Mystery Of Poison Girls - Myth Of The Venomous Visha Kanyas Of Ancient India

Indian history is particularly known for its remarkable secrets and myths, as on the pages of its history we get to see descriptions and stories of such beings that are very mysterious and unfamiliar to the world. Among such beings, there are some who have gained notability only through stories and may still persist in continuing their existence. One such mysterious being is known as Poison girl or Visha Kanya, whose description is found in ancient India and may exist even today.

In Hindu mythology, Visha Kanya, or Poison girl has actually been considered a very beautiful and attractive young maiden, whose blood and bodily fluids are almost poisonous. It is believed that coming closer to a poison girl leads to death due to exposure to any fluid present in her body. In ancient times, the kings and emperors placed poison girls in their kingdom to be used as assassins, often against powerful enemies. The Arthashastra written by Chanakya describes that the kings and the emperors used 'poison girls' to control and kill their enemies, especially for killing a prominent or important person. These poisonous girls tried to seduce their victims in a very loving and caring manner and then killed them by making sexual contacts, but people used to never know how the sudden demise of that person has taken place.

To understand Visha Kanyas well, you first need to know about Mithridatism. There was a greek king named Mithridates, whose father died due to poison served in food and now he was also afraid that someday he would also be assassinated by poisoning. Therefore he started taking poison in very limited quantity daily and gradually his body got used to the poison. Consequently, this practice was adopted worldwide and was named Mithridatism, derived from the name of the King Mithridates. Due to this method, scientists have been able to make medicines like antibiotics and antivenom. By adopting this Mithridatism, an ordinary girl could be turned into a poison girl. 

After being chosen to be a poison girl, this practice was started from her childhood by giving her small amounts of poison doses in food, and in order to seduce her victim, she was given training in dance as well. During this practice, girls with weak immunity died within a few days, and those who had strong immunity became young by consuming poison. By the time of being young, the entire fluid present in their body had become almost poisonous, after which these poison girls could easily kill anyone.

The mention of Visha Kanya also comes in the life of Chandragupta Maurya. Once Nanda's minister Amatyarakshasa sent a poison girl to kill Chandragupta Maurya. But Chandragupta had his mentor Chanakya, who had a great sense of wisdom, and he immediately recognized that girl as Visha Kanya. Chanakya had caught that Visha Kanya and in return for sparing her life, he sent her to kill another king, whose name was Parvatak. Now Acharaya Chanakya got worried about Chandragupta's life and in order to save him from Visha Kanyas forever, he started to mix small doses of poison in his food to increase his immunity against poison. Due to this Chandragupta himself became a poison man and he had no fear of any poison during his life, but due to this experiment, he had to suffer a lot of grief.

Actually, Chandragupta did not know that Chanakya made him a Visha Purush (poison man). One day while eating food, he shared his food with his pregnant wife Durdhara, who was in the ninth month of her delivery. As a result, she died immediately but somehow her child's life was saved. Their son was named Bindusara and later became the second Mauryan Emperor. The mention of Visha Kanya also comes in the Magadha Kingdom when Mahapadma Nanda, the founder of the Nanda Dynasty, sent an extremely beautiful Visha Kanya to kill Kalashoka, the last ruler of the Shishunaga Dynasty.

Many films and TV serials have also been made on the basis of Visha Kanyas and they are also mentioned in Kalki Purana, a Hindu mythology text. Somewhere it has also been said that Visha Kanyas can kill a person just by looking at them and even by their touch. Even today there are some people in the world who consume cobra venom, they have become habituated to its poison and due to this their body fluids have also become poisonous. Although these people do not become poison girls or poison men with their desire to kill someone, they are addicted to snake venom as a way of intoxication.