Why Hindus Offer Milk to Snakes on Nag Panchami
Riya Kumari | Jul 29, 2025, 18:03 IST
( Image credit : Pixabay )
Highlight of the story: You know how some traditions make you pause mid-scroll and think, is this a spiritual thing or a National Geographic thing? Well, welcome to Nag Panchami, the one day of the year when snakes are not feared, screamed at, or run over on highways, but worshipped… with literal bowls of milk.
Every year during the monsoon, lakhs of Hindus across India approach anthills, snake burrows, or temples with a simple offering: a bowl of milk for the serpent gods. On the surface, it seems bizarre. Why offer milk, something a snake doesn’t even drink, to a creature we fear? But like many ancient Hindu practices, the answer isn't in the ritual alone, it lies in the layers underneath. The act of offering milk to snakes on Nag Panchami is not just about pleasing a deity. It is about acknowledging the power of invisible forces, spiritual, planetary, ecological and how they shape our lives in ways modern logic can’t always grasp.
The Serpent in Hinduism: Not Evil, but Elemental
In most Abrahamic traditions, the snake is seen as the villain, the tempter, the deceiver. But Hinduism offers a completely different lens. Here, the nāga (serpent) is sacred. It is the symbol of energy, protection, rebirth, and karma. In yogic science, it is also the kundalini—the coiled energy lying dormant at the base of the spine, waiting to rise.
In the Puranas, Nāga Devatas like Ananta, Vāsuki, Takshaka, and Karkotaka are not demons but guardians. Lord Vishnu rests on Ananta. Lord Shiva wears Vasuki around his neck. These aren’t ornaments. They represent control over the wild forces of nature and the inner subconscious mind.
To offer milk to a snake, therefore, is to bow to the very energy that runs through the world and within us.
Nag Panchami and the Cosmic Calendar
Nag Panchami falls during Shravana, the most astrologically charged month in the Hindu calendar. It’s when planetary energy peaks, especially that of Rahu and Ketu, the shadow planets in Vedic astrology, both associated with serpentine energy, karmic patterns, and past life debts.
According to the Garuda Purana and Skanda Purana, worshipping snakes during this time neutralizes Sarpa Dosha, a karmic affliction caused by wrongs done to snakes or the serpent gods in past births. This dosha often manifests as:
Repeated obstacles in marriage or childbirthChronic instability in lifeHealth issues with no medical explanationFear, phobia, or recurring lossOffering milk is not about feeding a creature. It’s about symbolically cooling down the heat of these karmic blocks, pacifying the unseen energies that may be causing imbalance.
Milk: A Symbol, Not Just a Substance
Snakes do not digest milk naturally. So why offer it? In Vedic symbolism, milk is a representation of purity, nourishment, and life force (ojas). When you offer milk, you're not trying to feed the snake, you’re making a peace offering to the elemental forces it represents. Just as you light a lamp not to illuminate God’s path, but to ignite awareness within yourself, you offer milk not to hydrate a snake, but to quench deeper fires, ego, fear, imbalance.
It’s an act of surrender, of acknowledging that not all problems can be solved by logic. Some can only be dissolved by humility and alignment.
Ecology, Karma, and the Serpent Kingdom
In ancient India, humans didn’t see themselves as rulers of nature, they saw themselves as part of it. Snakes were revered because they were vital to the ecological chain, controlling pests, maintaining soil health, and symbolizing the cyclical nature of life and death.
To hurt a snake was seen not just as a biological loss, but a spiritual violation. That’s why Sarpa Dosha is said to arise from killing or harming snakes, intentionally or not. The karmic price of disturbing the balance of nature is repaid through human suffering unless consciously addressed.
Thus, Nag Panchami becomes a day of reconciliation. between man and nature, between karma and grace.
A Ritual That Teaches You to Pause
In today’s world, we have machines that can scan the brain and map the stars. But still, people continue to suffer from things they can't explain. Repeated failures, strange health issues, and inexplicable fears.
Not everything can be fixed by knowledge. Sometimes, healing begins with acknowledging that there are forces beyond you. Nag Panchami is one such moment, a reminder that you are part of a larger web, where everything has a role, even the snake.
You may not believe in rituals. But belief isn’t always the requirement, respect is. Respect for forces you cannot see, lives you may have forgotten, and consequences you don’t always understand.
The Snake Is Not Outside You
Ultimately, the serpent is not just an animal in a burrow. It is a symbol of what you fear, repress, or misunderstand inside yourself. To offer milk to the snake is to say:
"I see you. I honour you. I release the fear."
This simple act, so often dismissed as superstition, is actually a powerful spiritual technology. Not because it pleases a god, but because it humbles the self. And sometimes, that's the most potent offering you can make.
The Serpent in Hinduism: Not Evil, but Elemental
In the Puranas, Nāga Devatas like Ananta, Vāsuki, Takshaka, and Karkotaka are not demons but guardians. Lord Vishnu rests on Ananta. Lord Shiva wears Vasuki around his neck. These aren’t ornaments. They represent control over the wild forces of nature and the inner subconscious mind.
To offer milk to a snake, therefore, is to bow to the very energy that runs through the world and within us.
Nag Panchami and the Cosmic Calendar
According to the Garuda Purana and Skanda Purana, worshipping snakes during this time neutralizes Sarpa Dosha, a karmic affliction caused by wrongs done to snakes or the serpent gods in past births. This dosha often manifests as:
Repeated obstacles in marriage or childbirthChronic instability in lifeHealth issues with no medical explanationFear, phobia, or recurring lossOffering milk is not about feeding a creature. It’s about symbolically cooling down the heat of these karmic blocks, pacifying the unseen energies that may be causing imbalance.
Milk: A Symbol, Not Just a Substance
It’s an act of surrender, of acknowledging that not all problems can be solved by logic. Some can only be dissolved by humility and alignment.
Ecology, Karma, and the Serpent Kingdom
To hurt a snake was seen not just as a biological loss, but a spiritual violation. That’s why Sarpa Dosha is said to arise from killing or harming snakes, intentionally or not. The karmic price of disturbing the balance of nature is repaid through human suffering unless consciously addressed.
Thus, Nag Panchami becomes a day of reconciliation. between man and nature, between karma and grace.
A Ritual That Teaches You to Pause
Not everything can be fixed by knowledge. Sometimes, healing begins with acknowledging that there are forces beyond you. Nag Panchami is one such moment, a reminder that you are part of a larger web, where everything has a role, even the snake.
You may not believe in rituals. But belief isn’t always the requirement, respect is. Respect for forces you cannot see, lives you may have forgotten, and consequences you don’t always understand.
The Snake Is Not Outside You
"I see you. I honour you. I release the fear."
This simple act, so often dismissed as superstition, is actually a powerful spiritual technology. Not because it pleases a god, but because it humbles the self. And sometimes, that's the most potent offering you can make.