South IndiaPoojaNagaKannada · Malayalam · Karnataka · Kerala
Naga Pooja is the worship of serpent deities at naga stones, ant-hills and sacred groves, kept most devotedly in Karnataka and Kerala for protection, fertility and relief from sarpa dosha. It peaks on Nagara Panchami in Shravana (July–August) but continues year-round at shrines such as Kukke Subrahmanya and Mannarasala.
When: Year-round; heightened on Nagara Panchami (Shravana Shukla Panchami, July–August) and on Ashlesha and Shashti days
Where: Karnataka and Kerala — household naga stones, sarpa kavu groves, and temples such as Kukke Subrahmanya, Kudupu and Mannarasala
Deity: The Naga devatas — Vasuki, Ananta and the serpent guardians of family and soil
Observance: Abhisheka of naga stones with milk, tender-coconut water and turmeric; lamps, flowers and prayers for progeny, health and freedom from sarpa dosha
Across South India the serpent is not feared as a mere creature but honoured as a devata — a guardian of water, soil, treasure and lineage. Tradition holds that the Nagas, children of Kadru, dwell in the underworld realm of Patala and in the ant-hills, roots and groves of our own world; Vasuki adorns Shiva's neck and Ananta bears Vishnu himself. In Karnataka, naga stones (nagakals) carved with hooded serpents stand under peepal and neem trees at village edges and temple corners, installed by families across generations. In Kerala, ancestral homes preserved the sarpa kavu, a fragment of untouched sacred grove where the serpents live undisturbed — an old and quietly powerful form of nature conservation. Worship of the Nagas is believed to remove sarpa dosha, the affliction traced to harm once done to serpents, and to bless couples with children and households with peace.
How Naga Pooja is offered
The pooja itself is gentle and simple. The naga stone or ant-hill is bathed with milk, tender-coconut water and water mixed with turmeric, then adorned with turmeric and kumkuma, flowers and points of lamplight; offerings of rice, jaggery and fruit are placed before it. Devotees circumambulate, pray for progeny, skin health and household harmony, and take care never to harm the living serpents of the grove. The great annual day is Nagara Panchami in Shravana, when families visit their kula (ancestral) naga shrine. Larger remedies are performed at famous temples: Ashlesha Bali and Sarpa Samskara at Kukke Subrahmanya in Dakshina Kannada, and the rites of Mannarasala in Kerala, where a revered mother-priestess tradition serves the serpent deities and couples offer prayers for children. Ashlesha nakshatra days and Shashti are also favoured for serpent worship.
Keeping Naga Pooja in Ottawa and Canada
A Canadian home has no ant-hill or sarpa kavu, but the heart of Naga Pooja travels well. Families keep a small naga image or a framed picture in the pooja space and offer the traditional worship — milk, turmeric-water, flowers and a lamp — on Nagara Panchami and on Ashlesha days, which this site's panchang computes for Ottawa's own timezone. Prayers to Subrahmanya (Murugan), lord of the serpents, are a natural companion practice. Those advised to perform Ashlesha Bali or Sarpa Samskara usually arrange it at Kukke Subrahmanya or another source temple, either during a visit to India or through family there; several temples now accept such sevas remotely. Check your local temple in Ottawa for Nag Panchami observances and Subrahmanya abhishekas.
Questions
What is sarpa dosha and how is it addressed?
Sarpa dosha is an affliction traditionally traced to harm done to serpents by oneself or one's forebears, often linked in astrology to Rahu and Ketu, and associated with delays in marriage or childbirth. It is addressed through regular Naga Pooja and through specific remedial rites such as Ashlesha Bali and Sarpa Samskara, performed at temples like Kukke Subrahmanya in Karnataka.
Is offering milk to snakes part of Naga Pooja?
Milk is poured over naga stones and images as abhisheka — an act of honour to the deity, not feeding. Tradition itself insists that living serpents be left entirely undisturbed; the sarpa kavu groves of Kerala exist precisely to give them an untouched home.
Source: Household and temple serpent-worship tradition of Karnataka and Kerala. Regional versions may vary — this text follows the version most widely used in community worship.