for the para-devata. . For Naga Panchami day, Women fast the previous day. They then on the Naga Panchami Day, take bath at dawn and pray at the tharavad Sarpa kavu. They take the Thirtham milk home. A Chembarathi (Hibiscus) flower is dipped in the milk and sprinkled on the brother's back and then do an arthi. Then a thread dipped in turmeric is tied on the right wrist of the brother. After that a feast is served. Observance in Nepal The ritual is widely observed in Nepal, particularly for the fight between Garuda and a great serpent. In the Changu Narayan Temple in Kathmandu, there is statue of Garuda which is said to have been established by Garuda himself and on the Naga Panchami day the image is said to sweat reminiscing his great fight with a giant snake; people collect the sweat and use it for curing leprosy. Nepali diaspora communities have also taken the ritual outside of Nepal to different countries of their settlement. Observance in Pakistan Sindhis, ethnic group found predominantly in Pakistan, celebrate Naga Panchami by honouring Gogro, a mythical character that protects against snake bites. Criticism from animal rights activists Animal rights activists criticize this festival for propagating a regressive myth that snakes drink milk. "Snakes are not mammals. They are reptiles. Mammals can generally digest milk, and some, in fact, survive on it. For snakes, this is biologically impossible. Snakes in general can open three times the actual size of their mouth and consume prey directly. They just don't drink milk. But the charmers usually captured the snake, broke the fangs off of it (called defanging), stitched its mouth in the sides and left a hole in the front. After this, they starved the snakes for 30-45 days to the point of dehydration and brought it to the festival of Naga Panchami. People would offer various food items including milk, which to an extremely dehydrated snake with only one hole in its mouth, appears much like water to a person stranded in the desert. So it would lap it up." Animal rights activists point out that the milk that is wasted here is obtained from cruel practices in the dairy industry. Pouring milk in the snake pit will also cause problems for the snakes since, often, the pits are filled with milk. See also Snake worship Nagaradhane Snake handling Jogi (caste) Jangam References