The Festival
The first sunlight marks the day of
Naagpanchami. There is a
long queue in front of
Snake Temple and Lord Siva Temple. People
come with the prasada which is a composition of milk, fruits and
flowers. First of all the flowers are kept on the forehead of the idol
of the Lord Snake and then fruits are touched to his feet as presents.
Then the milk is poured into a large silver vessel for the snake lord to
drink. It is supposed to be very auspicious if the snake drinks milk
from that vessel. It is thought to bring prosperity.
Now there are people who put milk in front of the snake hole and wait
there to see if the milk has been drunk by the Snake Lord; people who go
to the snake charmers to pray the Snake, take snakes in their hands to
get the blessings. It makes for a exciting festival if one sees it.
*Kaalsarp Yoga : According to the horoscope people having
Kaalsarp yoga are supposed to see setbacks in life, ill health, problems
in education and jobs. On this day a special ritual is carried out to
remove this from the affected person life.
