Nagula Chavithi 2026

Puja Vidhi

Who Should Do This Vrat?

• Mothers: Mainly married women keep this festival, praying for the well-being of their children.
• Devotees Seeking Relief and Blessings: Couples without children pray to the serpent deities for a child (Santan Prapti), and devotees troubled by Sarpa Dosha, Kuja Dosha or Kalasarpa Dosha worship the Nagas to be freed from it.
• Tamil Nadu: In Tamil Nadu the Chaturthi of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Aippasi is also kept as Naga Chaturthi, with milk poured over the Nagar stones and into the anthill.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Morning Preparation: Rise early and bathe in the early morning, before going to the anthill or the Naga stones.
• Puja Muhurat: Most Telugu sources place the puja in the early morning after the bath, while the panchang gives its puja muhurat in Madhyahna (midday). Check the puja muhurat for your city on this page.
• The Fast: The fast is kept through the day on raw food only.

About the Festival

Nagula Chavithi is a much-loved festival of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, kept mainly by women, in which families worship the Naga devatas (serpent deities) at the anthill or at twin Naga stones, and honour Subrahmanya Swamy as the god of the day. It takes place on the Chaturthi (fourth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik, a few days after Diwali.

The Vrat Katha (Story of Astika and Janamejaya)

Astika was born to Jaratkaru, a woman of the Naga race, and the sage Jaratkaru, and as a boy he mastered every branch of learning. When King Parikshit died of a snakebite, his son Janamejaya began a great serpent sacrifice (Sarpa Yaga) to destroy the whole race of serpents. Snakes came from every direction, fell into the sacrificial fire and burned.

The surviving serpents begged Jaratkaru to save them. She asked her son Astika to go to the king and persuade him to stop the sacrifice.

Astika went to Janamejaya, who was so taken with his learning that he offered to honour him. Astika replied: "Harming the serpents is not right. If you give up this sacrifice and protect them, that is honour enough for me."

Janamejaya agreed and brought the sacrifice to an end, and the serpent race was saved. Many believe that listening to this story on Nagula Chavithi frees a person from Naga Dosha.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before starting the morning puja:

• Milk & Sacred Powder: Raw cow's milk, turmeric, and Kumkum
• Lamp: A clay Diya with sesame oil or cow's Ghee, and nine cotton wicks twisted into one
• Flowers: Fresh flowers
• Cotton: A piece of cotton for the cloth of the Naga stones, and cotton thread to wind round the anthill
• Food Offerings (Naivedya): Chalimidi, Chimmili (sesame and jaggery balls), bananas, palm-fruit pulp (Taati Burra Gunju), and Tegalu
• Coconut & Bowl: A coconut, and a clay bowl or leaf cup to hold the milk

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Morning Bath and Fast

1. Rise early and bathe (Talanti Snanam).
2. Keep the fast through the day on raw food only: raw vegetables, unboiled milk, fruit and fruit juice.
3. Do not eat cooked or heated food, and do not cut vegetables or fruit on this day.

Step 2: At the Naga Stones and the Anthill (Early Morning)

1. Go to the anthill (Putta) or to the twin Naga stones under a peepal or neem tree, or visit a temple that has an anthill.
2. At the twin Naga stones, bathe the stones with raw cow's milk (Abhishekam) and rinse them, then bathe them with turmeric water and Kumkum water.
3. Light the clay Diya with nine wicks twisted into one, for the nine Nagas.

Step 3: Offering the Milk

1. Offer raw cow's milk at the anthill. Many sources advise setting a clay bowl or leaf cup of milk beside the mound instead of pouring it into the holes.
2. While offering the milk, say this prayer: "If I step on your hood, do not take me for an enemy; if I step on your middle, take me as your own; if I step on your tail, just move away."
3. Offer fresh flowers.

Step 4: Naivedya and Coconut

1. Offer Chalimidi, Chimmili, bananas, palm-fruit pulp and Tegalu as Naivedya.
2. Some families also offer an egg, set on the mound and never into the holes.
3. Break a coconut and sprinkle its water on the mound.

Step 5: Pradakshina

1. Wind cotton thread round the anthill.
2. Walk clockwise round the anthill three, eleven or twenty-one times (Pradakshina).
3. As you walk, recite: "कर्कोटकस्य नागस्य दमयन्त्याः नलस्य च। ऋतुपर्णस्य राजर्षेः कीर्तनं कलिनाशनम्॥"

Step 6: Anthill Earth and the Children's Crackers

1. Take a little earth from the anthill (Puttamannu) and touch it to your ears.
2. Children burst the crackers left over from Diwali at the anthill.

Step 7: Worship of Subrahmanya Swamy

1. Worship Subrahmanya Swamy with Valli and Devasena, whose form the Naga stones are said to be.
2. Recite the Subrahmanyashtakam eight times.
3. Many devotees visit Subrahmanya temples, such as Mopidevi. Naga Panchami and Naga Shashti, also called Subrahmanya Shashti, follow on the next two days.