Narali Purnima festival rituals and traditions

Narali refers to coconut and Purnima to the full moon. The Indian festival of Narali Purnima is celebrated by the fisherfolk, primarily in Maharashtra, on the full moon day during Shravan.This full moon day also coincides with Rakhi Purnima, better known as Raksha Bandhan.

Quirky rakhi designs for Raksha Bandhan

Two weeks before Raksha Bandhan, vendors start selling rakhis for the festival. Some are the traditional simple threads, others are rakhis uniquely designed for kids, and yet others are rakhis with Lord Ganesha.

There are a few rakhis, though, which catch your eye not because of their uniqueness or beautiful motifs, but because they are so outlandish!

Images of Sachin on one side, Aamir on the other, 
with unknown cartoon characters in the center of the rakhi

A Donald Duck rakhi with image of Harry Potter next to it. What's the connection? 
Even Harry Potter's magic wand can't conjure it up! 

Fake coin with Queen Elizabeth II at the center of the rakhi. 
Difficult to unerstand why such a rakhi was designed at all!

Kids rakhi designs for Raksha Bandhan

Very young kids may not really understand the concept of Raksha Bandhan, but nevertheless get excited at the idea of celebrating the festival! Little brothers would prefer to have some interesting rakhi with a superhero or cartoon character or some other fun-type rakhi, instead of the rakhis one would tie for older brothers such as ones with the formal image of Ganesha. They would love, though to have a rakhi with Bal Ganesha, Bal Hanuman, Chhota Bheem and Baby Krishna. The latest craze is for Angry Birds Rakhis!! Rakhis for kids generally are plastic & have an ordinary cotton thread instead of a silky type one.

Lord Ganesha rakhi designs for Raksha Bandhan

Lord Ganesha, also known as Ganapati, is the God of good luck & prosperity. This lovable God is often depicted on silver & gold coins, wedding invitation cards, envelopes in which cash is gifted for a ceremony, etc. On Raksha Bandhan day, too, tying a rakhi with Lord Ganesha on it is considered to be an auspicious symbol to bring luck & prosperity to the brother.

Ganapati rakhi designs & styles

Nag Panchami pooja stotra

When offering sweets and performing aarti of the serpent God on Nag Panchami, you can say this stotra (it is a verse with rhythm which is said during the worship of a deity in praise of the deity):

Nag Panchami  Pooja Sloka / Stotra

नाग पंचमी पूजा स्लोका  / स्तोत्र

अनन्तं वासुकिं शेषं पध्मनाभ च कम्बलम |

शंखपालं धृतराष्ट्र तक्षकं कालियं तथा      ||१||

एतानि नव नामानि नागानां च महात्मनाम |

सायंकाले पठेन्नित्यं प्रात:काले विशेषत:     |

तस्य विषभयं नास्ति सर्वत्र विजयी भवेत्||२||

This Sanskrit stotra for Nag Panchami mentions the 9 names of the serpent dieties.

Rakhi with serpent and trident (Lord Shiva's weapon)

Anantam vasukim shesham padhmanabham cha kambalam |

Shankhapalam dhartarashhtram taksakam kaaliyam thatha || 1 ||

Aitani navnamaani naaganaan cha mahatmnaam |

Sayankaale pattenitya praatkaale visheshth |

Tasya vishbhay naastit sarvatra vijayee bhavet || 2 ||

How to do a simple Nag Panchami pooja at home

Nag Panchami is considered to be one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar. 

Nag Panchami rituals and traditions

On the day of Nag Panchami, fields are not ploughed and no fried food is served. This is because, on this day, snakes should not be harmed in any way. 

- No ploughing the field with cattle to prevent the snake from getting crushed

- No cutting with farm equipment to prevent the snake's skin from getting scarred

- No frying to prevent the snake from getting charred

Nag Panchami festival origins and legends

On seeing a snake you’re likely to jump a foot in the air & break Usain Bolt’s record in trying to get away from the reptile as fast as possible! Not so with the devotees of Shesh Nag, the Lord of the Serpents. They consider the snake to be sacred and they worship Shesh Nag with great fervour. This fervour is at its peak during the festival of Nag Panchami.