The Vish kanya (Sanskrit विष -कन्या) (English: Poison girl) were young women reportedly used as assassins, often against powerful enemies, during the Mauryan Empire (321–185 BCE). Their blood was purportedly poisonous to other humans, and was mentioned in the ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, Arthashastra, written by Chanakya (Kautilya), an adviser and a prime minister to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta (c. 340–293 BCE).[1] A Hindu mythology text, the Kalki Purana, mentions that they can kill a person just by looking at them, and talks about a Vish Kanya named Sulochana, the wife of a Gandharva, Chitragreeva.[2]
However, in time, 'Poison Damsel' passed into folklore, became an archetype explored by many writers, resulting in a popular literary character that appears in many works, including classical Sanskrit texts, like Sukasaptati.[3]
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The myth states that girls were made poisonous by exposing them to low intensity poison at a very young age (known as mithridatism). Many of them used to die but the ones who had developed the immunity to poison would survive. Body fluids of these girls would be "poisoned" and sexual contact was lethal to other humans.
They were used by kings to destroy enemies. This is believed to be started by Chanakya. It is believed that Vish kanya was sent by Nanda's minister Rakshasas to kill Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya diverted them to kill Parvatak.[4][5]
Vishkanya has been a popular theme in Indian literature and folklore, and apart from appearing in classical Sanskrit texts, it has appeared repeatedly in various works like Vishkanya by Shivani and Ek Aur Vish Kanya by Om Prakash Sharma, who use Vishkanya as an archetype in their stories -- a beautiful girl who kills when she comes too close. More recently, the archetype has taken a new hue in the HIV/AIDS era, for example in Vishkanya, a 2007 novel, based on the AIDS epidemic in society.
Over the years, many Hindi films have been made on the subject. The first film, Vish Kanya, was made in 1943, starring Leela Misra,[6] and more recently, Vish Kanya (1991), starring Pooja Bedi as the lead role.[7]