Back নাগ পঞ্চমী Assamese Нага Панчами Bashkir नागपंचिमी Bihari নাগ পঞ্চমী Bengali/Bangla Нага Панчами CV Nag Panchami GOM नाग पंचमी Hindi Naga Panchami ID ನಾಗ ಪಂಚಮಿ Kannada नागपञ्चमी MAI
| Naga Panchami | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Naga worshipped at Nagasthan, a Naga temple at Chandragiri, Kathmandu during Naga Panchami | |
| Also called | Naga Puja |
| Observed by | Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists |
| Type | Religious, India and Nepal |
| Observances | Veneration of cobras or their images |
| Date | Shraavana Shukla Panchami |
Hindu festival dates The Hindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day). Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta. If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa. A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar. | |
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Naga Panchami (Sanskrit: नागपञ्चमी, IAST: Nāgapañcamī) is a day of traditional worship of nagas (or najas or nags) or snakes (which are associated with the mythical Nāga beings) observed by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists throughout Nepal, and other countries where Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist adherents live.[2][3][4] The worship is offered on the fifth day of bright half of lunar month of Shravana (July/August), according to the Hindu calendar.[5] Some Indian states, such as Karnataka, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat, celebrate Naga Panchami on the dark half (Krishna Paksha) of the same month.[6] As part of the festivities, a Naga or serpent deity made of silver, stone, wood, or a painting is given a reverential bath with milk and their blessings are sought for the welfare of the family.[3] Live snakes, especially cobras, are also worshipped on this day, especially with offerings of milk and generally with the assistance of a snake charmer.[7]
In the Mahabharata epic, the sage Astika stops King Janamejaya from sacrificing and eventually decimating the serpent race (Sarpa Satra). This sacrifice was performed by Janamejaya to avenge the death of his father Parikshita, who was killed by Takshaka, the king of the snakes. The day that the sacrifice was stopped was on the Shukla Paksha Panchami day in the month of Shravana. During this sacrifice, the Mahabharata as a whole was first narrated by the sage, Vaisampayana.[8] That day has since been observed as Naga Panchami.[9]
- ^ a b "Nag Panchami in 2022 | Calendar Labs". CalendarLabs.
- ^ Verma 2000, pp. 37–38.
- ^ a b "Nag Panchami: A mix of faith and superstition". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
- ^ "Nag Panchami 2017 Wishes With Images – QuintDaily". 26 July 2017.
- ^ Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z. Rosen. p. 454. ISBN 978-0-8239-3180-4.
- ^ "2019 Nag Pancham Puja Date and Time for New Delhi, NCT, India". Drikpanchang. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
- ^ "The Wrestler's Body". publishing.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
- ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Adivansavatarana Parva: Section LX". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
- ^ Garg 1992, p. 743.