Naag Panchami 1996

Naag Panchami honours the Nagas, the serpent deities, on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Shravana. The Nagas are guardians of the earth's waters and treasures, and Lord Vishnu rests on Adishesha while Lord Shiva wears Vasuki.

The Mahabharata tells how King Janamejaya, grieving for his father Parikshit who died of Takshaka's bite, began a great sacrifice to destroy all serpents. The young sage Astika, born of a Naga mother, won the king's promise and stopped the sacrifice, and tradition remembers that rescue on this Panchami. The day also recalls how the boy Krishna subdued the serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna and spared his life.

Devotees offer milk, turmeric, kumkum and flowers to Naga images or at anthills, draw serpent figures at the doorway, and pray for the protection and wellbeing of their families. In many places the earth is not dug or ploughed on this day.