Hundreds of devotees were seen carrying snakes during the Nag Panchami fair in Bihar's Samastipur.
The devotees had gathered at Singhia Ghat this week to take part in the traditional fair, wherein people carry snakes as part of religious rituals, NDTV reported.
Residents from across the Mithila regions, including districts like Begusarai, Muzaffarpur, Khagaria and Saharsa take part in the fair.
Almost all the devotees, from children to the elderly people, were seen carrying a snake in their hands, either wound around their arms or draped around their necks. Some had even balanced serpents on their heads. A few were carrying sticks with the snake coiled around it.
The Nag Panchami fair commenced with prayers at the Maa Bhagwati temple in Singhia Bazaar, following which the devotees walked to the banks of the Budhi Gandak river, according to NDTV.
{{/usCountry}}The Nag Panchami fair commenced with prayers at the Maa Bhagwati temple in Singhia Bazaar, following which the devotees walked to the banks of the Budhi Gandak river, according to NDTV.
{{/usCountry}}Locals said that the tradition had been going on for a century, and had been passed down over generations.
The devotees in the procession also chanted the name of Mata Vishhari, the local snake goddess, while some of them caught the snakes in their mouths while walking.
The tradition also includes women performing worship rituals under Gahvars (enclosures), and offering prayers to the snake goddess for fertility, health and protection. After their wishes are fulfilled, devotees return to the next Nag Panchami fair to offer Jhaap (offerings) and prasad, NDTV reported.
The snakes were released into the forest areas nearby after the rituals concluded. No incidents of snake bites or injuries have been reported yet from the fair.
Maharashtra govt plan to resume snake worship
The Maharashtra government had earlier this month started exploring ways to resume snake worship on Nag Panchami in Sangli district's in Battis Shirala town, PTI reported.
The town used to worship live snakes on Nag Panchami, but the procession of cobras was banned by the Bombay High Court in 2002.
BJP legislator Satyajit Deshmukh brought up the issue in Maharashtra Assembly, saying the festival had historical significance. State forest minister Ganesh Naik had also informed the House that a meeting with Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav would be held on July 7-8 would be held on reviving the tradition.
However, a section of animal rights activists and environmentalists objected to the revival of the practice, according to PTI. “Cobras are protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act. Such practices contradict the spirit and the letter of the law. Moreover, the practice has been declining in recent years, thanks to a Bombay High Court order,” PTI quoted herpetologist Mrugank Prabhu as saying.