Nag Panchami 2022: Date, history, significance and celebration in India

Nag Panchami 2022: Here's all you need to know about the date, history, significance and celebration of the Hindu festival in India

Worshipping forces of nature has been a part of Hinduism from ancient times and Nag Panchami is no different as on this Hindu festival, snakes are worshipped. Celebrated across India on the fifth day of the moonlit fortnight of the month of Sravana, Nag Panchami falls in the month of July or August.

Date:

This year, Nag Panchami will be celebrated by the Hindu community on August 2, 2022.

History and significance:

As per a Hindu mythology, Hindu deity Krishna was playing by the side of river Yamuna once when he was still quite young and his ball got stuck in the branches of a tree by the riverside. In his attempt to retrieve the ball, Krishna fell into the river and was attacked by Kaliya, the snake.

He fought hard and the snake realised that Krishna was no an ordinary child hence, pleaded him not to kill it. Krishna spared the snake by taking a promise that it will not harass the people anymore hence, Nag Panchmi is celebrated to mark the victory of Krishna who saved the lives of people from the harassment of Kaliya, the most dangerous snake.

Celebration:

In Maharashtra, the festival is celebrated by taking a dormant cobra in a plate and visiting door-to-door to ask alms and clothing while in Kerala, the devotees visit snake temples and worship a stone or metal icon of snake, praying that they and their families are saved from any snakebite throughout the year. Snake idols of mud and sand are made and worshiped while cow's milk, fried paddy, rice's breed and durva (tip of a special grass) is offered before the pictures of Nag.

It is believed that Shiva, another Hindu deity, loves and blesses snakes hence, the devotees worship the snakes in an attempt to please him. Believed to be one of the most short-tempered Gods, Shiva is considered to ruin one's life if he gets angry hence, some people even worship live cobras on the day of Nag Panchami day and offer it milk and feed it other foods as well.

Some believe that snakes remember the faces of whoever harms them and then avenge it by harming the whole family hence, devotees do not dig the Earth on this day. Young girls pray and offer milk to cobras and pray to get married to a good person while married women pray to save their families from any harm caused by snakes.