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Nag Panchami is more than a religious festival in Nagpur. Schools and colleges get a holiday, newspapers traditionally take a break, and old city rituals keep the tradition alive.
Nag Panchami 2026 is being celebrated today, on August 17. (Image: Shutterstock)
Nag Panchami 2026 falls today, on Monday, August 17, coinciding with the first Shravan Somwar in Maharashtra. The coincidence brings together two traditions closely associated with Lord Shiva and serpent worship, making this year’s festival particularly significant for devotees.
But there is another reason Nag Panchami stands out in Nagpur.
The festival is traditionally observed as a holiday, with schools and colleges giving students a day off. Newspaper establishments in the city also traditionally observe the festival holiday.
For Nagpur residents, therefore, Nag Panchami is not simply a day marked by a puja at home or a visit to a temple. It can alter the rhythm of the city itself.
In 2025, the Nagpur district education department specifically directed all schools, including CBSE-affiliated institutions, to remain closed for Nag Panchami after complaints that some schools were not following the approved holiday calendar.
So, why does this particular festival have such a strong place in Nagpur’s cultural calendar?
Nagpur: The Orange City With A Wild Side
Nagpur is widely known as the “Orange City”, a nickname associated with the region’s long connection with oranges and citrus cultivation. Maharashtra Tourism also identifies Nagpur as the state’s winter capital.
But oranges are not the only thing that give Nagpur its distinctive identity.
The city is also known as the “Tiger Capital of India”, largely because of its strategic location near several important tiger reserves and wildlife areas in Maharashtra and neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.
Maharashtra Tourism describes Nagpur using this title and highlights its proximity to tiger habitats such as Pench.
Nagpur is also an important gateway to wildlife destinations in the region, including Pench and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
There is another interesting connection for a Nag Panchami story.
The city’s name itself is linked to the Nag River. Maharashtra Tourism says Nagpur derives its name from the river, whose winding, serpentine course resembles a snake.
But the city’s association with “Nag” does not end with its name.
For generations, serpent worship has also formed part of Nagpur’s religious and cultural landscape.
Why Is Nag Panchami So Significant In Nagpur?
Nag Panchami is celebrated across Maharashtra to honour Nag Devta, or serpent deities.
The festival has roots in Hindu mythology as well as older agrarian traditions in which snakes were regarded with respect for their role in protecting crops from rodents and other pests. Maharashtra Tourism describes Nag Panchami as a festival that combines religious belief, folklore and reverence for nature.
But Nagpur has its own long association with serpent worship.
The city’s older neighbourhoods, particularly parts of Old Nagpur and Mahal, have Nag Mandirs and shrines dedicated to serpent deities. These shrines form part of the area’s religious and cultural landscape rather than functioning only as major pilgrimage destinations.
That local connection helps explain why Nag Panchami has remained such a visible festival in the city.
Old Nagpur’s Nag Mandirs And The Nagoba Temple
Among Nagpur’s best-known serpent shrines is the Nagoba Temple in Mahal.
Older accounts of the temple describe an earlier place of worship beneath a neem tree, known locally as Nagoba ka Vota. Over time, the site developed into a temple and became an important centre for devotees, particularly during Nag Panchami.
Nagpur’s Nag shrines have contributed to a distinctive tradition in which serpent worship is closely connected with neighbourhoods, families and local memory.
For generations, these shrines have offered residents a place to observe Nag Panchami without the festival being limited to one central temple.
The Maharashtra Tourism Department also notes the importance of Nagoba temples in the Vidarbha region during Nag Panchami.
A Festival That Can Change What Happens In The Kitchen
Nag Panchami has several unusual household customs, and some are particularly striking because they involve everyday activities.
In traditional practice, some families avoid cutting, chopping, frying or using sharp implements on the festival day. Digging the earth is also traditionally avoided because of the belief that snakes may be living underground.
In Nagpur and the wider Vidarbha region, older accounts have documented customs around avoiding knives and other sharp implements.
These practices are rooted in religious belief and folklore rather than modern scientific rules. They also reflect the festival’s older connection with the earth and agricultural life.
Not every household follows these customs today, but where they survive, Nag Panchami can change even the most routine parts of the day.
Why Some Nagpur Families Avoid Knives And Sharp Objects
The avoidance of knives, scissors and other sharp implements is among the more unusual Nag Panchami traditions.
In some traditions, families avoid cutting vegetables, using a knife or performing activities that involve digging or disturbing the soil. The underlying belief is that such actions could harm snakes or disturb their underground habitats.
Another Nagpur-specific food tradition is associated with the use of a kadai. Older reporting on Nag Panchami in the city links this practice to the Nagdwar Yatra to Pachmarhi, with devotees traditionally preparing food and prasad in a kadai and avoiding a tawa on the festival day.
For many families, such practices are less about following a rigid rulebook and more about preserving customs handed down by parents and grandparents.
What Do Devotees Offer On Nag Panchami?
Nag Panchami rituals vary from one community and region to another.
Devotees may worship images or idols of Nag Devta and offer flowers, turmeric, rice, sweets and other traditional food offerings. Clay, wooden or metal representations of snakes may be worshipped at home or in temples.
Maharashtra Tourism notes that worship can include serpent idols, prayers, flowers, turmeric and rice, while some rural traditions involve worshipping anthills believed to be associated with snakes.
Some devotees also observe a fast and perform special puja at home or at Nag Mandirs.
In Nagpur, older traditions have included drawing images of snakes on walls or paper and offering milk, curd, flowers and traditional food.
Today, symbolic worship through idols or images is increasingly common. Devotees can also celebrate the festival without handling or exploiting live snakes.
Why Nag Panchami Can Mean A Day Off In Nagpur
Perhaps the most surprising part of Nag Panchami’s Nagpur story is its place in the city’s calendar.
The festival has traditionally been observed as a holiday by schools in Nagpur. In 2025, the district education department explicitly directed schools across the city and district, including CBSE-affiliated institutions, to remain closed for Nag Panchami after some schools had not followed the holiday schedule.
For students, that means Nag Panchami can be more than a festival discussed at home. It can mean waking up without the usual school routine, spending the day with family and accompanying elders to temples or joining household celebrations.
Colleges in Nagpur have also traditionally observed the festival holiday according to their institutional calendars.
The city’s newspaper establishments, meanwhile, have traditionally observed a Nag Panchami holiday as part of the local festival calendar.
Schools close. Colleges observe the holiday. Newspaper establishments take a break.
That makes Nag Panchami unusual: its presence can be felt not just in temples and homes, but in the city’s everyday working rhythm.
Nag Panchami And The Cultural Identity Of Old Nagpur
The holiday tradition becomes even more interesting when viewed alongside Nagpur’s old serpent-worship customs.
In Old Nagpur, Nag Mandirs are part of the neighbourhood landscape. The Nagoba Temple in Mahal is one of the prominent shrines associated with the tradition, while other smaller shrines have continued to serve local communities over generations.
The festival therefore does not depend entirely on a single major religious centre.
It lives in neighbourhoods, homes and family traditions.
That may also help explain why Nag Panchami has remained sufficiently important to be reflected in the city’s educational and local institutional calendars.
Nag Panchami 2026 On Sawan Somwar
The 2026 festival has another important distinction.
Nag Panchami falls on Monday, August 17, which is the first Shravan Somwar in Maharashtra.
Sawan Somwar is traditionally dedicated to Lord Shiva, with devotees visiting Shiva temples, offering water to the Shivling and observing fasts or other forms of worship.
The connection between Shiva and Nag Devta is especially significant. Lord Shiva is traditionally depicted with a serpent around his neck, making the association between the two forms of worship particularly familiar to devotees.
This year, therefore, two closely associated traditions come together on the same Monday: Sawan Somwar devotion to Shiva and Nag Panchami worship of Nag Devta.
For Nagpur, where serpent worship already has a strong local presence, the coincidence adds another layer to an already important festival.
Why Nag Panchami Is More Than A Temple Festival In Nagpur
Nag Panchami in Nagpur ultimately tells a larger story about how a festival becomes part of a city’s identity.
It can be seen in the old Nag Mandirs of neighbourhoods such as Mahal. It survives in household customs around food, knives and digging. It connects with the Nagdwar Yatra and traditional kadai prasad.
And, perhaps most unusually, it can be felt in the city’s calendar through the holiday observed by educational institutions and the traditional break for newspaper establishments.
There is also something uniquely Nagpur about the setting.
This is a city known for oranges, tigers and the winding Nag River. Its old neighbourhoods carry traditions of serpent worship that have survived across generations.
So when Nag Panchami arrives, the festival becomes another thread in Nagpur’s distinctive cultural identity.
It isn’t merely a festival that people visit at a temple.
It is a festival woven into the city’s everyday life.
And on August 17, 2026, as Nag Panchami coincides with the first Sawan Somwar, that tradition will once again become visible across Nagpur, from homes and neighbourhood shrines to schools, colleges and the wider rhythm of the city.
Key Questions Answered
Nag Panchami is observed as a holiday in Nagpur, with schools and colleges giving students a day off. In 2025, the Nagpur district education department specifically directed all schools, including CBSE-affiliated institutions, to remain closed for Nag Panchami after complaints that some schools were not following the approved holiday calendar.
About the Author
Nibandh Vinod is a seasoned journalist with nearly three decades of experience. He specialises in covering events and festivals and in driving SEO-focused content for News18.com. Tech-savvy and collab…Read More
Nagpur, India, India
August 17, 2026, 07:30 IST
