According to Hindu beliefs, Kadru is the mother of all Nagas.
Persona of Kadru
She is dazzlingly beautiful and has a mischievous nature. Various stories tell that she keeps disturbing others to make her wishes come true.
Family of Kadru
Her family includes the following
Parents
She is considered the daughter of Prajapati Daksha and Panchajani
In Hindu beliefs, a Prajapati is considered the agent of creation, you see a big thing.
Siblings
She has a lot of sisters including Diti, Aditi, Kālikā, Kapila, Surasa, Simhika, Viśvā, Vinata
Husband
Kadru became the consort of Rishi Kashyapa, a very significant Rishi who was the son of Marichi.
Sons of Kadru
She had 1000 sons [serpents/nagas] including Adishesha, who serves Bhagwan Vishnu, Vasuki, whom you can see in the neck of Bhagwan Shiva and of course, the mighty Takshak, who has his own story
What is the story of Vinata and Kadru?
Kadru and Vinata asked their husband, Rishi Kashyap, for a boon. He was not an ordinary person and he decided to give them special gifts, like magical presents!
Kadru asked for a thousand sons who would turn into Nagas, and Vinata wished for two super-powerful sons. Sage Kashyapa was kind, and he made their dreams come true with his magical powers. You can read more about this on Kadru and Vinata – the story of boons and curse
What was Kadru curse to Vasuki?
In the above story itself, when Vasuki and a few other sons decline to help her against her ill will to cheat her younger sister Vinata, she becomes furious and gives them a curse that they will be burned alive. How in due course Vasuki saves himself and his brothers is a full story to read that we will soon share here.
How Kadru and Suparna turned into a river and who saved them
This is another story where Kadru and Suparna were told by their husband Rishi Kashyapa not to do any mischievous thing as this was a time to help Devas with a big thing. But by her very nature, she did something bad with a group of devotees and rishis and in return, both of them got a curse to turn into a river. Later Rishi Kashyapa saved them by doing a deep penance.
The Legend of Nagalaya
In another story, the children of Kadru wanted a ride on Garuda as he could fly high very close to the sun. Garuda decided to comply with the wishes of his cousins and took them and flew very high into the sky.
The Nagas could not bear the heat of the sun and eventually started fainting. Garuda brings them back to the earth at a place called Nagalya. When Kadru got to know, she started shouting at her sister Vinata and her son Garuda. Later as per Vinata’s instruction, he brought the water from the pious river Ganga and they were saved.
There are many more stories
