Sri Aastik Swami Mandir is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple situated in Lalupur, a village in the district of

Raebareli Raebareli () is a city in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Raebareli district, and a part of Lucknow Division and comes under the Uttar Pradesh State Capital Region (UP-SCR). The city is situated on the ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Location

The temple is located on the banks of the River Sai in Lalupur village.Sri Astik Swami Mandir
/ref> It is about 10 kilometers from

, an urban area in

, India. This temple is one of the most important places of worship to the Hindu deity 'Sri Aastik Swami', who is also known as the Lord of Snakes.

Mythology

According to the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'' epic,

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

burnt the Khandav forest to expand the State of

Hastinapur Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'' is described as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas; it is also mentioned in ancient Jain ...

. During this expansion Sri

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

helped by destroying the Naga dynasty through the destruction of the great Khandav forest. However the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

did not want to kill the Nagas. To avenge the destruction of the Khandav forest, it is said that the Naga lineage led by

Takshaka Takshaka (, ) is a Nagaraja in Hinduism and Buddhism. He is mentioned in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'' as well as in the ''Bhagavata Purana''. He is described to be a king of the Nagas. Takshaka are also known in Chinese and Japanese mytholo ...

sought revenge against the Pandavas. The Nagas looked forward to the destruction of the Pandava kingdom in Hastinapur. During this time, the son of Arjuna,

Parikshit Parīkṣit (, ) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period (12th–9th centuries BCE). Along with his son and successor, Janamejaya, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic ...

was killed by a Nagvanshi warrior named

. The weapon used to kill him was called the Nagpash. Angered by this act,

Janamejaya Janamejaya () was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period. Along with his father and predecessor Parikshit, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic hymns into collections, and ...

, the son of Parikshit burned a large number of snakes alive in an act called the Sarp Yagya. However, Sri Aastik Swami saved some of the important snakes. The day when these snakes were saved came to be known as Shravan Shukla Panchami and later Nagapanchami. Overjoyed by Sri Swami Sri Astik's actions, the snakes blessed him with supreme power and also a blessing that his worshippers would never need to fear snakes or any venomous creatures. In fact, no one would fear snakes wherever his name was spoken.

Culture

Sri Swami is worshipped across India and the Aastik Swami Mandir in Raebareli is one of the major places for worshipping him. The festival of Nagpanchami (also known as Gudiya) is celebrated with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm. It is believed that if you take a dip in the holy Sai River beside the temple and go to see the Lord in wet clothes, all your wishes will be fulfilled. Instead of offering flowers, the tradition is to offer him wooden gifts.

References

{{reflist Hindu temples in Uttar Pradesh Raebareli district