Feeling her body go rigid, Ms.Dhara asked to be rushed to the nearest hospital, in the town of Burdwan, about 25 miles away.There, she was injected with a broad-spectrum antivenom.

• 令问题更加棘手的是，印度人普遍相信蛇拥有神圣的力量，而且他们的宗教信仰不允许人们伤害这种剧毒的爬行类动物。