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Volume 3 73 |
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HINDU DEVOTEE PROSTRATING HIMSELF BEFORE A SHRINE OF THE SACRED COBRA Despite their deep reverence for the snake, the Hindus have not yet become entirely reconciled to these creatures, but few would ever dream of molesting or killing them for fear of the supernatural powers they are thought to possess. The special sanctity of the cobra is due to the belief that its hood formed a canopy over Vishnu the Preserver, and on the whole, the snake is worshipped as an object of fear rather than of love. Hindus sometimes keep deadly snakes for years in their houses at the risk of their lives, yet no member of the family would dare to lay sacrilegious hands on the honoured inmate |