Festivals - Naga Panchami

Naga Panchami: The Festival of Snakes

Naga Panchami is the festival of snakes. On the fifth day of the bright half of Shravan month of Hindu calendar, people worship the snake or nag. The day is known as Naga Panchami.  On this day, Milk and cooked rice is offered to snakes carried by snake charmers. Clay snakes are brought home to be worshipped and immersed in the sea / river in the evening.

Serpents are worshipped on Shravan Shukla Panchami. On this day, on both the sides of door 2 idols of serpents are made of cow dung. In this vow, people fast on the Panchami day and take food only in the evening.

People visit temples specially dedicated to snakes and worship them. Shiva temples are also favourite places for worshiping as snakes are considered dear to him. Some go to worship the snake which is believed to be hiding in the holes of anthills. Or else a five hood snake is made by mixing “gandh” (a fragrant pigment),”haldi” (turmeric powder), “chandan” (sandal) and “kesar” (saffron) and placed on a metal plate and worshipped.

Following are the stories connected to the celebration of this day:

Krishna and the Kaliya Snake: 

Once Young Krishna was playing with the other cowboys, when suddenly the ball got entangled in the high branch of a tree. Krishna volunteered to climb the tree and fetch the ball. But below the tree there was a deep part of the river Yamuna, in which the terrible snake Kaliya was living. Everybody was afraid of that part of the river. Suddenly Krishna fell from the tree into the water. Then that terrible snake came up. But Krishna was ready and jumping on the snake’s head he caught it by the neck. Kaliya understood that Krishna was not an ordinary boy, and that it would not be easy to overcome him. So Kaliya pleaded with Krishna: “Please, do not kill me.” Krishna full of compassion asked the snake to promise that henceforth he would not harass anybody. Then he let the snake go free into the river again. Suddenly Krishna fell from the tree into the water. Then that terrible snake came up. But Krishna was ready and jumping on the snake’s head he caught it by the neck. Kaliya understood that Krishna was not an ordinary boy, and that it would not be easy to overcome him. So Kaliya pleaded with Krishna: “Please, do not kill me.” Krishna sympathetically asked the snake to promise that henceforth he would not harass anybody. Then he let the snake go free into the river again.

The Snake and the Farmer:

A farmer was ploughing his field. At the edge of the field there was an anthill which he inadvertently destroyed with the plough, and thus the young serpents that were hiding in it were killed. The mother snake had casually gone out. When she came back she could not find her young ones. At last she found them cut into pieces. She was furious and understood that the farmer had killed them. She was bent on taking revenge. At night, when the farmer was sleeping with his wife and children the snake came with full of anger. She began to bite the feet of the farmer, and then one by one the feet of his wife and children. All began to cry. But the eldest daughter happened to be out of the house that night. Then the snake remembered that on the occasion of her wedding, the girl had gone to the house of her father-in-law. “I will not spare her either,” the snake resolved. The snake ran towards the neighboring village. She stopped before the door of a house, and saw a young girl inside. She recognized her as the farmer’s eldest daughter. The snake went in determined to bite her. But then she saw the young girl with joint hands worshipping the snake she had made out of “gandh”, and the nine “nagkule” (young snakes).  She had offered them “nagane” (gram soaked and parched), “lahya” (rice blown out by parching), and “durva” (grass sacred to Ganapati), and she was praying with great devotion, “O God Snake, don’t be angry if I have committed any mistake. Accept my worship. Look after my people at home and in my father-in-law’s house. Do not bite anyone. Forgive any fault we may have committed inadvertently.” With this the snake was pleased and came before the girl. She opened her eyes and got frightened at the sight of the snake. But the snake said, “Don’t be afraid. I shall not bite you. Tell me who you are and where your house is.” Then the snake knew well that the girl was the farmer’s daughter and felt very sorry for having killed all her people. The snake told the girl what had happened, but told her not to cry. She gave her some nectar and told her to sprinkle it on her dead people, and with this they all came back to life.

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