The most poisonous and most dangerous of all the Malabar serpents is called the _Rudhiramandali_. This Samscred word implies that it is spotted, and that its poison forces the blood from the bodies of those whom it wounds; for _Rudhira_ signifies blood, and _Mandali_ ornamented with spots. The dreadful effect of its poison is described by Lucan in the following lines: Deeply the fierce _Hæmorrhoïs_ imprest Her fatal teeth on Tullus’ valiant breast: The noble youth, with Virtue’s love inspir’d, Her, in her Cato, followed and admired; Mov’d by his great example, vow’d to share, With him, each chance of that disastrous war. And as when mighty Rome’s spectators meet In the full theatre’s capacious seat, At once, by secret pipes and channels fed, Rich tinctures gush from every antique head; At once ten thousand saffron currents flow, And rain their odours on the crowd below: So the warm blood at once from every part Ran purple poison down, and drain’d the fainting heart; Blood falls for tears, and o’er his mournful face The ruddy drops their tainted passage trace: Where’er the liquid juices find a way, There streams of blood, there crimson rivers stray; His mouth and gushing nostrils pour a flood, And even the pores ooze out the trickling blood; In the red deluge all the parts lie drown’d, And the whole body seems one bleeding wound[153]. In this horrid situation I once saw a young woman of about twenty years of age at _Verapole_. A great number of people earnestly requested that I would endeavour to mitigate the sufferings of this unfortunate girl; but neither theriac, volatile alkali, nor the antidote of Madura, could be of any service, and she died in the course of about three hours. The bite of this snake, therefore, produces an effect directly contrary to that produced by the bite of the asp. The latter causes the blood to coagulate, and to freeze as it were in the veins; but the former decomposes it entirely, and sets it in such a fermentation that it runs from the body, as one may say, in the same manner as boiling water from a kettle that stands over the fire. No remedy has ever yet been discovered for the bite of this animal. No less dangerous is another snake called _Polaven_ (not _Polaga_), the body of which is covered with tumours and pustules. Those unfortunate persons who are bit by it, sweat blood; but with this difference, that it oozes from the body in drops. The _Karuwaèla_ has on its head three knobs or excrescences, which form a comb; and three red rings round its neck. It is an ell in length, and of a shining black colour, as far as the eyes, which are of a fiery red, and sparkle with savage wildness. It is said that it can kill people merely by its look; and, if this be true, it may with propriety be called the Malabar basilisk. It is found no where but in the Gauts, from which it never descends unless when swept down by the rains.