Note 43 — Chapter VII · TREE AND SERPENT WORSHIP.
Reading edition
At Mithbáv in the Ratnágiri District chickens numbering from twenty to twenty-five are applied to the wound caused by the snakebite. A chicken has the power of drawing out the poison from the body through the wound, but this causes the death of the chicken. The remedy above described is sure to be successful if it is tried within three hours of the person being bitten. There are several other medicines which act on the snakebite, but they must be given very promptly. There are some men in this village who give charmed water for snake or any other bites. Many persons suffering from snakebite have been cured by the use of mantras and charmed water.43