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Visha kanya or poison maiden
The Vish kanya 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. Asoka too is said to have made extensive use of Vish kanya who were often sent under disguise of rakshita or ganika.
Here is a citation from the novel by Ashwin Sanghi called Chankya Chants!
...Paurus let go of her hair in panic while clutching at his own throat as he felt the compound of arsenic and mercury scald his lips, tongue and throat. He tried to scream but no sound emerged from his larynx -- it had already been destroyed by the sankhiya poison on her lips.
... The fool Paurus had allowed himself to believe that the celestial creature in his bed was Vishaka... little had the imbecile realised that Vishaka was a trained vish kanya -- a poison maiden. In fact, Chanakya had personally supervised the creation of an entire army of such maidens. His secret service would identify young and nubile girls whose horoscopes foretold of widowhood. These beautiful damsels would be sequestered at an early age and fed a variety of poison in graduated doses, making them immune to their ruinous effects. By the time each of Chanakya's vish kanyas reached puberty, they were utterly toxic. A simple kiss with an infinitesimal exchange of saliva was lethal enough to kill the strongest bull of a man.
... The fool Paurus had allowed himself to believe that the celestial creature in his bed was Vishaka... little had the imbecile realised that Vishaka was a trained vish kanya -- a poison maiden. In fact, Chanakya had personally supervised the creation of an entire army of such maidens. His secret service would identify young and nubile girls whose horoscopes foretold of widowhood. These beautiful damsels would be sequestered at an early age and fed a variety of poison in graduated doses, making them immune to their ruinous effects. By the time each of Chanakya's vish kanyas reached puberty, they were utterly toxic. A simple kiss with an infinitesimal exchange of saliva was lethal enough to kill the strongest bull of a man.
Further on in the novel:
The students were girls from modest backgrounds who needed a vocation to support themselves and their families. They would usually enter the institution at ages six to eight and would be taught a variety of arts including painting, dancing, poetry, music, singing, drama and cooking. No expense was spared on their training or their living standards. They were provided with the best accommodation, clothing, food and comforts. Their principal and their teachers were kind and understanding.
However, there was one golden rule that could never be broken. They each had to drink a glass of specially formulated milk in the evening... Each lactic potion was specifically mixed for a given girl... Between ages six and eight, the girls who showed no signs of pubertal development would be given one kuduba of powder-blue milk formula each day. As they progressed to ages eight and ten and their breast buds began to appear, they would be given two kudubas of a saffron-orange brew every day. From ten to twelve as their pubic hair began to grow the daily dosage of the concoction went up to three kudubas of a pistachio-green mixture each evening... Between ages fourteen and sixteen, as they went into ovulation and mestruation, they would be fed two adhakas of an almond-brown lactic potion daily.
...all the girls, without exception, were born on Tuesdays during the seventh lunar day of vishaka. They possessed unfortunately potent horoscopes that guaranteed any man they cohabited with would die. They were known as vish kanyas, or poison maidens.
However, there was one golden rule that could never be broken. They each had to drink a glass of specially formulated milk in the evening... Each lactic potion was specifically mixed for a given girl... Between ages six and eight, the girls who showed no signs of pubertal development would be given one kuduba of powder-blue milk formula each day. As they progressed to ages eight and ten and their breast buds began to appear, they would be given two kudubas of a saffron-orange brew every day. From ten to twelve as their pubic hair began to grow the daily dosage of the concoction went up to three kudubas of a pistachio-green mixture each evening... Between ages fourteen and sixteen, as they went into ovulation and mestruation, they would be fed two adhakas of an almond-brown lactic potion daily.
...all the girls, without exception, were born on Tuesdays during the seventh lunar day of vishaka. They possessed unfortunately potent horoscopes that guaranteed any man they cohabited with would die. They were known as vish kanyas, or poison maidens.
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