Naag Panchami
This festival falls in the month of August. This festival is all about honouring the divine serpents.
In Hinduism, the Naag (divine serpent) is glorified as the giver of rain. The Naag is adored to secure a good harvest and Naag Panchami, the fifth day of the bright lunar fortnight, is set aside for worshipping the serpents. Devotees on this day, paste pictures of the Naag over their doorways with cow-dung. As part of the rituals to propitiate the divine serpents, milk - their favourite drink - is offered to the pictures.
Devotees also throng to Taudaha (meaning big pond), a pond six km to the south of Kathmandu. There they worship Karkotak Naag, the serpent-king. Karkotak moved to his dwelling after Lord Manjushree drained the Kathmandu Valley, which used to be a lake in ages past, by slashing a passage through the hills. Pilgrims also visit the Newar township of Dhapakhel in Lalitpur. There, at Naagdaha (meaning serpent pond), they pay homage to the serpent- gods.
Nowadays, there is a fete in Naag Pokhari in Naxal. The pond is surrounded with different shops from food till toys. The statue of Naag is properly cleaned and painted before worshipping. Many people visit the place.
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