🙏 Nag Devata (Ananta, Vasuki & Shesha)

Nag Panchami

🗓️ Shravana Shukla Panchami (Jul–Aug)

The story behind Nag Panchami

Nag Panchami honours the Nag Devatas — Ananta, Vasuki, Shesha and their kin — on Shravana Shukla Panchami. In Vedic tradition serpents are guardians of the earth's waters and hidden treasures, and Shesha is the couch on which Bhagwan Vishnu reclines through the cosmic night. Observers offer milk, water and flowers at anthills, carved nagakals or a drawn image, and refrain from tilling or digging the earth for the day. The observance falls in the monsoon, when serpents leave flooded burrows for higher ground, and expresses both gratitude and a request for safety.

Nag Panchami Puja Vidhi

  1. 1

    Snana & Sankalpa

    Bathe before sunrise and take a sankalpa to leave the earth undisturbed for the day — traditionally no ploughing, digging or breaking of ground.

  2. 2

    Naga Pratima Puja

    Draw a serpent figure with turmeric or sandal paste on a wooden board, or use a temple nagakal, and offer haldi, kumkum, akshata and durva.

  3. 3

    Ksheera Arpana

    Offer milk, water and lotus or jasmine flowers at an anthill, a nagakal or before the drawn image. Milk is offered at the image or burrow, never poured on or forced upon a live serpent.

  4. 4

    Navanaga Stotra Path

    Recite the nine-naga shloka, then offer the naivedya of kheer or sesame-jaggery preparations and distribute it as prasad.

Nag Panchami Mantra

अनन्तं वासुकिं शेषं पद्मनाभं च कम्बलम्। शङ्खपालं धृतराष्ट्रं तक्षकं कालियं तथा॥

Meaning

Ananta, Vasuki, Shesha, Padmanabha and Kambala; Shankhapala, Dhritarashtra, Takshaka and Kaliya — the nine serpent lords, invoked by name.

How to chant

Recite the shloka thrice at the time of offering, and once again in the evening before the naivedya.

When is Nag Panchami?

YearDate
2025Tuesday, 29 July 2025
2026Monday, 17 August 2026
2027Friday, 6 August 2027
2028Wednesday, 26 July 2028
2029Tuesday, 14 August 2029

Dates are computed with the Drik (observational) method from real solar and lunar positions, using sunrise-to-sunrise Tithi assignment for New Delhi.

Does Nag Panchami fall on the same date everywhere?

Nag Panchami's date is decided by the astrological marker that is checked at sunrise. Sunrise happens at a different moment in each city, so Nag Panchami can fall on different calendar dates in different countries, even though everyone is observing the same astronomical event.

CityDate
New DelhiMon, 17 August
New YorkMon, August 17
LondonMon 17 August
TorontoMon, August 17
SydneyMon 17 August
DubaiMon, 17 August
SingaporeMon, 17 August

These dates follow the panchang convention computed for each city's own coordinates — they are not a universal verdict. Some temples and communities shift observance to a weekend regardless of the computed date, and published panchang authorities recommend using your own city's panchang rather than a single worldwide date. Confirm with your local temple or community before treating a date as final.

Festivals around Nag Panchami

All Hindu festivals →See the full Vedic calendar →Today's Panchang & muhurtas →

Nag Panchami FAQs

Nag Panchami falls on 17 August 2026, based on Kaala's Drik Panchang calculation for the corresponding Tithi.

Nag Panchami is dated according to the lunar Tithi, not the fixed Gregorian calendar, so its Gregorian date shifts from year to year while its position in the lunar calendar stays consistent.

The astronomical event Nag Panchami marks happens at the same instant everywhere in the world, but which calendar day that instant falls on locally depends on each city's own timing — so cities in different countries can observe Nag Panchami a day apart.