Nag Nathaiya and Nakkatayya in Varanasi

Nag Nathaiya is one another very famous festival of Varanasi it is a part of mythological tradition of the Krishna Leela ceremony. Nag Nathaiya is held during the months of November-December, the numbers of people gather to see the renovation. This varanasi festival is acting out of the story, of when Lord Krishna was a child, Kalia the king cobra had made the river as his residence and was poisoning the water, Lord Krishana jumps into Ganga for Nag Nathan at the local Tulsi Ghat.

This festival Nag Nathaiya is traced reverse to the Mahabharata. Mahabharata says, once lord Krishna was playing at the bank of river and had lost his ball in the river. When the he Krishna dived into the river to get his ball back, he was confronted by King Cobra, Kalia. Recognizing the power and authority of Lord Krishna, King Cobra withdrew and lifted the little Krishna to the outside in its place. Much to the delight of his friends, sitting on the hood of Kalia, Lord Krishna surfaced above the water. The festival celebrated on the Tulsi Ghat in the month of Nov- Dec. huge crowds gathers to see this re enactment and enjoy the festivities.

Nakkatayya festival is an episode from the Ramayana, the great Indian epic. The history of this festival is Surpanakha comes to entice Ram and then Lakshman, gets angry and slits Suparnakha's nose and she goes back crying. On this occasion of Nakkatayya, many procession and tableaux are passed out in the streets of Varanasi, symbolizing the triumph of fact over the evil.