Naag Devta

The “Panchmi tithi” of lunar calendar in the month of shravana shukla paksha is celebrated as “Naag-panchmai” in India. On this day people pray to snake god. As per legend the snakes also consumed the “Amrit”, the divine nector and attained immortality. They are the children of Sage Kashyapa and Kadru. The kingdom of snakes is “Paatal Lokam”.According to hindu mythology there are 9 snake which are worshipped. They are as follows
1) Vasuki(The snake who participated in the great churning of ocean)
2) Takshak(The powerful snake who killed King Parikshit)
3) Sesha (On which Lord Vishnu resides in vaikunth)
4) Ananta (the great devotee of Lord Vishnu)
5) Kailya (who was killed by lord Krishna and attain the moksham)
6) Padmanabha (the guardian snake)
7) Kambala (the powerful descend of snake kingdom)
8) Dhartarashtra(the powerful descend of snake kingdom)
9) Shankhapala(the powerful descend of snake kingdom)

The pooja is done to avoid snakes bites and get rid of their curse from previous birth. In a horoscope if there is a presence of Kaal-Sarpa Yoga, then this day is very important for that native because this dosha is caused by the Rahu and Ketu which are considered as head and tail of snake respectively. In certain cases these planets single handedly creates havoc in the horoscope by forming “sarpa dosham”. There are many methods to perform the pooja on this day. People keep fast.on this day. Generally a pot of milk is kept near the ant hill as an offering. On this day digging of ground is strictly prohibited.