Nag Panchami (17 August 2026): Puja Vidhi, Katha and Significance
Monday, 17 August 2026 is Nag Panchami — the day devoted to serpent worship in Shravan. Here's the puja vidhi, the katha, and who observes this ancient vrat.
Monday, 17 August 2026 is Nag Panchami — the Panchami tithi of Shravan Shukla Paksha, set aside for the worship of Nag Devta, the serpent deities of Hindu tradition. Falling this year on the same day as a Sawan Somwar, it makes for an unusually devotional Monday: alongside Shiv ji's abhishek, homes across India draw images of snakes at their doorways, offer milk and turmeric, and pray for protection from snakebite and the wellbeing of the family. This guide covers why the day matters, the puja vidhi, the katha behind it, and who traditionally keeps it.
Why Nag Panchami matters
Snakes occupy a unique place in Hindu belief — feared and revered in equal measure. Shesha Naga is said to hold the earth on his hood and forms Lord Vishnu's resting couch in the ocean of milk; Vasuki served as the churning rope during Samudra Manthan; and Shiva himself wears a serpent coiled around his neck. Nag Panchami is the day these serpent forms — collectively worshipped as the Ashta Nag, the eight principal nagas including Anant, Vasuki, Shesha, Padma, Kambala, Karkotaka, Ashwatara and Dhritarashtra — are honoured, both for protection from snakebite in the monsoon months when snakes are most active, and out of respect for them as guardians of the earth's fertility and hidden wealth.
Puja vidhi — items and steps
- Bathe early and, where the custom is followed, avoid using a knife, ploughing the soil or digging earth on this day, since the ground is considered a snake's home.
- At the household entrance or puja space, draw the image of a snake — traditionally seven-hooded — using turmeric paste, sandalwood or cow dung on a wooden plank or the wall.
- Offer raw milk, water, akshat, flowers, durva grass and sweets (especially kheer or laddoo) to the image; where a live snake or snake idol is available, milk is offered without forcing the snake to consume it, in line with current wildlife guidance that discourages capturing snakes for worship.
- Light a diya and incense, and recite the names of the principal nagas or the Nag Gayatri Mantra.
- Listen to or read the Nag Panchami katha, then distribute the offered milk and sweets as prasad.
- Many devotees keep a simple fast through the day, eating once after the puja, and avoid frying food in a hot kadhai (griddle) as a mark of respect.
The katha, in brief
The story most often told on this day involves a farmer who, while ploughing his field, unknowingly killed the young of a female snake. In her grief and fury, the snake took revenge on the farmer's family, but was ultimately pacified by his surviving daughter, who worshipped the Nag Devta with such sincerity and offered milk with genuine remorse that the snake relented and blessed the family instead of harming them further. A second, equally popular telling recalls young Krishna subduing the poisonous serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna and dancing upon its hood, sparing its life in exchange for it leaving the river — commemorated in some regions as Kaliya Daman alongside Nag Panchami. Both stories carry the same message: living peaceably with the serpent, rather than harming it out of fear, brings protection rather than calamity.
Who keeps this vrat
Nag Panchami is observed widely by farming families, for whom snakes are both a hazard in the fields and, symbolically, guardians of the harvest and stored grain. Mothers keep it praying for the safety of their sons and the whole household from snakebite through the monsoon, and it is considered especially important in regions with a strong agricultural or riverine tradition — Maharashtra, parts of Rajasthan, Bihar, Bengal and the Nag temples of the Himalayan belt all mark the day with notable devotion. Snake charmers and communities associated with snake worship treat it as one of the year's most significant festivals.