The Use of Cobra Venom in Nerve Leprosy

The reverence with which the average Hindu regards a snake is well known. In the Hindu mythology, Shesh Nag is believed to have protected God Brahma, and God Shiva gave the mark of Omega on the hood of the cobra. Shiva is depicted with snakes coiling around his neck and a snake emerging from the tuft of his hair. The snake is an emblem of the mystery of death, as well as of healing. If a snake is killed by a person there is a belief that the snake-god takes revenge on the culprit by inflicting leprosy on him at once, or in some future incarnation. Since according to mythology leprosy is a disease given in the form of a punishment to the culprit, the snake is believed to avoid biting a leper. If it does bite a leper his disease is believed to be cured at once. In the indigenous medicine, cobra venom is said to have been used with success in the treatment of leprosy. Ainslie (1826) mentioned the use of dried flesh of the harmless south Indian hill snakes, known