Pan-India · July–August
Also known as Naga Panchami · Nag Pancham
When it’s celebrated
The exact date shifts each year — it’s fixed from the panchang. Cast your free kundli or check the calendar for this year’s muhurat.
Significance
Nag Panchami is a festival devoted to the worship of serpents (nagas), revered in Hindu tradition as powerful, sacred beings associated with fertility, protection and the divine. Falling in the monsoon month of Shravana, when snakes are more active, it seeks the nagas' blessings and protection from snakebite, honouring their place in cosmology and their bond with deities like Shiva and Vishnu.
The story
Serpents hold a revered place in Hindu lore: Vishnu rests on the cosmic serpent Shesha (Ananta), Shiva wears the serpent Vasuki around his neck, and Vasuki served as the churning-rope at the Samudra Manthan. A well-known legend connects the day to Krishna, who, as a boy, subdued the venomous multi-hooded serpent Kaliya that had poisoned the Yamuna, dancing upon its hoods and then sparing it on the condition that it leave — celebrated as a triumph and a reconciliation with the serpent world.
Rituals
Across India
Nag Panchami is observed across India with regional customs: in Maharashtra (notably Battis Shirala) and the West it is prominent, in the South snake-stone (nagakal) worship and anthill offerings are common, and in the North and East it falls during the Shravana season of Shiva worship. The practice of offering milk to snakes is widespread, though increasingly substituted with symbolic offerings for animal welfare.
Questions
Nag Panchami is celebrated to worship serpents (nagas), revered as sacred beings linked to protection, fertility and the divine. Devotees seek their blessings and protection from snakebite, especially during the monsoon when snakes are active.
The naga serpent deities are worshipped, including the cosmic serpents Shesha (Ananta), on whom Vishnu rests, and Vasuki, worn by Shiva. The day is also linked to Krishna's subduing of the serpent Kaliya.
Nag Panchami falls on the fifth tithi (Panchami) of the bright fortnight of Shravana, usually in July or August. The date changes each year with the Hindu lunar calendar.
Devotees offer milk, water and flowers to snake idols, images or temples, worship at anthills, draw naga images at doorways, observe fasts, and pray for protection from snakebite and family wellbeing.
Serpents are deeply revered in Hindu cosmology — Vishnu reclines on the serpent Shesha, Shiva wears Vasuki, and nagas are associated with fertility, water and protection. Nag Panchami honours this sacred bond between humans and the serpent world.
Book a pooja in your name, find the muhurat, or read the day’s panchang — bring the festival into your own practice.
