Serpents and Indian Festivities

The Nag mela or annual fair is conducted to seek favour from nagas, each naga has its own fair like the Devas and Goddesses. The Vasuki known as the king of serpents is worshiped in the name of Baski Nag or Basak Nag in the regions of Western Himalayas. There is a tale related to Baski Nag which resembles the destruction of Narapura by the Naga Susravas. In the old town of present Bhadarvah situated the Niru and Halon rivers Baski Nag assumed the shape of a mendicant and went to Dughanagar where he begged for food. As it was time of famine he was met with refusal until he came to the house of an old woman she welcomed him with a few herbs left in home. Soon she realized her guest was Baski Nag due to water dripping from his girdle, he warned her not to mention his visit and violent storm to come. Though whole town was destroyed her house was saved as Baski Nag marked the place.

The southern part of India is prevalent to the snake worship, here the cobras are considered sacred, higher castes believe it is a sin to kill them and misfortune falls on them. The Naga-kals are evidence to the ongoing worship of Nagas, they are placed near peepal or nim tree as a vow to bore children by childless wives. The naga-kals maybe a single head or it can been in three,five and seven hoods. The variety of snake statues are observed one with two cobras intertwining, the jewel behind their head presents the Nag mani or the combination of Nag and a female bust carrying two baby snakes in her arms.

The Malabar coast the believes are around the serpent cult known as Sarppakaavu, which are found in lush greenery and forests they are left undisturbed, the natural herbs and plants are protected, even a twig is considered sacred. This is the Naga-kotta or snake-shrine if it is neglected the calamities are be felled on the residents such as leprosy, itch, barrenness in women, deaths of children, frequent snake appearance in garden and other problems. Puja is offered once a year accompanied by Nagam-pattu, performed by singing and dancing it is believed to be blessed with offspring. The high priest Pambanmakkad Nambudiri is the head of serpent cult in Malabar who  lives in the town of Ponnani in a house full of cobras which are said to be harmless.

Nagapanchami is a great festival held in honour of serpents, it is celebrated on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Savan, the first month of rainy season. The rites performed on the basis of a Sanskrit work called Vrataraja, extracted from Hemadri. During Nagapanchamy cow dung is used to smear the doors to call the poisonous ones, only one meal is taken preceding the ceremony. One should make a Naga of gold, silver, wood, earth, turmeric or sandal or cause five serpents to be drawn. It is believed that Nagas has five hoods each should be worshiped with parched grain hoods and five nectar's, with  the flowers of oleander, the ‘hundred-leaf’, the jessamine, and the red lotus likewise with powdered sandal and incenses. Then Brahmins are fed with ghee, milk-rice, and sweetness. There should be no digging of the earth either in day or night, it is considered as a sin to do so.The rituals are mostly performed by female worshipers they decorates their home, offers milk, milk-rice and edibles to snake deities, and snake charmers are also found near village where edibles are given on Nagapanchami. The lamp is lit all day and night, at the end of ceremony everyone gathers around the young,old and ladies to hear the story or kahani which is repeated for years.

There was a city called Manikpura [Manipur] , there lived a Brahmin who forgot Nagapanchami, a day to worship Nagas and there should be no ploughing, digging, picking, plucking, burning and roasting. He went to the field to work, where a Nagina ( a female cobra) had a hole in the field and her young ones the plough strikes and killed her children. The Nagina on returning she find her dead children, grew enraged and set out to find the cause, she saw the plough covered in blood in Brahmin’s house.she bit  everyone in their sleep and want their entire family to go extinct thus she went to the daughter of Brahmin who was married off to next village. But the daughter had painted Nagas and offered and placed before them at night, frankincense and edibles and others, Nagina rejoiced and enjoyed the treat thus she said to the girl: ‘O daughter, thy father killed all my young ones to-day, while ploughing the field. After having, therefore, killed all the persons in thy maternal home, I had come to bite thee, too, but as thou didst remember and worship me, I am pleased and, therefore, I do not bit thee’.

On hearing this she pleaded to the Nagina to advice a remedy to resurrect them, Nagina gave nectar to her and asks to sprinkle over their bodies. At that time people began to enquire why Brahmin had not yet risen and they found them all dead. Then the daughter arrived and sprinkled the nectar given by Nagina, she told her father what happened and the narrator added: ‘Now from this , when the month of Sravana cometh, thou shouldst worship the Nagas on the fifth day in the bright fortnight according to the rites laid down, and should place before them at night frankincense, lamps and food. And on that dy thou shalt not dig, neither shalt thou kill anything on that day’.

In Northern India Nagapanchami is observed in the Gangetic plains, as in Bengal the fifth lunar day of Sravana (July-August) the rites are continued to Bhadrapada (August-September) on these days a milky hedge plant is raised on an mound of earth in courtyard, in the form of plant Goddess Manasa is worshiped identified to the sister of serpent king Vasuki who was married to the hermit Jaratkaru and became the mother of Astika . in adi-parvan as Nagas were being exterminated at the serpent sacrifice of Janamejaya, Manasa is believed to afford protection against poison of snake-bite thus known as Vishahari or poison-destroyer. She is portrayed as a beautiful female of golden color, sitting on the water-lily and clothed with snakes. 

Snakes represent eternity. Divinity, virility, life and death and timelessness, the tradition of Kerala on religion is connected Indian mythology. The myth of Keralolapathy points out when Brahmin’s settled in Kerala lord Parasurama allotted a different area to reside. The gods are connected to nagas as Lord Shiva had given importance to Nagas by wearing a serpent on his neck. The worship pf snakes began as a remedy from naga dosa or curse of snake, it is caused if any harm is done to nagas or any sacred object related to snake worship is neglected.

The various forms of ideas about the vengeful, capricious yet blessing to the humans, the fear of snakes, it is poison and nature then the antidote to the same poison, snakes are a mixture of divine and excitement and fearful respect and in awe with this creature. As a result of many legends, myths, folk tales snakes are worshiped and prayed, special days are selected to pray and celebrate the events of rites. The poem The Festival of Serpents by Sarojini Naidu represents the naga festival prevalent in the rural tradition of India. This poem is from the collection The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death and the Spring.  Her poems are full of vibrant imageries and local festival’s of India, the folk themes and nature are praised in Sarojini Naidu’s poems.

SHINING ones awake, we seek your chosen temples

In caves and sheltering sandhills and sacred banyan roots;

O lift your dreaming heads from their trance of ageless wisdom’

And weave your mystic measures to the melody of flutes.

We bring you milk and maize,  wild figs and golden honey,

And kindle fragrant incense to hallow all the air,

With fasting lips we pray, with fervent hearts we praise you,

O bless our lowly offerings and hearken to our prayer.

Guard our helpless lives and guide our patient labours’

And cherish our dear vision like the jewels in your cests;

O spread your hooded watch for the safety of our slumbers,

And soothe the troubled longings that clamour in our breasts.

Swift are ye as streams and soundless as the dewfall, 

Subtle as the lightning and splendid as the sun;

Seers are ye and symbols of the ancient silence,

Where life and death and sorrow and ecstasy are one.

The poem "The Festival of Serpents" portray the whole nation in which the touching prayers to local deities are offered by devotees , the prayer for blessings and a  good life and offspring are a single prayer. The folk tales and worship evokes a divine feeling in the hearts of believers, the spirit of India lies in its rich folk tradition the beginning of every civilization. Thus the myths about serpents are influenced in art, music, movies, literature and paintings as a result of these multiple themes and festivals and forms of worship originated.

Sources

Naidu, Sarojini. The Bird of Time: Songs of life, Death and the Spring. Balefare publication, 2012.

Oldham, Charles Frederick. The Sun and the Serpent. A Contribution to the History of Serpent-Worship. Constable.1905.

R. Bala. Snake Worship in Kerala in R. M. Sarkar, Through the Vistas of Life and Lore and Folkloristic Reflections on Traditional India. Punthi Pustak.1946.

Vogel, Jean Philippe. Indian Serpent Lore or The Nagas in Hindu Legend and Art. Arthur Probsthan .1926.

P. Riya, Assistant Professor of English, Al Shifa College of Arts and Science, Kizhattoor, Perinthalmanna