About Nag Panchami
Last updated:
- 🙏 Deity: Nag Devata (Vasuki, Adi Shesha), Manasa Devi, Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu
- 📅 Nag Panchami 2026 date:
- ⏳ Duration: 1 day
- 🌙 Lunar month: Shravan
- 🗺️ Celebrated in: Pan-India; especially Maharashtra, Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand
Nag Panchami is one of the most ancient and widely observed festivals in the Hindu tradition, celebrated on the fifth day (Panchami) of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the Shravan month. On this auspicious day, Hindu devotees across India worship serpents (Nagas) — both their physical manifestations and their divine forms — with offerings of milk, flowers, sandalwood, and durva grass. The festival is rooted in the deep reverence that ancient Indian civilisation held for the serpent as a symbol of fertility, cosmic power, death, and rebirth.
Nagas occupy a central position in Hindu cosmology. Lord Shiva adorns himself with the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Lord Vishnu rests on Adi Shesha, the thousand-hooded cosmic serpent. Lord Ganesha wears a serpent as his sacred thread. Lord Krishna, in one of his most celebrated childhood exploits, danced on the hood of the multi-headed serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna river, subduing the venomous creature and converting it into a devotee. These mythological connections make Nag Panchami a day of reverence for the divine principle that serpents represent.
In Bengal and parts of Northeast India, the festival centres on the worship of Manasa Devi, the serpent goddess and sister of Adi Shesha, who is believed to protect devotees from snake bites and bestow blessings of fertility and prosperity. Across Maharashtra, snakes are fed milk and worshipped at ant hills (their natural abodes). In South India, serpent temples and Naga stones (Naga Pratishthas) are visited and anointed with turmeric and vermilion. The festival also serves an ecological purpose — reminding communities to respect and protect snakes as essential members of the ecosystem.
Significance of Nag Panchami
Nag Panchami carries rich spiritual, cosmic, and cultural significance rooted in thousands of years of Hindu tradition.
Deities worshipped on Nag Panchami
Follow the links to explore each deity’s mantras, stories, and temples on Temples.bio.
Lord Shiva
Lord of all Nagas; Vasuki the serpent king adorns Shiva's neck; Shravan is Shiva's sacred month
The Supreme Destroyer and Transformer of the Universe — The Adiyogi, Lord of Lords, and the First Yogi.
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Lord Vishnu
Adi Shesha is the cosmic serpent bed of Vishnu; worshipping Nagas invokes Vishnu's protection
The Preserver of the Universe — the all-pervading Supreme Being who descends to Earth in divine avatars whenever righteousness declines and evil rises.
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Lord Krishna
Krishna's subduing of the serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna is central to Nag Panchami lore
The Preserver of the Universe — the all-pervading Supreme Being who descends to Earth in divine avatars whenever righteousness declines and evil rises.
View deity →Nag Panchami involves a divine assembly of serpent deities and major Hindu gods who have profound connections with the Naga world.
Adi Shesha (Ananta Naga), the thousand-hooded cosmic serpent, forms the divine bed of Lord Vishnu in the celestial ocean of milk (Kshira Sagara). He is also the serpent upon whom the Earth rests in Puranic cosmology. Worshipping Adi Shesha on Nag Panchami invokes Vishnu's all-pervading protection and cosmic stability.
Vasuki, the king of serpents and devotee of Lord Shiva, was used as the churning rope during the Samudra Manthan (churning of the cosmic ocean). He is worn around Shiva's neck as an ornament, symbolising the tamed primal force. Worship of Vasuki brings the blessings of both Shiva and the Naga world.
Manasa Devi, the serpent goddess, is primarily worshipped in Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, and Bihar. Daughter of Kashyapa Rishi and sister of Vasuki, she is the goddess who controls snake bites and bestows prosperity. Her worship during Nag Panchami is especially intense in eastern India.
Lord Shiva is intrinsically connected to this festival as the lord of all Nagas. Abhishekam (ritual bathing) of the Shiva Linga with milk on Nag Panchami — milk that has been offered to the serpent — is considered supremely meritorious during the Shravan month.
Lord Krishna is honoured through the legend of Kaliya Daman — his conquest of the venomous Kaliya serpent — which demonstrated that the Lord transforms even poisonous forces into devoted servants.
How to celebrate Nag Panchami 2026
How to Observe Nag Panchami:
1. Wake up before sunrise and take a purifying bath; observe a fast (nirjala or partial) through the day.
2. Clean the puja area and draw or place an image of a serpent (traditionally drawn with cow dung paste on the wall near the entrance).
3. Set up a puja altar with images of Nag Devata, Manasa Devi (if in eastern India), and Lord Shiva.
4. Gather puja materials: raw milk, honey, flowers (especially white flowers), durva grass, sandalwood paste, turmeric, vermilion, and incense.
5. Offer raw milk in a shallow bowl or directly at a Naga idol, Naga stone, or ant hill (traditionally considered the serpent's home).
6. Apply sandalwood paste and vermilion to the Naga image and offer durva grass, flowers, and sweets.
7. Light a ghee lamp and incense sticks.
8. Chant the Nag Gayatri mantra, Nag Panchami stotra, or "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasukiye" 108 times.
9. Visit a Shiva temple or Naga temple and perform abhishekam of the Naga idol with milk.
10. If you have a Kaal Sarp Dosha in your horoscope, performing Nag Panchami puja at a temple like Trimbakeshwar is considered especially remedial.
11. Do not kill any snake on this day — it is considered highly inauspicious. Instead, if you encounter a snake, step aside respectfully.
12. Break the fast in the evening after the puja with sattvic food.
Rituals & regional traditions
Spiritual benefits
Mantras & sacred chants
Mantra 1 — Nag Gayatri Mantra:
Sanskrit: ॐ नवकुलाय विद्महे विषदन्ताय धीमहि तन्नो सर्पः प्रचोदयात्
Transliteration: Om Navkulaya Vidmahe Vishadantaya Dhimahi Tanno Sarpah Prachodayat
Meaning: We meditate upon the nine-fold serpent, we contemplate the one with venom-bearing fangs — may the Naga inspire and elevate our consciousness.
Mantra 2 — Vasuki Mantra (for Shiva's serpent):
Sanskrit: ॐ नमो भगवते वासुकये नमो नमः
Transliteration: Om Namo Bhagavate Vasukaye Namo Namah
Meaning: I bow repeatedly to Lord Vasuki, the divine serpent king who adorns Lord Shiva and was the churning rope of the cosmic ocean.
Mantra 3 — Adi Shesha Mantra (for Vishnu's cosmic serpent):
Sanskrit: ॐ अनन्ताय नमः
Transliteration: Om Anantaya Namah
Meaning: Salutations to Ananta (Adi Shesha), the infinite and eternal cosmic serpent who is the divine couch of Lord Vishnu and the support of all creation.
Nag Panchami 2026 — FAQs
Nag Panchami 2026 falls on Friday, August 21, 2026, on the Panchami tithi of Shravan Shukla Paksha.
Nag Panchami is celebrated to worship serpent deities (Nagas) who hold cosmic significance in Hinduism. The festival seeks protection from snake bites, removal of Kaal Sarp Dosha, and blessings from Lord Shiva and Vishnu through their sacred serpents Vasuki and Adi Shesha.
Devotees offer raw milk, honey, turmeric, sandalwood paste, white flowers, durva grass, and sweets to Naga idols, Naga stones, or ant hills. Abhishekam of Shiva Linga with milk is also performed.
Wake up early, bathe, draw a serpent image with cow dung paste, set up a puja altar with Naga image, offer milk and flowers, light a ghee lamp, chant Nag Gayatri or Vasuki mantra 108 times, visit a Naga temple, and fast through the day.
Kaal Sarp Dosha is an astrological condition where all seven planets are positioned between Rahu and Ketu in the birth chart. Performing Nag Panchami puja, especially at Trimbakeshwar or Sri Kalahasti temple, is considered a powerful remedy for this dosha.
Manasa Devi is the serpent goddess of eastern India (Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand). She is believed to protect devotees from snake bites, cure snake venom, and bestow fertility and prosperity. Her worship is especially central to Nag Panchami in eastern India.
No, killing any snake on Nag Panchami is considered extremely inauspicious and is believed to bring misfortune to the family. Snakes should be revered and left undisturbed on this day.
Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga (Maharashtra) and Sri Kalahasteeswara Temple (Andhra Pradesh) are the most significant temples for Nag Panchami, especially for Kaal Sarp Dosha remedies. Naga temples in Karnataka and Kerala also draw large crowds.
