mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi kills Nag. She remains determined to protect the cobra eggs and drive the human family from the garden.
The plot follows a conflict between Rikki-Tikki and the cobras after the mongoose is washed into a garden during a flood. Rikki-Tikki becomes an ally of the human household and works with the tailorbird Darzee and his wife. The climax centers on the danger posed by Nagaina’s eggs and her attempt to attack Teddy, the family’s son.
Nag and Nagaina are fictional animal characters, although the story draws on real Indian garden wildlife. Karait is another snake in the story, while Chuchundra is a muskrat, so those names belong to different creatures.