Nagula Chavithi 2026

About Nagula Chavithi

Nagula Chavithi is the Telugu day of serpent worship, kept on Karthika Shukla Chaturthi, the fourth lunar day after the Deepavali new moon. In 2026 it falls on Friday, 13 November 2026. Women in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana fast, pour milk at an anthill, the snake's home, and offer chalimidi and chimmili for their children's health.

Most of India prays to the nagas in the monsoon, on Nag Panchami. In Telugu homes, especially in Andhra Pradesh, the bigger serpent day comes in early winter, a few days after Diwali, when the Karthika month of lamps has just begun. It is mainly a mothers' day of prayer: the fast and the walk to the anthill are kept for the children of the house.

How the date is set

Nagula Chavithi falls on the Chaturthi, the fourth lunar day, of the bright half of Karthika in the Telugu calendar, where each month begins after the new moon. Counted from the Deepavali new moon, that puts it four days after Diwali in most years. When a tithi is skipped or stretched, the gap can become five. Panchangs give the day on which Chaturthi is running at sunrise and suggest a late-morning puja window, which shifts slightly every year and by city.

Not every Telugu family keeps this date. Some keep their serpent puja on Shravana Shukla Chaturthi in the monsoon instead, and in Hyderabad the long queues at anthill shrines such as the Nagadevatha temple near Clock Tower, Secunderabad, come on Nagula Panchami in Shravan. If you are unsure which day a friend's family keeps, ask.

In many homes Nagula Chavithi opens a short run of three days: Chavithi, then Nagula Panchami and Nagula Shashti on the two days after. The first day carries the main puja.

The puja at the putta

The putta is a termite mound. Cobras often shelter in old mounds, so the anthill stands for the naga's home, and the worship happens there rather than at a live snake.

1. Bathe and begin the fastWomen bathe early and keep a fast, often without food until the puja is done. Some families keep it all day.
2. Walk to the puttaFamilies go together to a mound in a field, a temple compound or a roadside shrine. In towns, temples keep a mound or a stone naga for the purpose.
3. Pour the milkA little cow's milk is poured into the mound's opening, and a cotton thread is wound around the mound. Turmeric, kumkum and flowers are placed at its base.
4. Offer the naivedyamChalimidi, chimmili and bananas are laid out. Some families add boiled palmyra sprouts, called tegalu.
5. Say the prayerElders ask the naga to forgive any accidental harm. A well-known folk prayer pleads that if anyone steps on the snake by mistake, it should treat them as its own and slip away.
6. Return and break the fastThe family eats the offered sweets as prasadam. Children often set off the firecrackers left over from Diwali near the mound.

Why snakes, and why children

Shiva wears a snake at his throat, Vishnu rests on the coils of Adishesha, and in Telugu country Subrahmanya, Shiva's son, is closely tied to the serpent. At Mopidevi in Krishna district, about 70 km from Vijayawada, local tradition holds that Subrahmanya did penance there in the form of a serpent. Nagula Chavithi is one of the temple's main festivals, and couples hoping for a child come for its Sarpa Dosha puja.

That link explains the day's focus on children. A naga is believed to guard the family line, and an offended one to bring illness or childlessness. Families who take Subrahmanya as their family god often name sons Nagaraju, Phani, Subrahmanyam or Subbarao.

Panchangs list twelve nagas to be remembered on the day. A short Sanskrit verse naming nine of them is chanted in many homes:

Food for the day

Putta

An anthill or termite mound, treated as the naga's home

Chalimidi

Soaked rice flour bound with jaggery and a little ghee, a sweet that needs no frying

Chimmili

A sweet ball of sesame seeds pounded with jaggery

Tegalu

Boiled palmyra sprouts, an early-winter food in Andhra

Naivedyam

Food offered to the deity before the family eats it

Nagula Chavithi shubhakankshalu

"Good wishes for Nagula Chavithi", the usual Telugu greeting

Neither sweet needs frying, which suits a fasting morning. Both are shared with neighbours after the puja.

Karnataka, Telangana and the Shravan date

The name Nagara Chauthi causes confusion. In most of Karnataka the snake festival is Nagara Panchami in Shravan, and Nagara Chauthi or Naga Chaturthi is the day before it, when women fast and, in Madhwa homes, draw a naga in yellow paste on the wall by the door. The Karthika Chavithi is kept mainly in Telugu homes and in some parts of Karnataka.

Snakes, milk and the law

Snakes are reptiles and cannot digest milk. A captive snake drinks it only when it has been kept without water, and it can fall ill afterwards. Snakes are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, so catching or carrying one for a puja is an offence.

In August 2026, ahead of Nagula Panchami, Telangana forest teams rescued 17 cobras from snake charmers across Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Sangareddy districts and asked devotees to worship images instead. The Visakha SPCA in Visakhapatnam began working against live-snake displays at Nagula Chavithi in 1996. It took about six years to end them in its area, and idols, artificial mounds and small temples replaced the stitched-mouth cobras once shown to crowds.

What to write

Wish the mother of the family by name if you know she is fasting, and keep the wish about protection and the children. The Telugu greeting works from anyone, Telugu or not.

How to wish someone on Nagula Chavithi

A Nagula Chavithi wish is a prayer for protection, above all for children, since mothers keep the fast for them. Mention the puja at the putta, the fast or the chalimidi, and use the Telugu greeting \"Nagula Chavithi shubhakankshalu\" if you can. Keep it devotional and gentle. Skip snake jokes and cobra-drinking-milk images, since feeding milk to live snakes harms them. For Kannada friends, check which day their family keeps.

Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.

Language tip: English, Telugu.

When is Nagula Chavithi in each year?

Nagula Chavithi is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions