As per the Hindu Calendar, the auspicious festivals of Naag Panchami or Nagula Panchami fall on the fifth day of the radiant half of the lunar month of Shravan, i.e., July or August. As snakes are considered celestial beings, as per Hindu mythology, devotees perform the Naag puja at this festival. In India, Nepal, and other regions in South Asia, people observe this fest with great zeal and devotion. Worshipers on this day pray to snakes and offer them milk, flowers, honey, and vermilion to seek blessings from them.

Next, let us learn about the significance of Nag Panchami 2024 and the advantages of feeding snakes with milk on that day.

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Naag Panchami 2024: Date & Time

This year, Naag Panchami shall fall on Monday, August 09, 2024, and the Nag Panchami Pooja Muhurat shall be for the duration of 2 hours 40 minutes, from 05:47 am to 08:27 am. 

The Panchami Tithi shall commence at 12:36 am on August 09, 2024, and continue until 03:13 am on August 10, 2024.

Story behind Nag Panchami 2024

An interesting story is behind the reason to celebrate Naga Panchami, as per Hindu Mythology. The story is about Kashyap, who was a farmer, and had four wives. Takshak, his second wife's son, grew up to be the mighty King of Snakes and lived in the underworld.

In one instance, Arjun's grandson, King Parikshit, criticized Takshak. The King, moreover, tossed a dead snake that got hung in Takshak's neck. Outraged at this, Takshak bit the ruler and killed him. His death became widely reported, and the young prince Janamejaya vowed to sacrifice a snake to seek revenge.

Astika, a sage, interfered during the sacrifice and pleaded with the king to terminate the rite. Astika further requested to let go of the snakes, explaining that if his plea got rejected, numerous innocent snakes would die. Astika's petition touched King Janamejaya, and he decided to call off the sacrifice. 

The event had a significant effect on the way people and snakes interacted. Thus, Naga Panchami is celebrated to honor and appease the snake gods, the holy creatures. Worshipers worshiping snakes on this day do so in order to protect themselves from being bitten by one and seek blessings to achieve wealth, good health, and prosperity. By performing this Nag Panchami puja, we all get reminded of the significance of valuing all the creatures created by God. We should maintain harmony with nature and acknowledge the role of every being in the ecosystem.

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Astrological Significance of Naga Panchami 

The festival of Naga Panchami is observed in the monsoon season when snakes are active the most. It holds significant astrological meaning too, as the shadow planets, Rahu & Ketu, are related to the serpentine energy, as per Vedic astrology. As both are malefic planets, if not appeased, they bring distress and bad luck. Thus, Nag or Nagula Panchami is observed in order to pacify these planets and obtain their blessings. 

Rahu, Moon's north node, symbolizes the serpent's head in astrology, while Ketu indicates the serpent's tail, that is, the south node of the moon. Therefore, both environment & weather gets highly influenced by these two planets. In addition, they also interact with the karmic patterns of the individuals.

Worshipers, when offering milk to the snakes, get blessed with success and good fortune, and the ill impacts of the Rahu and Ketu are negated. Moreover, snakes have supernatural abilities and are associated with Lord Shiva, who is seen wearing a snake around the neck. The snake also represents Kundalini energy believed to be found at the base of the spine, which gets awakened via yoga and meditation. Astrologically, Nag Panchami is thus observed to mark the divine power of snakes as well as to ask for Rahu and Ketu's blessings. 

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Nag Panchami 2024 Puja Rituals 

Worshipers can adhere to the below-mentioned rituals to perform the Nag Panchami puja -

• While organizing the Nag Panchami pooja at home, clean the temple place thoroughly and adorn it with rangoli, flowers, and mango leaves. 
• Gather the items required for the Nag Panchami pooja, such as honey, milk, vermilion, flowers, and turmeric.
• Worshipers purify the idols of snakes by making them bathe in milk first and then with water.
• In the Nag Panchami pooja, worshipers begin the rituals by reciting the mantras and igniting the incense sticks. 
• Vermilion, flowers, and turmeric are then offered to the snake idols. 
• The most important ritual of Naag or Nagula Panchami is feeding snakes with milk. Devotees also offer milk to real snakes as a part of this ceremony to receive good luck. 
• Honey is also offered to the snakes so that their temper gets soothed and they do not suffer from snake bites.
• Devotees observe fast on Naag Panchami and the entire day, consume either fruits or milk. Doing so helps to cleanse the body and boost spirituality.
• Giving away food, clothes, or money in charity is yet another activity to be done on Naga Panchami, which helps to eliminate the ill impacts of Ketu and Rahu.
• Reciting the powerful Naag mantra also helps to safeguard from dangers such as snake bites. 
• Worshipers visit the Lord Shiva temples, too, on this day and offer prayers to him.

Further, you can chat with astrologers online if you have any issues in performing the Naag Puja on this day.

Nag Panchami 2024: Benefits of Offering Milk to Snake

The ritual of offering milk to the snakes on the auspicious day of Nag Panchami presents many advantages to the devotees, which are:

• Snake bites kill a lot of people all over the globe. It is said that if one offers milk to the snakes, they can get safeguarded from their bites. As snakes are the holy guardians of the environment, one can seek blessings from them by presenting milk to them. 
• The planets, Rahu and Ketu, are considered malefic that possess serpentine energy attracting misery and misfortune in an individual's life. One can eliminate such negative consequences by appeasing these two planets.
• Snakes are considered divine creatures, and devotees can seek blessings by delighting these beings through worship. Thus, milk is fed to snakes as a part of Nag Panchami puja to get blessed with success and wealth for devotees as well as their families. 
• The spirituality and purification of the worshipers, when they offer milk to the snakes, get boosted. This Naag puja tradition is a way to worship the sacred energy of snakes, thereby achieving happiness and inner peace.
• Offering milk to these divine beings blesses the worshipers with health benefits. It is because milk is highly nutritious and presents nutrients that are much beneficial for an individual's overall health.

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Wrapping Up

Since Naga or Nagula Panchami is a significant Hindu festival, worshipers can follow the rituals mentioned above and practice the Nag Panchami pooja at home to gain blessings from the divine creatures. Devotees should adhere to the puja vidhi with utmost devotion and observe the Nags Panchami to get the most benefits.

Wish you all a very happy Nag Panchami 2024!