Herbs and Snakes
Punarnava, Lemongrass, Peppermint,
Shatavari, Hedge Bamboo, Ruta, Paan:
My backyard was a regular cavorting ground for all kind of snakes. The
mongoose and monitor lizards would regularly come and huge fights would ensue. Often
the snake was defeated, but we were amazed to see often the same snake coming
back to fight the next day. I remembered the story told by our farmers about
the herb Punarnava, which was then plentifully growing wild around our plants. They
have seen the mongoose actually applying the Punarnava leaves to its own wounds,
reviving and then carrying the leaves to apply on the snake, after which it too
miraculously revives. Rather difficult to believe, but what is more credible is
probably the snake rubs itself on this plant and may be also, swallows some
leaves. Punarnava is known to be an antidote to bites besides being a powerful
healer.
One day our cat was eating the lemongrass and peppermint at the base
which she usually does ,but that day the snake was coiled on the ground next to
the lemongrass which she considers her personal property. The curious cat tried
paying with the snake by extending her paw. The remarkable sight we saw was, the
snake wasn’t angry. It wasn’t hissing or extending the venomous tongue, but was
playing with the cat by swinging to and fro to avoid its paw. The hood was fully
opened and we could see a startlingly red spectacle design on it.
In the thicket of the Shatavari
creeper, the bulbul would always nest. In spring, the beautiful white flowers
would turn into sweet, ripe, red berries, which the birds nibbled. In the
nesting season, a regular stream of fledglings would emerge. From early morning,
the parent birds kicked up a great ruckus teaching their young ones how to fly.
In the beginning, they would fall around and that was the time when a huge
black snake would lie and wait to gobble them up. After one accident, our Nepali cook stood for an hour with a huge stick to keep the snake at bay. In the
meanwhile, the fledglings learned to fly and flew away.
In the front garden, a Hedge Bamboo would yield delicious bamboo shoots
which I would chop and directly shallow cook with a little oil on my Iron tava.
There was also a reddish- brown Snake(probably a Bomboo Rat Snake) always
coiled around the branches, I have never figured out why. It was a friendly
snake. Most of the time when I harvested the shoots it would be quietly and
harmlessly hiding in there somewhere. When my children were playing nearby, it
would make itself visible and watch them with beady eyes. They too would fearlessly
watch and talk to it. The point is, probably snakes are blind so all this is
quite unexplainable. However, this just shows that even snakes respond to
friendliness.
To find a harmless solution, I planted a lot of Ruta/Shatap plants in
the backyard. They smell terrible but the yellow flowers and silver leaves look
attractive. We hear the snakes hate them and don’t come near. I think there was
a diminishing of their visits around that area. Also found them very useful
medicinally. Could soak some leaves and a flower in a glass of water, strain
and drink by the tablespoon for body aches, and have a bath by soaking some
sprigs in a bucket of hot water.
However, the snakes merely changed their homes to the opposite wall
covered with Paan/Betel Leaves. The Specs Cobra would generally coil around the
Paan creeper. There are legends around why snakes like being around Betel
leaves. The Mahabharata also has a chronicle about how Arjuna went to the
Naaglok to acquire the Paan plant and leaves, not being able to find it anywhere.
As it was one of the plants churned out of the Amrit Manthan, it was believed
to remove evil powers, thus the name Nagbel. Scientifically and in Ayurveda,
the pan leaves purify the air and have many healing properties. Probably the
snakes get a feeling of well being when around them. Obviously snakes and herbs
are all part of a healthy eco system.
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