page_title: Indian cobra
section_title: Popular culture
hierarchical_section_title: Indian cobra / Popular culture
context_page_description: The Indian cobra, also known as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of the genus Naja found, in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, and a member of the "big four" species that inflict the most snakebites on humans in India. It is distinct from the king cobra which belongs to the monotypic genus Ophiophagus. The Indian cobra is revered in Indian mythology and culture, and is often seen with snake charmers. It is now protected in India under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act.
context_section_description: There are numerous myths about cobras in India, including the idea that they mate with rat snakes.
  Rudyard Kipling's short story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" features a pair of Indian cobras named Nag and Nagaina, the Hindi words for male and female snake, respectively.
caption: Cobra in a basket, raising its head and spreading its hood
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