A Devotee's Journey: Finding Peace Through Narayan Nagbali Puja
Guru Ji's office · 2 July 2026 · 6 min read
A Pune family carried an unresolved loss for eleven years. This is what the three days at Trimbakeshwar were like, in their own words.
Shared with permission. Names have been shortened at the family's request.
Before
The Deshpande family had lost a young brother in an accident eleven years earlier. The last rites were done in haste, far from home, and the household never quite settled after it — illness, disputes and a marriage that kept breaking off.
Day one
They took the sankalp at Kushavarta at sunrise. Narayan Bali was performed for the departed soul. 'It was the first time in eleven years we spoke his name out loud together,' the elder brother said.
Day two
Nagbali. A serpent effigy of wheat flour received full last rites, atoning for naag hatya knowingly or unknowingly committed in the family line.
Day three and after
Havan, purnahuti and brahman bhojan. The family returned home the same evening. Eight months later they wrote to say the younger daughter's marriage had been fixed, and that the house simply felt lighter.
Related puja
नारायण नागबली पूजा
Narayan Nagbali Puja
Narayan Nagbali is a three-day ritual prescribed only at Trimbakeshwar. Narayan Bali releases ancestors who died unnaturally and remain without gati, while Nagbali atones for the knowing or unknowing killing of a serpent in the family line.
