Nag Panchami 2026 (Mon, Aug 17): Puja Vidhi, Katha & Significance
Last updated: 15 July 2026
Sawan Festival
Nag Panchami 2026 falls on Monday, August 17, across most of India — the Panchami Tithi of Shravana Shukla Paksha runs from the evening of August 16 through sunrise on August 17, so that is the day households observe the fast, worship Nag Devta and offer milk to snake images. Gujarat, which follows the Amanta lunar calendar, celebrates the same festival fifteen days later as Nag Pancham on Tuesday, September 1 — the regional difference is explained below.
When Is Nag Panchami 2026?
Nag Panchami is observed on Shukla Paksha Panchami of the Shravana (Sawan) month — the fifth day after the Shravana new moon, per the North Indian Purnimanta calendar most of the country follows. Per Drik Panchang, the Panchami Tithi begins at 4:52 PM IST on August 16, 2026 and ends at 5:00 PM IST on August 17, 2026. Since the tithi is the one active at sunrise only on August 17, that is the udaya tithi date panchangs across North, Central, South and East India use for the festival.
Event
Date & Time (IST)
Panchami Tithi begins
4:52 PM, Sunday, Aug 16, 2026
Panchami Tithi ends
5:00 PM, Monday, Aug 17, 2026
Nag Panchami observed (most of India)
Monday, August 17, 2026
Nag Pancham observed (Gujarat, Amanta calendar)
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Most families perform the puja in the morning after bathing, and many keep a fast from sunrise until the evening meal that follows the puja — food eaten that day is typically simple, without fried items or added salt in several regional traditions.
Check the exact Shravana panchang and tithi timings for your own city before you plan the puja.
Nag Panchami sits inside Shravana, the month most associated with Shiva, monsoon renewal and the serpent as a sacred symbol. Snakes are Shiva's ornament and Shesha Naga is the cosmic serpent on which Vishnu reclines, so worshipping Nag Devta during this month is also an indirect offering to both deities. There is a practical layer too: monsoon rains flood burrows and bring snakes into villages and fields at exactly this time of year, and Nag Panchami channels that seasonal reality into reverence rather than fear — families pray for protection from snakebite, for the wellbeing of brothers and sons, and for harmony between human settlements and the natural world. In Vedic astrology, the day also carries significance for anyone affected by Rahu- and Ketu-related afflictions in their birth chart, since the Naga is the presiding symbol of both shadow planets.
Ananta
Vasuki
Shesha
Padma
Kambala
Karkotaka
Ashvatara
Dhritarashtra
Shankhapala
Kaliya
Takshaka
Pingala
These twelve Naga deities are traditionally invoked during Nag Panchami puja, either individually by name or collectively through the Nag Stotram.
What Is the Nag Panchami Puja Vidhi?
Wake before sunrise, bathe and wear clean clothes.
Clean the main entrance or puja area and draw a snake figure using turmeric paste, sandalwood paste or cow-dung — commonly a five- or nine-headed Nag image.
Place a Nag Devta idol, framed image, or a small silver/clay snake figure on a wooden plank near the drawn image.
Offer raw milk, water, turmeric, kumkum, unbroken rice (akshat), flowers, durva grass and sweets such as kheer or laddoo.
Light a diya and incense, and chant the Nag Gayatri or the simple seed mantra Om Nagdevtaya Namah.
Recite or listen to the Nag Panchami Vrat Katha of Sage Astika and King Janamejaya.
Worship the idol or image rather than a live snake — this fulfils the ritual fully and avoids the stress and legal restrictions around handling wild snakes in India.
Close with aarti, distribute prasad, and break the fast in the evening after the puja is complete.
A note on modern practice: worshipping a snake idol, temple Naga deity or hand-drawn image is the standard and complete form of the ritual. Capturing live snakes or forcing them to drink milk is discouraged by veterinarians (milk is not part of a snake's natural diet and can harm it) and is restricted under India's Wildlife Protection Act — most temples and families today worship the symbolic form only.
What Is the Nag Panchami Katha?
The most widely told Nag Panchami katha centres on King Janamejaya, son of Parikshit, whose father died from the bite of the serpent king Takshaka. To avenge him, Janamejaya performed a Sarpa Yagna — a great fire ritual designed to summon and destroy every snake in existence, one by one, into the sacrificial flames. As the ritual gathered terrible power, Takshaka himself was finally drawn toward the fire, and the serpent race faced total annihilation.
Sage Astika Muni, born of the sage Jaratkaru and the Naga princess Jaratkaru (sister of the serpent king Vasuki), had been raised for exactly this moment. He approached Janamejaya's court, praised the king with such eloquence that Janamejaya offered him any boon he wished, and Astika asked simply that the yagna be stopped. True to his word, the king halted the sacrifice at the very instant Takshaka was suspended over the fire — saving him and the rest of the serpent race. The day this yagna was stopped fell on Shravana Shukla Panchami, and it has been observed ever since as Nag Panchami — a festival of protection, mercy and coexistence rather than conquest.
सर्वे नागाः प्रीयन्तां मे ये केचित् पृथ्वीतले। ये च हेलिमरीचिस्था येऽन्तरे दिवि संस्थिताः॥
— Nag Panchami puja mantra — "May the snakes who dwell on this earth, in the sun's rays, and in the heavens above be pleased with us; we bow to them all."
How Is Nag Panchami Linked to Kaal Sarp Dosh?
Kaal Sarp Dosh occurs when all seven other classical planets in a birth chart fall between Rahu and Ketu, the two lunar nodes represented as a serpent's head and tail. Because Nag Panchami is the year's most significant day for Naga worship, many astrologers consider it especially favourable for Kaal Sarp Dosh remedies — Rudra Abhishek, Naga worship, and charity connected to Rahu and Ketu are commonly performed on this date. It's worth checking your own chart before assuming this affliction applies, since Kaal Sarp Dosh is often over-diagnosed outside a careful reading of planetary degrees.
See whether Kaal Sarp Dosh actually appears in your chart before planning remedies around it.
Why Does Gujarat Celebrate Nag Pancham on a Different Date?
The date difference comes down to two different ways of defining a lunar month. Most of India follows the Purnimanta system, where a month runs full-moon to full-moon, so Shravana's Shukla (bright) fortnight falls early in the month — giving 2026's Nag Panchami on August 17. Gujarat and some western/southern regions follow the Amanta system, where the month runs new-moon to new-moon, so the equivalent bright-fortnight Panchami lands roughly fifteen days later, in what the Purnimanta calendar would call the following month's Krishna (dark) fortnight. There, the festival is called Nag Pancham, and in 2026 it falls on Tuesday, September 1 — about three days before Krishna Janmashtami, which is the usual gap between the two in Gujarat's calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Nag Panchami the same day everywhere in India?
No. Most of India — the states following the Purnimanta calendar — observes Nag Panchami on Monday, August 17, 2026. Gujarat, which follows the Amanta calendar, observes the same festival as Nag Pancham roughly fifteen days later, on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
What should I avoid doing on Nag Panchami?
Many households avoid frying food, cutting vegetables with a blade (using a knife is considered inauspicious that day), digging or ploughing soil, and sweeping near snake burrows — all out of respect for snakes that monsoon rains have displaced from the ground.
Can I perform Nag Panchami puja without a live snake?
Yes — and this is the recommended, most common practice today. Worshipping an idol, framed image, or a hand-drawn snake figure with milk, turmeric, flowers and mantra chanting completes the ritual fully. Capturing wild snakes or forcing them to drink milk is discouraged by veterinarians and restricted under Indian wildlife law.
Is Nag Panchami connected to Raksha Bandhan?
They fall in the same Shravana season and share a protection theme — Nag Panchami through Naga worship, Raksha Bandhan through the sibling thread — but they are separate festivals with different rituals. Raksha Bandhan 2026 follows on Friday, August 28, on Shravana Purnima.
See your Rahu and Ketu placement before choosing Nag Panchami remedies.