Today is Naag Panchami, the festival of snakes. This Hindu festival is celebrated across Nepal and India on the fifth day of the bright half of the lunar month of Shrawan (Shrawan Shukla Paksha Panchami). It is another rendition of the Hindus celebrating various aspects of nature, this time by celebrating for and worshipping the serpent gods, Naags. It is one of the major festivals when Nepalis worship animals.
According to the scriptures, there are 12 Naag deities, but only eight of them are worshipped at this festival. These are Ananta, Vasuki, Padma, Mahapadma, Takshak, Kulir, Karkotak, and Shankha. It is religiously believed that worshipping the serpent god will protect from poisonous bites of snakes, scorpions as well as other calamities such as fire, storms, and lightning.
