The Day Of Serpent In Nepal

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

The fifth day of the bright fortnight of Sravan (July-August) in the Nepalese calendar is the day of serpents. This day is called ‘Naga Pancami’ means the fifth day of Naga. On this day, we honor the serpent god ‘Naga’. We believe that Naga is the rain god that brings rains, also protect our home from lighting and other evil elements. So, every household pastes a portrait of Naga on the main entrance to the home. We mark this day making offerings to Naga dwelling at various ponds in Kathmandu and elsewhere in Nepal. Naga has been helpful to us in bringing a deity from Kamarupa and holding religious rites in Panauti.

On the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Sravan, every Hindu Nepalese household pastes a portrait of Naga on the main entrance to the house. Usually, the patriarch of household performs the ritual of pasting a Naga portrait but any male family member can do it.

A few days before this day called ‘Naga Pancami’ the Kathmandu Valley market is flooded with the printed portraits of Naga. Varieties of Naga portraits in sizes, print qualities and so on are available to suit everyone’s pocket. So, you will find that not a single entrance has an identical Naga posted on.

The patriarch or any male family member of a household posts a portrait of Naga on the wall of the main entrance to the house on the morning of this day. Standing on a stepstool, the patriarch cleans the space on the main entrance wall with the holy water held in a small water pot, then posts a small lump of fresh cow dung on four spots, and then posts the four corners of a portrait of Naga on those lumps of cow dung. He offers fresh green grass called ‘dubo’, buckwheat and finally milk to the portrait. Then, he reads out the prayer hymn to Naga written on the portrait.

The man making offerings to the Naga deity and posting a Naga portrait keeps fasting until he completes the rituals of posting a Naga portrait. None of Hindu deities likes devotees eating something before making offerings, as eating defiles a human body. Hindus consider cow dung the holiest matter. So, we use cow hung for making a place holy for any deity to set and make offerings. Naga is one of the deities.

The paper Naga posted on the main entrance protects the house from lightning. Most probably, it discharges the electric charges accumulated around the house during the fast movement of heavy clouds in the sky in the modern sense of preventing violent discharges causing lightning. You don’t need a modern device to discharge the accumulated electrical charges at or around your house if you believe in it.

Thousands of people visit at the area called Nagpokhari in Kathmandu to revere the Naga on this day. A priest cleans the metal idol of Naga placed at the center of a small pond. Then, the priest performs the rituals of making offerings to the Naga. Thereafter, any devotee can go there and make offerings to the Naga.

Some of the people in the Kathmandu Valley go to a small pond called Taudaha about ten kilometers south of Kathmandu to revere a Naga King called Karkot on this day. He has been living there with his subjects since Manjushree drained the water from the Kathmandu Valley lake cutting a small channel at Cobar with his divine sword and making the Kathmandu Valley livable for the land creatures. Manjushree has preserved a special small pond for Karkot and his subjects to live there.

A Naga called Basuki has played a significant role in bringing Macchendranath from Kamarupa. First, he has lain over the river making himself a bridge for the king of Bhaktapur Narendradeva, Bandhudatta Vajracharya of Kathmandu and Rathan Cakra of Lalitpur to cross over the river to reach Kamarupa where Macchendranath has born as the youngest son of the king there. Then, Basuki dwells in the body of the king and cause him uncomfortable following the instructions of Bandhudatta. Basuki returns back with the three guys to Nepal successfully bringing Macchendranath from Kamarupa.

Basuki has also helped the priest, porter and a lady to cross a river in Panauti at the time of making offerings to Mahalaxmi across the river. On this very day a storm and rains have raised the water level of the river making impossible for the three humans to cross over it but they need to cross the river for making tantric offerings to Goddess Mahalaxmi on that night. Seeing the helplessness of the poor humans, Basuki comes to help them. He lies over the river making a bridge. Then, taking with them all necessary items required for making tantric offerings to the Goddess Mahalaxmi, the three humans one after another cross the river walking slowly and very carefully on the slippery body of Basuki. On the occasion of the Panauti Jatra, this act of ‘Crossing River’ is replayed every year on the full moon day of the Jestha (May-June) in the Nepalese calendar.

The Bhoto Jatra in Patan is linked with another Naga king. Once, a Naga queen suffers from the eye ailment. She suffers from the burning of eyes that none of the Naga healers could provide her with the relief of the pain not to mention healing her ailment. The king sends the royal guards to bring someone from the human world that can heal the eye disease of his queen. The guards grab a farmer plowing the field. At that time, every person knows the tantric technique of healing any sickness.

The guards bring the farmer to the suite of the Naga queen that has been suffering from the intense burning of her eyes. After checking the eyes of the queen, the farmer collects some dirt from behind his right ear and utters some tantric mantra on it and applies it on the eyes of the queen. It reduces the burning of the queen’s eyes and after a few days her eyes are completely healed.

Being very pleased with the human healer and in appreciation of his magical work on healing the eyes of the queen, the Naga king presents a vest encrusted with jewels to the farmer. The royal guards bring him back to the human world.

The farmer wears the vest every day even for working in the field. One summer day, he takes off the vest and places it on one of the furrows he has freshly dug. While passing through the field, a ghost picks up the jewel-encrusted vest. Thus, the farmer loses the vest.

On the last day of the one-month long chariot-puling festival of Macchendranath held at Jawalakhel every year, both the farmer and the ghost come to watch the festival. The farmer sees the ghost wearing his vest and the fight between them begins. Both put the claim on the vest but none of them can produce any evidence of their ownership. So, the head of state attending the festival ceremony decides to display it on this day every year. Thus, the festival itself becomes known by Bhoto means the vest.

Naga is the tutelary deity of the Licchavi kings of Nepal. Licchavis have ruled Nepal for four hundred years from 400 to 800 A.D. They have revered Naga so much that they carved Naga almost everywhere at that time. So, you find stone images of serpents decorating every ancient stone waterspout, pond, and other stone statues in Nepal even today. Since then Naga has played a significant role in the lives of Nepalis.

Naga and mythical human bird called Garuda are half brothers. The mother of Naga has tricked the mother of Garuda to be her slave. When Garuda realizes his mother is tricked to be the slave of the mother of Naga, he fights with Naga. The fighting goes on for several years. Seeing the brotherly fight, Lord Vishnu settles their dispute freeing Vinata mother of Garuda from the bondage of Kadru mother of Naga. The deal ends with Garuda wearing a Naga around his neck.

Lord Shiva wears Naga around his neck and around his upper arms. His son Ganesh wears a Naga, too, as a sacred thread making the loop of a Naga passing through the left neck and under the armpit of the right hand. Living Goddess Kumari also wears a silver Naga around her neck as one of the ornaments.

Lord Vishnu loves to lie on the plaited body of the five-headed Naga called Sesha and float on the cosmic ocean. The plaited body becomes the bed whereas the five heads together forms a hood over the head of Lord Vishnu.

Deities and demons have used Sesha Naga as a rope and Mount Mandara as a stick to churn the ocean for skimming the elixir of life. Deities hold the tail and demons the head of the Naga. While churning the ocean, demons suffer from the heavy breathing of Naga caused by the pulling of the Naga back and forth between the deities and demons.

Naga has been the part of religious life in Nepal. So, Nepalis dedicate a day to Naga and mark the day posting a paper Naga on the wall of the main entrance to every house for whatever reason it might be.

August 13, 2010.

Note: Nepalis are celebrating the day of serpent on August 14 this year.