Today is Nagara Panchami - festival of snakes !

Hi topffer, I agree with that, in fact my ancestors and elders constantly tell us that to keep our culture alive , we have to practice customs and traditions...Questioning is fine but also honor the belief of others ! I saw a really huge King Cobra which according to the temple authorities is nearly 20 years old come slowly and drink from the pond, where the milk and tender coconut water gets collected ..

@kiran8 I would have said 'majestically' for a king. I live in a country where we like to have good dinners for many religious festivals. I suppose that the snakes are fed by people visiting the temple. Do they get some extra food for the festival ?

@topffer There is a belief that the snakes especially the King Cobra likes milk, so we offer milk and tender coconut water to them. At times they are seen climbing the coconut trees and resting on top , probably because it is cool among the coconut bunches ...I agree that festivals are fun and to be celebrated with the family and a sumptuous dinner.Incidentally , we have only vegetarian food on religious festival days with of course many sweets made at home.

LOL I guess we all have a fear of snakes and would like to keep as far away as possible.I feel it is this fear that has given rise to worship, keeping them appeased by making offerings ! It is quite another fact that we have probably the largest number of deaths in the world due to snake bites in India!!

@kiran8 I'm sorry to hear that. I imagine it's difficult to obtain an antidote for a snake bite

Hi, Traditions and customs are strange and at times it is difficult to get to their roots and see how and why they originated...I guess this custom of worshiping snakes originated with Lord Shiva who is considered to be a very powerful god according to Hindu culture, and he was fond of serpents and cobras.. As long as we practice, these traditions remain with us or else they disappear with time !

@kiran8 Hope they don´t vanish just like that Its so sad to see that in Britain so many local customes don´t exist any more as such. Have read some about Lord Shiva too but did not know about the Snake bit. We have lots of small very fast snakes that are deadly if they bite you too. If you get bitten you have to call the 112 pretty fast.

@lovinangelsinstead21 Yes it is sad to see customs and traditions become extinct because people dont care or dont bother with them ! Here in India we have lots of snakes, the King Cobra can be really scary because of its giant size and the way it intimidates you unlike rat snakes which run away. I remember once when we were walking through the fields suddenly a huge Cobra appeared in front of us with its hood open and looking at us moving its head.We were just transfixed until it decided to move away slowly ! It was one scary experience which made us realise how powerless we were in front of that snake ! It mesmerises you with its size and gaze !

Hi prashu, Yes it is a lovely place and very serene ! By the way, which part of India do you come from ? because as far as my knowledge goes, Nagara Panchami or Naga Panchami as it is called in some parts is celebrated all over India..It is honor of Lord Shiva because Cobras are his pets

Oh thats great, so you do wrestling as well.... We see a lot of religious and traditional practices now being spread to other parts of the country like Rakhee which was never there in the south is now celebrated by people and so is Holi,...it is good for the unity of the nation !

@else34 Very true, that is the right interpretation of religion, in fact in India we have even issues within the religion because of caste factors ..

@kiran8 Originally we are from U.P.Our ancestors migrated and settled here.Wrestling on Nagapanchami is an old tradition in U.P.We follow it as it is a good tradition.Religion unites,not divides,as often the so called 'secular' say.It is only the interpretation of religions that causes divide between us.So called seculars often tend to garner votes by blaming religion.

It s celebrated by Hindus all over the country. I am quoting from an article as to why it is celebrated Reason behind celebrating Nag Panchmi It is believed that Lord Krishna had saved the lives of people from the harassment of Kalinga, the deadly snake. It is believed that one day, when Krishna was still quite young, was playing by the side of river Yamuna and his ball got stuck in the branches of a tree that was just by the side of the river. While trying to get it Krishna fell into the river. When Kalinga attacked him, he fought and after some time the snake understood that he was not an ordinary child. This was when he pleaded Krishna not to kill him and Krishna spared him by taking a promise that he will not harass the people anymore. Nag Panchmi is celebrated as the victory of Krishna over Kalinga, the most dangerous snake.