THE SACRED SERPENTS

ACROSS INDIA, SERPENTS ARE MORE THAN FEARED CREATURES—THEY ARE GUARDIANS, DEITIES, AND SYMBOLS OF DEEP ECOLOGICAL WISDOM

- Words → ANURADHA SENGUPTA

FOR YEARS, OISHIMAYA SEN NAG, A wildlife communicator from Kolkata, has journeyed deep into India's forests, exploring the complex relationships between humans and snakes.

One of her most memorable stories comes from the Sundarbans—a region where snakebites are a constant threat due to the prevalence of both venomous and nonvenomous species.

She recalls a local man who shared a chilling encounter. As he entered the mangrove forest to retrieve his boat, a king cobra suddenly blocked his path. Towering with its hood raised—king cobras can lift a third of their body and grow up to six metres—the snake seemed ready to strike.

"The man believed he was going to die," Sen Nag says. "But he closed his eyes and began chanting the name of Manasa, the snake goddess that locals worship. When he opened them, the cobra was gone. Later, he discovered a tiger had attacked someone in the area he was heading to. He believed, 'That snake came to warn me about the tiger, to protect me."

In homes like his, within the dense Sundarbans, snakes are more than just wildlife—they are spiritual beings woven into daily life and local traditions. For Sen Nag, the incident illustrated the deep reverence many Indian communities have for snakes.

IN MYTHS AND BELIEFS