Naag Panchami

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Naag Panchami

Naag-Panchami is an important Indian festival, celebrated on the fifth

day of the moonlit - fortnight in the month of Shravan. Right from the

times when mankind started acquiring some sort of culture, Sun and Snake

have been invoked with prayers. In India even before the Vedic times,

the tradition of snake-worship was in vogue.

 

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Nag Panchami

 

 

Hinduism as a religion is many-sided yet bound by a common search for

Truth and to Hindus it means a way of life and a fellowship of faiths.

With the advent of the Aryans, it originated as a simple form of worship

of the forces of Nature, drawing in its system action in social

organisations, local cults, deities diverse beliefs and modes of

worship.

 

Nag-Panchami is an important all-India festival and is celebrated on the

fifth day of the moonlit-fortnight in the month of Shravan (July

/August). This is the time when serpents invariably come out of their

holes that get inundated with rain-water to seek shelter in gardens and

many times in houses. As such they pose a great danger to man. May be

therefore, snakes are worshiped on this day. Right from the times when

mankind started acquiring some sort of culture, Sun and Snake have been

invoked with prayers and ritual worship in most of the countries. In

India even before the Vedic times, the tradition of snake-worship was in

vogue.

 

Legend

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 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 neighbouring 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 Ganpati), 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.

 

 

Krishna and the Kaliya Snake

Nag Panchami is also connected with the following legend of Krishna.

Young Krishna was playing with the other cowboys, when 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.

 

On Nag Panchami day the victory of Krishna over the Kaliya snake is

commemorated. For this reason Krishna is known as "Kaliya

Mardan".

 

On this day digging the earth is prohibited, because the serpents live

under the earth or in nether world and digging may hurt or annoy them.

The various purans like Agni Puran, Skanda Puran, Narad Puran, etc. They

roam about the land wearing lustrous jewels and ornaments. The

thousand-hooded Shesh Nag or Anant is the most earth like a chaplet on

his crown. When he nods or yawns, the earth with its oceans and

mountains, begin to tremble.

 

 

It is an age-old religious belief that serpents are loved and blessed by

Lord Shiv. May be therefore, he always wears them as ornamentation

around his neck. Most of the festivals that fall in the month of Shravan

are celebrated in honour of Lord Shiv, whose blessings are sought by

devotees, and along with the Lord, snakes are also worshiped.

Particularly on the Nag-Panchami day live cobras or their pictures are

revered and religious rights are performed to seek their good will. To

seek immunity from snake bites, they are bathed with milk, haldi-kumkum

is sprinkled on their heads and milk and rice are offered as "naivedya".

The Brahmin who is called to do the religious ritual is given "dakshina"

in silver or gold coins some times, even a cow is given away as gift.

 

Celebrations

On this day, the women draw figures of snakes on the walls of their

houses using a mixture of black powder, cow dung and milk. Then

offerings of milk, ghee, water and rice are made. It is believed that in

reward for this worship, snakes will never bite any member of the

family.

 

In Maharashtra, snake charmers go from house to house carrying dormant

cobras in cane baskets, asking for alms and clothing.

 

In Kerala, snake temples are crowded on this day and worship is offered

to stone or metal icons of the cosmic serpent Ananta or Sesha. Altars in

many Kerala homes have a silver or copper cobra that is worshipped and

offered milk and sweets as families pray for the welfare of their

children and for prosperity.

 

In Punjab, the festival is celebrated in September-October and is called

Guga Naumi. A snake made of dough is taken round the village in a

basket, and an offering of flour and butter is made from each house. The

'snake' is then buried.

 

In West Bengal and parts of Assam and Orissa, the snake deity worshipped

on Naga Panchami is the goddess Manasa.

 

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