Snake Poison has been used in Hindu medicine since a very recent period only. The poison of the Black Cobra (Naga Tripudians) is used. Snake poison could be used to treat cancer, diabetes, etc.

Preservation of Snake Poison for Treatment
Snake Poison is collected by making the reptile bite on a piece of stick or wood when the poison is poured out and received on a piece of plantain leaf. It is preserved in two ways. The liquid poison is allowed to congeal and dry in a cup or it is rubbed with a fourth part of mustard oil and spread out on a piece of plantain leaf. Thus treated it rapidly coagulates into a granular agglutinated mass of a yellowish-brown colour. When allowed to dry spontaneously, serpent poison coagulates into shining, crystalline yellowish white granules.

Dose of Snake Poison in Medicine
Snake Poison is used in complicated fever in combination with arsenic, aconite and other medicines. Numerous formulae containing this poison are given in recent compilations. The following are a couple of examples.

Suchika Bharana Rasa: Take mercury, sulphur, prepared tin, aconite and cobra poison, equal parts, mix them together and soak the mixed powder in the bile of Rohitaka fish (Cyprians Rohita), wild boar, peacock, buffalo and goat successively and make into a pill-mass. This medicine is administered in doses that can be taken up by the point of a needle; hence it is called Suchika Bharana. It is given in remittent fever with cerebral complications.

Kalanala Rasa: Take black cobra poison, sulphur, white arsenic, aconite, black pepper, long pepper, ginger, borax, mercury, prepared iron and copper equal parts; soak them in the Pancha Pitta and make into one-grain pills with the juice of Datura root. These are given in fever with coma, delirium and drowsiness.

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