Vyantara
Vyantara
Grammar: masculine noun.
Meaning: (1) a bite that leaves the place clean; (2) a division of snakes.
In the scriptures: Kaśyapa Prajāpati teaches Gautama the kinds of bite. A place that stays clean, as if no bite had been given, is called vyantara (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 33).
He divides sarpas into four: darvīkaras, maṇḍalins, rājilas and vyantaras. The nature of their poison is vāta for darvīkaras, pitta for maṇḍalins, śleshma for rājilas and sannipāta for vyantaras. Gautama also asks how the marks differ when a vyantara snake bites. In rājila and vyantara bites the blood is curdled and little (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 36).
Related terms: Darvīkara · Maṇḍalin · Rājila · Sannipāta
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapters 33, 36