Vasuki’s tales: Not a land of snake-charmers, but a land snakes have charmed

A colossal 50-ft snake fossil called Vasuki indicus was discovered in Kutch, the largest find of the madtsoiidae species that lived across the southern hemisphere some 47 million years ago. It’s a clue not only into primaeval snake species, but also of how continental land masses shifted and collided, and species dispersed and evolved around the world. “We have been able to show that we have some of the most remarkable snakes in India,” said the scientists who studied the fossil. We certainly do, no surprises there.

Snakes may be somewhat maligned in Christianity and Islam. But they have been potent symbols across most ancient and indigenous cultures. They often signify protection and healing, right from the Greek symbol of a staff with a serpent that represents modern medicine. Mythologists and psychologists have dwelt on the rich ambiguities of the snake motif, of danger, guarding treasure, of sexuality, of awakening potential.

India has its own fount of snake legends in Hinduism, Buddhism and indigenous traditions. Vasuki was the great serpent who became the rope to churn the ocean, Vishnu rests on a great snake. Serpent worship is an ecological tradition that became entwined with more recent religious forms, like the sacred groves in Kerala. The icchhadhari naagins of Bombay cinema and popular dance moves attest to this lingering fascination in popular culture too. We’re not the land of snake-charmers, we’re the land snakes have