Nagapanchami
Nagapanchami (नागपंचमी) is a traditional worship of snakes or serpents observed by Hindus throughout India, Nepal and other countries where Hindu adherents live.
Contents
Variants
Timing
The worship is offered on the fifth day of bright half of Lunar month of Shravana (July/August), according to the Hindu calendar.
Why celebrated
The festival of Nāga panchami is celebrated in Hindus to pay respect to Nāgas. The five Nāgas worshipped on Nāga panchami are Ananta, Vāsuki, Taxak, Karkotaka and Pingala.
According to a Puranic myth Brahma’s son Kashyapa had four wives. Kashyapa’s first wife gave birth to Devas, second to Garudas, third to Nāgas and fourth to Daityas. [1]. The third wife of Kashpa was called Kadroo, who gave birth to Nāgas. So Nāgas are also known as Kadroojā. They were the rulers of Pātāl-Loka. There is a Sanskrit shloka to remember important nine Nāgas as under: [2]
- अनन्तं वासुकिं शेषं पद्मनाभं च कम्बलम् ।
- Anantam Vāsukim Shesham Padmanābham cha Kambalam
- शंखपालं धार्तराष्ट्रं तक्षकं कालियं तथा ।।
- Shankhapālam Dhārtarāshtram Taxakam Kāliyam tathā
- एतानि नवनामानि च महात्मनाम् ।
- Etāni navanāmāni cha mahātmanām
History
In the Mahabharata epic story, Astika, the Brahmin son of Jaratkarus, who stopped the Sarpa Satra of Janamejaya, ruler of the Kuru empire which lasted for 12 years is well documented. This yagna was performed by Janamejaya to decimate the race of all snakes, to avenge for the death of his father Parikshita due to snake bite of Takshaka, the king of snakes. The day that the yagna (fire sacrifice) was stopped, due to the intervention of the Astika, was on the Shukla Paksha Panchami day in the month of Shravana when Takshaka, the king of snakes and his remaining race at that time were saved from decimation by the Sarpa Satra yagna. Since that day, the festival is observed as Naga Panchami.[3]
Nagavanshi History
Dr Naval Viyogi[4] writes.... The great festival[5] in honour of the serpents in the Nagpanchami, which, as the name indicates, is celebrated on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month of savan, the first month of the rainy season. Ananta, Basuki, Shesha, Padma, Kambala and even so Nagas Karkotaka and the serpent Asvatara, Dhritrashtra, Sankhapala, Kaliya and like wise Takshaka and great Naga Pingla are lauded month by month.
External links
References
- ↑ Dainik Jagran, 25 July 2006
- ↑ Dainik Bhaskar 30 July 2006
- ↑ Garg, Gaṅgā Rām (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-7022-376-4., p. 743.
- ↑ Nagas, The Ancient Rulers of India, Their Origins and History, 2002, p. 32
- ↑ (a) Vogel JPH P.274-75 ; (b) Rao Gopalachari TA, "Element of Hindu econography" vol-II Nagpur university