About Nag Panchami
Nag Panchami is the Hindu day for worshipping the nagas, the serpent deities, kept on Shravan Shukla Panchami, the fifth day of the bright half of Shravan. In 2027 it falls on Friday, 6 August 2027. Families pray at home shrines, anthills and serpent temples for protection from snakebite and for the household, while Gujarat keeps its own Nag Pancham about two weeks later.
Nag Panchami comes in the middle of the monsoon, when rain floods burrows and snakes turn up in fields, courtyards and store rooms. The day is a prayer to the nagas for safety from snakebite, and a promise in return: for one day, nobody digs, ploughs or cuts.
How the date is set
Nag Panchami falls on the Panchami tithi of the Shukla Paksha, the bright fortnight, in the month of Shravan. It usually lands between late July and late August. Panchangs mark the day on which Panchami is running at sunrise and place the puja in the morning. Because a tithi can begin in one afternoon and end in the next, calendars occasionally disagree by a day.
Gujarat is the best-known exception. It keeps Nag Pancham on Shravan Vad Pancham, the fifth day of the dark fortnight in the Gujarati calendar, about fifteen days after the rest of India. There it opens a short run of festivals: Randhan Chhath, when families cook ahead, Shitala Satam, when the stove stays cold, and then Krishna Janmashtami.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana the bigger serpent day is Nagula Chavithi, a few days after Diwali.
The stories behind it
The story most often tied to the date comes from the Mahabharata. King Janamejaya, whose father Parikshit died of a bite from the serpent king Takshaka, began a sarpa satra, a fire sacrifice meant to destroy every snake. A young sage named Astika won a boon from the king with his learning and used it to stop the sacrifice. Tradition holds that this happened on the bright fifth of Shravan, so the day marks the serpents' reprieve. Others link it to Krishna subduing the serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna.
In Ujjain, the Nagchandreshwar shrine on the top floor of the Mahakaleshwar temple opens for 24 hours on this day and stays shut the rest of the year. Its image shows Shiva and Parvati seated on a serpent, and local tradition credits its building to the Paramara king Bhoja in the 11th century.
What families do at home
- Draw the nagasWomen draw serpents near the door or the shrine, in turmeric, red sandalwood paste or cow dung, or on a wooden plank. In Maharashtra a five-hooded cobra or a row of nine nagas is common.
- Worship the imageThe drawing, a silver or clay naga, or a stone naga at a temple is bathed in water and milk and offered turmeric, kumkum, flowers and a lamp.
- Visit an anthillAbandoned termite mounds are where cobras often shelter, so the anthill stands for the naga's home. Families circle it, in Maharashtra often five times while singing, and leave milk and flowers at its base.
- Keep the restrictionsNo digging or ploughing, so that nothing living underground is hurt. Many homes also avoid knives, frying and the hot tawa, and cook steamed or boiled food instead.
The food follows the restrictions. In Maharashtra, patoli are rice-flour parcels filled with coconut and jaggery and steamed in turmeric leaves, so no knife or frying pan is needed. In Karnataka, tambittu, balls of roasted gram flour and jaggery, and chigali, made with sesame, are offered and shared. Many people fast until the puja is done.
One festival, many forms
| Region | What it is called | What stands out |
|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | Nagpanchami | Wall drawings, patoli and anthill puja. Battis Shirala in Sangli district once paraded live cobras |
| Coastal Karnataka (Tulu Nadu) | Nagara Panchami | Milk and tender coconut poured over stone nagas in the naga bana, a sacred grove nobody cuts |
| Rest of Karnataka | Nagara Panchami | In many homes sisters pray to the naga for their brothers' long life, and the day doubles as a siblings' festival |
| Gujarat | Nag Pancham | Kept on Shravan Vad Pancham, about two weeks later. In Kutch, a fair is held at the Bhujang Nag temple on Bhujia hill |
| Madhya Pradesh | Nag Panchami | The Nagchandreshwar shrine in Ujjain opens for its one day of the year |
| Uttar Pradesh, Bundelkhand | Nag Panchami, Gudiya | In some villages girls make cloth dolls that boys beat with sticks, a custom women's groups have criticised |
| West Bengal, Odisha | Manasa Puja | Serpent worship centres on the goddess Manasa, often represented by a sij (euphorbia) branch. Bengal's Bhadro Sankranti puja comes with arandhan, a no-cooking day |
| Kerala | Sarpa kavu puja | Some families pray at the serpent grove of their tharavad, the ancestral house. The best-known serpent festival, Mannarasala Ayilyam, comes later, in Kanni or Thulam |
Battis Shirala and the law
For generations, families in Battis Shirala, Sangli district, caught cobras in the weeks before the festival, kept them in pots, and paraded them on Nag Panchami before letting them go. Local tradition credits the saint Gorakhnath with allowing the practice. Forest department figures put the catch at 344 snakes in 2010.
The Bombay High Court began restricting the practice in 2002. On 15 July 2014, a bench of Justices A.S. Oka and A.S. Chandurkar dismissed a challenge by the town's gram sabha. It held that capturing snakes, even for a few days, counts as hunting under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and is not an essential part of Hindu practice. The judges relied on P.V. Kane's history of Dharmashastra and the 1885 Bombay Gazetteer. Since then the town has worshipped images and models.
The question is not closed. In July 2025, Maharashtra's chief wildlife warden allowed 21 male cobras to be caught near Shirala for "educational" display, and wildlife activists objected that it worked around the court's orders.
Milk, snakes and what devotion asks
The milk on Nag Panchami belongs to the image, the anthill and the temple naga, not to a living snake. Snakes are reptiles and cannot digest milk. A captive snake drinks it only because it has been kept without water for days, and it can fall ill or die afterwards. Snake charmers who appear at temples in Shravan often break a snake's fangs or stitch its mouth to make it safe to handle. In Agra during Shravan in 2021, forest officials and Wildlife SOS seized 50 snakes, most of them cobras, from charmers at temples.
What to write
A Nag Panchami wish is a wish for protection, so name what the family prays for: the house, the fields, a brother, a safe monsoon. Wish Gujarati friends on Nag Pancham, not two weeks early. Ten days after Nag Panchami comes Shravan Purnima, which is Raksha Bandhan.
Nag Panchami ke din aapko pranaam. May the naga devta keep the house, the fields and all of us safe through the rains.
Nagpanchamichya hardik shubhechha. Hope the wall drawings came out well, and please save me one patoli.
Nagara Panchamiya shubhashayagalu. Wishing your family a peaceful puja and plenty of tambittu.
Did the puja this morning and prayed for you first. May the naga devta keep you safe this year and every year.
Nag Pancham ni shubhechha to you and your family. Have a good run of festivals from Randhan Chhath to Janmashtami.
Wishing you an easy fast and a calm puja this Nag Panchami. Eat well once it is done.
Happy Nag Panchami to you and your family. Hope the monsoon treats your home kindly.
- Naga
- A serpent deity, worshipped as a protector of the home, water and the land
- Valmika
- Sanskrit for an anthill, the mound worshipped as the naga's home. Varul in Marathi, hutta in Kannada, putta in Telugu
- Patoli
- A Maharashtrian and Konkani sweet of rice flour, coconut and jaggery, steamed in turmeric leaves
- Tambittu
- A Karnataka sweet of roasted gram flour and jaggery, made for Nagara Panchami
How to wish someone on Nag Panchami
A Nag Panchami wish asks for protection, so it works best when it names what the family is praying for, whether that is safety through the rains, the fields or a brother's long life. Use the name the household uses, Nagpanchami, Nagara Panchami or Nag Pancham, and wish Gujarati friends on their own day. Keep it devotional rather than jokey about snakes.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + regional language.
When is Nag Panchami in each year?
Nag Panchami is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027
- 2028
Frequently asked questions
When is Nag Panchami in 2027?
Nag Panchami 2027 falls on Friday, 6 August 2027.
Why is Nag Panchami celebrated?
Nag Panchami is kept to worship the nagas, the serpent deities, and to pray for protection from snakebite during the monsoon, when snakes are most often seen near homes. Tradition links the date to the Mahabharata story of the sage Astika stopping King Janamejaya's sacrifice to destroy all snakes.
Why does Gujarat celebrate Nag Pancham on a different day?
Gujarat keeps Nag Pancham on Shravan Vad Pancham, the fifth day of the dark fortnight of Shravan in the Gujarati calendar, rather than the fifth day of the bright fortnight. That puts it about fifteen days after Nag Panchami in the rest of India, a few days before Janmashtami.
Do snakes drink milk on Nag Panchami?
Snakes are reptiles and cannot digest milk, which is not part of their diet. Snakes seen drinking milk at festivals have usually been kept without water for days, and the milk can make them ill or kill them. The traditional offering is made to an image, a stone naga or an anthill, not to a live snake.
What should not be done on Nag Panchami?
Families traditionally avoid digging and ploughing so that snakes living underground are not hurt, and many also avoid cutting with knives, frying, and cooking on a hot tawa. Catching or displaying live snakes is also prohibited under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
What food is made on Nag Panchami?
Most homes cook steamed or boiled food that needs no knife or frying. Maharashtrian families make patoli, rice-flour parcels of coconut and jaggery steamed in turmeric leaves, and Karnataka families make tambittu from roasted gram flour and jaggery.
Is live snake worship still allowed at Battis Shirala?
No. The Bombay High Court restricted the practice from 2002 and in July 2014 ruled that capturing snakes for the festival is hunting under the Wildlife (Protection) Act and not an essential religious practice. Battis Shirala now worships images, though a limited state permit to catch cobras for educational display in 2025 drew objections from wildlife activists.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .