Serpent Mother is about devotion to the Goddess of Snakes and the importance of divine female power in West Bengal Indian life. The film's focus is the Jhapan Festival, the great celebration of snakes. It shows the festival preparations, the role of traditional arts and crafts in the worship of the Goddess, devotional singing, and a demonstration of ritual action.

A sustained attempt to film a four-day ceremony concerned with the worship of Shiva. We are shown devotees of the God Shiva from the initial taking of the Sacred Thread through gradually intensifying action to the culmination in a variety of ascetic and self-denying practices. Devotees are also shown engaging in informal activities such as preparing food and listening to recitals of devotional songs by the famous mendicant Bauls of Bengal.