Naga Panchami is a festival that includes both Hinduism and early Indian religious beliefs. Panchami means “fifth,” theday on which this Hindu festival is celebrated, and Naga refers to a group of serpent deities in early Indian religion.The mythical Nagas were semi-divine beings said to have sprung from Kadru, the wife of Rishi Kashyapa. Althoughthey live and rule below the earth, the Nagas were believed to roam the earth wearing jewels and ornaments. SNAKEworship was fairly widespread in India at one time and is still an important part of popular religious practice in someregions. When Naga culture was incorporated into Hinduism, many of the snake deities were accepted by the Hindusinto their belief systems. The thousand-headed serpent Ananta, for example, is the most powerful of the Nagas. It ison the coils of Ananta that the Hindu god Vishnu is often seen resting. Shrines to the nagas can be found throughoutIndia, and Hindu women often worship at “snake-stones” when they want to bear sons or avoid illness.
As a festival in honor of the snake deities, Naga Panchami goes back to very ancient times. It is an occasion forfasting and worshipping cobras, since the Nagas were often depicted as cobras with extended hoods. If cobras are notavailable, huge cloth effigies of serpents are made and displayed in public, as are snakes made from metal, stone,and clay. Images of snake deities are often painted on walls as well. Worshippers offer milk and flowers to the cobrasand coins to the snake charmers who gather in town for the festival. Because serpents live underground, digging in theearth is prohibited on this day.
The Hindu god Shiva is also worshipped at this festival, since he is traditionally shown wearing snakes as ornaments.In temples dedicated to Shiva, particularly those in Ujjain and Varanasi, hundreds of cobras are brought in by trappersand released before the god’s image. Worshippers then empty their pots of milk over the snakes’ heads to protectthemselves against snakebite throughout their lives. At the end of the day, there are serpent dances in open fields,and the snakes are freed.
Many scholars regard Hinduism as the oldest living religion. The word Hindu is derived from the Sanskrit term Sindhu(or Indus), which meant river. It referred to people living in the Indus valley in the Indian subcontinent.
Hinduism has no founder, one universal reality (or god) known as Brahman, many gods and goddesses (sometimesreferred to as devtas), and several scriptures. Hinduism also has no priesthood or hierarchical structure similar to thatseen in some other religions, such as Christianity. Hindus acknowledge the authority of a wide variety of writings, butthere is no single, uniform canon. The oldest of the Hindu writings are the Vedas. The word “veda” comes from theSanskrit word for knowledge. The Vedas, which were compiled from ancient oral traditions, contain hymns,instructions, explanations, chants for sacrifices, magical formulas, and philosophy. Another set of sacred booksincludes the Great Epics, which illustrate Hindu faith in practice. The Epics include the Ramayana, the Mahabharata,and the Bhagavad Gita.
The Hindu pantheon includes approximately thirty-three million gods. Some of these are held in higher esteem thanothers. Over all the gods, Hindus believe in one absolute high god or universal concept. This is Brahman. Although heis above all the gods, he is not worshipped in popular ceremonies because he is detached from the day-to-day affairsof the people. Brahman is impersonal. Lesser Naga Panchami
gods and goddesses (devtas) serve him. Because these are more intimately involved in the affairs of people, they arevenerated as gods. The most honored god in Hinduism varies among the different Hindu sects. Although Hinduadherents practice their faith differently and venerate different deities, they share a similar view of reality and look backon a common history.
SYMBOLS AND CUSTOMS
Snake
Because the snake sheds its skin, it is regarded by Hindus as a symbol of immortality. In Hindu art, eternity is oftenrepresented by a serpent eating its own tail. The cobras worshipped on Naga Panchami are raised at special snakeshrines. In places that are frequented by wild snakes, worshippers often leave out dishes of milk to feed them.
