#IndianHeritagePhotoWalk - Worshiping Serpants on Nagapanchami - Customs and Rituals - TravellerG

[TravellerG]

Photo #1; Caption: Cober photo

Hello LG Friends,

Happy Naga Panchami to all those who celebrate.

We all love Mother Nature and all her gifts - right? In India, we worship many gifts from nature.

Nag (Snake) Panchami is such a festival that worships the divine and mystical qualities of ‘Serpents’, which also fosters a sense of respect and gratitude for these living beings. This also reminds us of the importance of the coexistence of all living beings and harmony with nature.

Photo #2; Caption: The Silver Alankara (decoration) of Lord Shesh Nag (Lord Vishnu rests on Shesh Nag in Vaikuntha) in TSLV Swamy Temple, Bangalore.

Nag Panchami 2024:

The celebrations are held on the fifth day of the Hindu Lunar month, Shrava - this year it is today, the 9th of August.

Customs & Rituals:

On this day, all the members of the family get up early in the morning, and after the headbath, do the Pooja/rituals. Some devotees visit temples or do the pooja at home with the idols of snakes, made of clay, etc.

Also, people do pooja to earth mounds where it is designated as Serpent (Naga) Raja (Snake King). The devotees bring different items for the rituals (which is clear from the photos).

They garland the mound, encircle the mound with white twain/cloth, pour turmeric powder, Kumkum, flowers, etc - then pour milk - light lamps and agarbatti, and submit other foods and fruits. Finally, they do the arati with camphor.

Here is a short video of 26 seconds which gives a good idea of the Pooja.

Significance:

This festival is conducted to protect households from snake bites and to seek their blessings for fertility, well-being and protection.

The Legend

There are many, many stories and here is one: Lord Krishna defeated Kaliya Nag who was harassing (poisoning the river Yamuna) the people of Gokul - this victory is celebrated as Nag Panchmi.

Photo #3; Caption: The idol after the ‘Abhisheka’ (bath of a deity), before Alankara.

Photo #4; Caption: Almost 14 feet high Mound in the park, near our home.

Photo #5; Caption: The different Pooja items brought by the devotees.

Photo #6; Caption: A senior devotee doing pooja.

Photo #7; Caption: The back side of the mound.

Note:
The Photoshoots were conducted in a park (sand mound) near our house and the ‘Thirumalagiri Shri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Swamy Temple’ (Here).

Hope you all enjoyed the narration and the photos.

@Gurukrishnapriya @PrasadVR @ShailendraOjha @Kumaarsantosh @Shubhu1 @Anil6969 @Darshan_ghode1 @MarkAuchincloss @Rajatsah007 @SanjayBDLG

[MohanG]

@TravellerG

NICE POST TG SIR

[Shrut19]

नमस्कार,

** @TravellerG **

शेयर करने के लिए शुक्रिया,

नागपंचमी कि शुभकामनाए |

[RavindranK]

@TravellerG

Good Narrative on NagaPanchami.

Detailed and interesting.

[Radhika26]

Beautiful explanation sir @TravellerG . Lovely pictures. Thank you for sharing.

[RoshanBajpaiLG]

@TravellerG thanks for the informative post about festival today , seems like festive season is about to started slowly , used to wait for these days in school time for holiday

Lord krishna defeated kaliya nag to keep yamuna river safe for us and we

[Rushikesh_joshi]

Nice @TravellerG

.

[TusharSuradkar]

Wonderful post and photos @TravellerG

The photos especially are a sight to behold.

Besides cultural significance, the snake has a special symbiosis with the Indian farmers since they control the population of the rats which results in a better crop yield.

Our great Indian culture teaches us to respect every living being.

The Nag Panchami is one such in this great tradition.

Your post comes in at the right time and shows our tradition in the correct perspective

[AjitThite]

Nice post and photos as usual @TravellerG sir.

Thanks for sharing with us.

Cheers!

[jagatji]

Very interesting article. You have very well narrated the traditions and the significance. Wonderful photos …

[TravellerG]

Thank you so much for your detailed & quick response, dear @TusharSuradkar …

Yes, yes,… there are many aspects for us to highlight…

Hope you remember, our Indian Medical Association logo itself has TWO SNAKES…(twisted)…

Lord Vishnu and Lord Mahadev also have snakes connected with them…

Mannarassala is one out of the four temples dedicated to Snakes in Kerala and is very close to my native Illam…,.

Wanted to write more… I know a very few persons like you will read the details…

Once again, thank you very much…

Regards,

[Shubhu1]

Really Nice and Informative post @TravellerG Sir
All photos are very nice and the decoration of Lord Shesh Naag is Attractive…

Thank you for sharing such nice photo’s…

Actually there are many stories about Nag Panchami in Hindu scriptures and Puranas too but in one of them, Lord Krishna defeats the Kaliya Naga and emerges safely from the Yamuna River bed, so Naga Puja is performed on Shravan Shuddha Panchami.
Another thing that is observed on Nag Panchami is that food is not cooked in a kadhai, it is said that the iron pan used for making poli is considered as a trap for snakes and therefore any sharp and sharp objects like pan, needle, knife should not be used on this day to avoid any harm to the snakes.
Women go to worship the snake varula, offer milk to it and draw beautiful rangoli at the door on the occasion of Nag Panchami.

[Mayank_Ahir]

@TravellerG Thank you for the insightful post on Nag Panchami!

According to Hindu scriptures, Nagas are believed to exist in different planes of reality, particularly in the realm called Nag Loka, which is the underworld. The Nagas are also considered guardians of hidden treasures and possess great wisdom. It’s fascinating how they bridge the connection between the earthly and spiritual realms."

[Praniketmore]

@TravellerG An excellent explanation of Nagpanchami’s function, the enormous and huge mound, and the idol’s stunning appearance and thorough coverage of this function.all photographs looks nice

[Anil6969]

Very good pictorial representation

Along with description of NASGPANCHAMI @TravellerG

To my surprise this is also celebrated in punjab here in patyala Dukhniwaran gurudwara all Punjabi used to go detail @RosyKohli can explain better the importance.

However this is celebrated in utterpradesh maharashtra and bihar and even some part of westbengql.

In south Andhrapradesh i have seen this celebrated in big way .

Rest i dont know much we offer milk and flower

Thanks for sharing detail story of kaliyanag which is from Mahabharata timeß.

Regards

Anil

[Annaelisa]

Lieber @TravellerG

Ein hervorragender Beitrag mit guten Erklärungen und Bildern.

Das Video hat mir besonders gut gefallen.

[Rajatsah007]

@TravellerG Thanks for sharing the Indian culture. A good narration on nag Panchami.

[CAAG1959]

Hola @TravellerG más que interesante publicación, siempre sorprendiéndonos a nosotros, los occidentales, con vuestra religión. Me fascina con la devoción que se hace cada celebración y la pasión con que llevan a cabo cada ritual. Las distintas fotografías están excelentes y retratan muy bien lo que vas narrando, pero el vídeo, para mí se lleva todos los aplausos. Lo ves varias veces y siempre notas algo que no habías percatado antes.

Gracias por compartir.

Saludos desde Uruguay

[RaviSharma111]

Very good post with beautiful photo Thanks @TravellerG sir for sharing this culture and custom to us.

[ShailendraOjha]

दादा @TusharSuradkar Every Hinduism religion festival celebration is unforgettable and the credit for celebrating the series of our traditional festival celebrations goes to our freedom fighters Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He was our great social reformer our country.

Thanks for tag me TG @TravellerG