. In Hinduism, Nag Panchami is celebrated on the fifth day of Shukla Paksha of Shravan month. On this day special worship of the snake deity is done. Milk is offered to the snake deity. Apart from this, many women also keep a fast on this day for the happiness and peace of their family. It is believed that by worshiping Nag Devta on this day, any untoward incident caused by snakes is averted. But do you know why Nag Panchami is celebrated every year on the fifth day of Shukla Paksha of Shravan month? if not! So let us tell you.
Story of Nagpanchami:
There are many different stories about why Nagpanchami is celebrated. The most popular of them is the story of the end of Dwapara Yuga. According to our religious scriptures, after the war of Mahabharata was over, King Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, was bitten by a snake, due to which he died. King Janamejaya, son of King Parikshit, was deeply saddened by the death of his father and started the Sarpasatra Yagya to avenge his father's death. As soon as the yagya started, slowly the snakes came there and started getting consumed in the fire. If this yagya had been successful, then the existence of snakes would have ended from the world.
The sage believer stopped the yagya:
While this yagya was going on, the sage Aastik Muni reached there. To protect the snakes of the world, he stopped the yagya in the middle. In this way he saved the snakes from ending their existence. After this, the sage believer poured raw milk on the snakes that had been consumed by burning in the fire and cooled them. It is believed that that day was the fifth day of Shukla Paksha of Shravan month. This is the reason why Nag Panchami is celebrated on this day and milk is offered to the snake deity.