The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c17.25

c17.25

² Osadha = Skr. aushadha, herb, medicine. It appears that in ancient times the snake tamers used to make themselves and the animals which they allowed to play with the snakes proof against snake-bite through some plant juice. On the other hand, the practice, so common among Indian snake-charmers to-day, of extracting the poison teeth, was introduced later. This is only mentioned in the paccuppannavatthu, namely, in the introduction to the Mûlapariyâya Jâtaka, where the monks whose pride Buddha curbs, are compared to snakes whose teeth have been extracted (uddhaṭadâṭhâ viya sappâ II. 259).