Nāg Pañchami is a major Hindu festival. On this day the Serpent God (Nāg Devta) is worshipped. Scriptural tradition also joins the day to Abhishekam for Lord Shiva; chanting the Nava Nāg Stotram is considered auspicious.
Offer milk as abhishekam — not as drink
In some places a practice has grown of feeding milk to live snakes. Biologically, snakes are reptiles, not mammals; milk can cause severe indigestion or fatal allergic reactions. Scripture prescribes bathing serpent deities with milk as an offering (abhishekam), not forcing reptiles to consume it. Offering milk for them to drink is a misguided myth.
How the day is kept
Worship with fragrant flowers and sandalwood paste, and reverence at the anthill or burrow (bāmbī). In agrarian life snakes are honoured as Kṣetrapāl — guardians of the field against pests.
Village tradition also remembers Nāgmātā Kadru and Mā Biṣaharā. In the Devī Purāṇa, Manasā (Śaivī), daughter of Maharṣi Kaśyapa, is among the five sacred sisters revered as Viṣaharī — able to destroy the effects of poison.
In the Gītā and epics
The Mahābhārata opens with the origin and lineage of serpents. In the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa identifies Himself as Vāsuki among serpents (sarpa) and Ananta (Śeṣanāg) among nāgas — cosmic presence and worldly role together.
Not every snake has a hood: “snake” is the wider class; nāg often points to the cobra, whose mark is the hood (phan). The day is also held significant for remedies related to Kāla Sarpa doṣa.
Wishing you a Happy Nāg Pañchami.
Adapted from text shared by Ācharya Ganesh for the sabha’s festival calendar.
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