On Nag Panchami – Shravan Shukla Panchami, we worship Nag Devtas as guardians of water, fertility, and family protection, and as dear to Lord Shiva. How to please Nag Devta – Puja Vidhi This is what is traditionally done at hme:
Preparation : Wake up early, take bath, wear clean clothes. Clean your puja room / altar with water or Gangajal. Keep a fast if you can – many eat only once in the evening. Place a red cloth on a wooden chowki and keep an idol or picture of Nag Devta. Idol can be of silver, stone, wood, or clay.
Puja : First bathe the idol with water and raw milk, then with water again.
Offerings: milk mixed with honey, ghee and sugar, turmeric, kumkum / roli, akshat (raw rice), flowers (especially white), incense and ghee diya. Offer sweets and seasonal fruits.
Do Sankalpa – vow that you are performing puja with sincere devotion.
Prayers and Katha : Light diya and agarbatti, fold hands and pray for family welfare. Recite Nag Panchami katha and mantra, then do aarti.
Mantras to recite
The most common mantras:
Sarpa Mantra:
Anantam Vasukim Shesham Padmanabham cha Kambalam
Shankhapalam Dhritarashtram cha Takshakam Kaliyam tatha
Etani nava namani Naganaam cha Mahatmanam
Sayam kale pathennityam pratah kale visheshatah
Tasya vishabhayam nasti sarvatra vijayi bhavet
Meaning – remembering the nine great Nagas removes fear of poison and brings victory.
Sarve Nagaah Mantra:
Sarve Nagaah preeyantam me ye kechit prithvi-tale
Ye cha helimarchi-stha ye cha divi-stha ye antariksha-stha
Ye nadeeshu mahanaga ye saraswati-gaminah
Ye cha vapi-tadageshu teshu sarveshu vai namah
“May the snakes who are in this world, sky, heaven, sun-rays, lakes, wells, ponds etc. bless us and we all salute them.”
Chant at least 108 times or 11 times with devotion.
What pleases them most
Ahimsa: Do not kill or hurt snakes on this day. Respect live snakes, anthills (Nag Bhanda / Varul) where they are believed to live. Don’t dig the earth – tradition says avoid ploughing, digging or cutting trees on Nag Panchami. Feed symbolically: Offer milk to stone/clay idols. If you visit a live Nag temple, don’t force-feed milk – it harms them. Offer flowers and pray from distance.Worship Shiva: Abhishek of Shivling with milk and water, as Nagas are his ornaments. Charity: Offer food, clothes to poor, and avoid iron tawa / fried food if your family tradition says so. After puja, sprinkle some puja milk and flowers near a Tulsi plant or sacred tree, and break your fast after listening to the Katha.
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