Viral video: Snake appears during Chhath puja, fearless woman’s response leaves internet stunned — ‘Pran jaaye per…’

A viral video of a venomous snake making its way to a devotee who stands determined to offer Chhath prayers was caught on camera. The woman remains calm and later tries to drive away the wild creature by splashing some water. The footage has taken the internet by storm and prompted interesting and captivating comments online. 

Chhath Puja is a Hindu festival celebrated primarily in Bihar and Jharkhand.

The video clip posted two days ago has garnered over 34.5 lakh likes on social media platform Instagram and more than 9.6 million views. The caption to the post states, “Aunties are brave” while the subtitle reads, “Aunty literally said: Hamari Chhath puja chal rahi hai disturb mat karo (Our Chhath puja is going on, please don't disturb)."

As can be seen in the video below, an almost four-foot-long snake approaches the woman dressed in red while someone tries to shoo away the reptile. However, the devotee continued to offer prayers, standing firm and unrelenting in the water.

A user stated, “Biharis confidence during chatt.” Another user questioned, “How much aura did aunty ji gain from it ??” A third user pointing to the venomous species of Bungarus snake wrote, “That's banded Krait ..aunty was lucky.” A fourth user sarcastically commented, “Aunty be like:- Chhath ka vrat rkha hai, Baal bhi banka nhi ho sakta mera!!”

A fifth user replied, “Pran jaaye per pratishtha Na jaaye.” A sixth user wrote, "Indian women when it comes to आस्था (devotion)." A seventh user remarked, “If banded krait bites there's only a 10% chance of survival.” Another user said, “Ab pani me utari huu to bina puja kiye nahi nikalugi.”

According to Britannica, the banded krait of Southeast Asia grows as long as 2 metres or about 6.6 feet. This particular species of snake has bands of black and white or yellow. To identify a banded krait, one must look for reptilian bodies that are strongly triangular in cross-section. Even though banded kraits are highly venomous, they are lethargic and sluggish even under provocation.