Who was the serpent king that sheltered the Buddha during a storm?

Mucalinda was the serpent king who sheltered the Buddha during a storm.

The episode is traditionally placed shortly after the Buddha’s enlightenment, when he was meditating beneath or near the Bodhi Tree. A violent storm brought heavy rain, and Mucalinda, a nāga king, emerged to protect him. The serpent is said to have coiled around the Buddha and spread his hood above him like a canopy.

In the Mucalinda Sutta, the serpent protects the meditating Buddha from the weather for seven days. When the storm clears, Mucalinda assumes human form, pays homage, and returns to his realm. Nāgas in Buddhist literature are powerful serpent or dragon-like beings associated with water, subterranean worlds, and guardianship.

The name appears in variant forms, including Mucilinda and Muchalinda, so sculptures, translations, and regional traditions may spell it differently. Mucalinda is not the same figure as Vasuki, the serpent king best known from Hindu mythology.