Nagamanickam or Nagamani, Snake pearls, Snake stones...
“Thevenot” a great French traveler visited India in 1666. He writes that cobra stones were manufactured in the town of Diu in Gujarat. Ashes of burnt roots mixed with a strange earth was burnt, which is turned to a paste. This paste was used to form a stone which was known as “hajar alhayyat”.
However, these are not snake pearl, Nagamanickam or Nagamani, and one may get confused that it is the same stone found in the head of certain snakes. First, we try to retrieve the ancient perspective of cobra pearl, and then we will correlate them to actual snake stone.
Thermo luminescence refers to a property related to some mineral substances. Mineral substances like fluorite store energy when exposed to ultraviolet or other ionising radiation. This energy is released in the form of light when the mineral is heated; the phenomenon is distinct from that of black body radiation.
“Nagamukta”,“Nagamani” or Nagamanickam is mentioned in classics like Garuda Puranam, Brihat Sahinta, Rajavallbha as well. Vrahamihira (505-587) who was a famous astrologer, mathematician and astronomer in Ujjain wrote in his Brihat Sahinta.
But technically it is not only chlorophane which has this kind of property. Following minerals also exhibit the same property in lesser or greater amount:
1. Chlorophane is referred as Nagamani by these writers and there are some people in Srilanka and India who sell these fake stones as Nagamani.
Gibbsite;Eucryptite,Powellite,Scheelite;Eucryptite,Calcite,Scheelite,crystal;Cerussite;Spodumene(Kunzite);Apatite,crystals,calcite;Eucryptite,Chlorophane;Eucryptite,Chlorophane,Scheelite;Eucryptite,Scheelite,Calcite;Eucryptite,Calcite etc.
Most of these stones including chlorophane exhibit this property in UV light or sometimes in natural shade or dark areas.
Chlorophane Vs Nagamani:
2. Writers, who tried to prove Nagamani as cholorphane, can also take the liberty of claiming the other stones as Nagamani.
5. Chlorophane is not found in India and there have been repeated occurrences of seeing a Nagamani in India. This is inexplicable that how snakes from Indian origin collect pieces of stone from regions far away from Indian subcontinent.
3. I have seen Chlorophane or the material mentioned as Nagamani and it can only radiate light to a distance of one foot (That too in certain rare varieties) and is barely visible from a long distance. It does not relate well to the incidents mentioned about Nagamani.
4. Chlorophane is a fluorite possessing thermo luminescence which is not visible in ordinary lighting conditions. Moreover, it loses its thermo luminescence if it is put in light for too long. Some of these stones only show this remarkable property once in its lifetime. But nagmanis mentioned in certain classics carry entirely different properties.
8. Chlorophane is sold as Nagamani in many parts of India. Readers are advised to be very careful while buying this mineral. Chlorophane is easily available on internet websites and one can easily buy them from there. But do not consider them to be Nagamani. Chlorophane is definitely fake Nagamani if they are claimed to be.
6. If cobras are so intelligent then they can use a stone to attract prey, then why scientists do not make a discovery about it. In fact, cobras are highly venomous and extremely anger prone reptiles, which can attack anybody on slightest discomfort.
7. Writers also claim that cobras use the stone to catch fireflies. Please note that cobras consume birds, fish, frogs, toads, lizards, eggs, chicks, rabbits, rats, and other small mammals. The fact is that Fireflies are toxic because of the self-defence compounds that are named lucibufagins, and can kill reptiles and birdies as well. It is a daft assumption that cobras use this stone to catch insects such as fireflies.
9. Shastras mention nagmani as something found in cobras. We consider Shastras for their accuracy. No Shastra mentions that Nagas discover these pearls from outside or river beds.
There is one more thing, selling of Nagamani is banned in countries like India as there is an act against this activity.
Photographs of fakes such as chlorophane are easily available on internet and one can google the word to see the images.
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