Festival · 2027
Nag Panchami 2027 — Friday, 6 August 2027
Nag Panchami is the fifth day of the bright half of Shravana, when the nagas, the serpent deities of Hindu tradition, are worshipped with milk, flowers and prayers for the family’s protection.
In 2026
Monday, 17 August 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Panchami: 16 Aug, 4:53 PM – 17 Aug, 5:00 PM
- Lunar month
- Shravana
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:51 AM / 6:58 PM
| Puja muhurat | 5:51 AM – 12:25 PM |
|---|---|
| Purvahna (sunrise to midday) | 5:51 AM – 12:25 PM |
Rule: Shravana Shukla Panchami touching the purvahna (sunrise to midday); if on both days, the first.
In 2027
Friday, 6 August 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Panchami: 6 Aug, 2:27 AM – 7 Aug, 12:23 AM
- Lunar month
- Shravana
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:45 AM / 7:08 PM
| Puja muhurat | 5:45 AM – 12:26 PM |
|---|---|
| Purvahna (sunrise to midday) | 5:45 AM – 12:26 PM |
Rule: Shravana Shukla Panchami touching the purvahna (sunrise to midday); if on both days, the first.
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Nag Panchami?
Nag Panchami is the festival of the nagas, the serpent beings who appear throughout Hindu, Buddhist and Jain lore. It falls in the heart of the monsoon, when rain floods the burrows of snakes and brings them closer to homes and fields. The worship grew from that closeness: farming families who lived beside snakes honoured them, asked for protection, and chose one day in the rains to show them respect rather than harm.
The nagas are great figures in the scriptures. In the Mahabharata and the Puranas they are the children of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru. Shesha, or Ananta, holds up the worlds and is the couch on which Vishnu rests; Vasuki served as the rope when the gods and asuras churned the ocean, and he coils around Shiva’s neck; Takshaka and Karkotaka appear in several stories. Nag Panchami prayers often name eight great nagas, among them Ananta, Vasuki, Takshaka and Karkotaka.
One tradition links the day to the Mahabharata’s Adi Parva, where King Janamejaya, grieving for his father Parikshit, who died of Takshaka’s bite, began a great sacrifice to destroy all serpents. The young sage Astika persuaded the king to stop it, saving the nagas, and some tellings say this happened on a Panchami. In Braj, the day is also connected with the boy Krishna’s subduing of the serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna.
Worship is usually offered to images rather than live snakes. Families draw nagas on the walls near the door with cow dung, sandal paste or turmeric, or worship stone images of snakes, the nagakal, under trees and at anthills. It is worth knowing that snakes do not drink milk in nature, and capturing or keeping them is against wildlife law in India. Many temples and families now encourage worship only at images and anthills, which is also how the older rural custom was kept.
How it is observed
- Drawing images of nagas on the walls beside the main door with cow dung, sandal paste, turmeric or charcoal, and worshipping them.
- Offering milk, water, flowers, rice, turmeric and sweets to stone naga images or at anthills.
- Not digging the earth or ploughing on this day, out of care for the snakes living in the soil.
- In some homes, not chopping, frying or using an iron griddle for the day, and eating simple food.
- Praying to the nagas for the family’s protection, and in Karnataka, sisters praying for their brothers’ well-being.
- Visiting naga temples, including the Nagchandreshwar shrine at Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple, which opens only on this day.
How the date is fixed
Nag Panchami is kept on Shravana Shukla Panchami, the fifth tithi of the bright half of Shravana, on the day when Panchami prevails in the purvahna, the morning part of the day from sunrise to midday, when the puja is done. If Panchami prevails in the morning on two consecutive days, we give the first. The page above shows that day and the morning puja window for your place.
Where practice differs
Nag Panchami is kept across north and central India, Maharashtra and Karnataka, where it is Nagara Panchami and milk is poured over naga stones and anthills. Nepal pastes pictures of nagas above doorways. In Bengal and Assam, the snake goddess Manasa is worshipped through the rainy months. Gujarat keeps its Nag Pancham on a different day, Shravana Krishna Panchami in its amanta calendar, which comes after Raksha Bandhan, close to Janmashtami. Some villages once handled live snakes on this day, a practice now stopped under wildlife law.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
Why are snakes worshipped on Nag Panchami?
The nagas are sacred beings in the scriptures, close to both Vishnu and Shiva, and in farming life snakes were neighbours to be respected. The day is a prayer for the family’s protection and a promise not to harm them.
Should milk be offered to a live snake?
No. Snakes do not drink milk in nature and can be harmed by being caught and fed. Tradition offers milk to naga images, stones and anthills, and capturing snakes is against wildlife law in India.
Why is digging avoided on Nag Panchami?
Snakes live in burrows in the soil, and in the rains they are close to the surface. Not digging or ploughing on this day is a traditional way of showing them care.
Why does Gujarat keep Nag Pancham on another day?
Gujarat follows its own custom and keeps Nag Pancham on Shravana Krishna Panchami in its amanta calendar, in the dark half after Raksha Bandhan, instead of the bright-half Panchami kept in most other regions.