Indian cobra
Naja naja (Linnaeus, 1758)
The Indian cobra (Naja naja) is a snake in the family Elapidae, part of the suborder Serpentes within the order Squamata of the class Reptilia. It is also called the Oxus cobra, Common cobra, Spectacled cobra, Central Asian cobra and Indian spectacled cobra.
Quick facts about the Indian cobra
The IUCN Red List lists the Indian cobra as Least Concern in its global assessment, which is not a threatened category. Its lifespan is given as 13.15 years, with values up to 32.3 years reported, and its eggs have an incubation period of 62 days, with 17 eggs per clutch.
- Weight
- up to 1.68 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 2.2 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 13.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 32.3 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 62 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 17 – 21src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the Indian cobra
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the Indian cobra live?
Not recorded
What is the Indian cobra?
The Indian cobra (Naja naja /nadʒa nadʒa/), also known commonly as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra, a venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent, and is a member of the "Big Four" species that are responsible for the most snakebite cases in Sri Lanka and India.
The Indian cobra is revered in Hindu mythology and culture, and is often seen with snake charmers. It is a protected species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
From the Wikipedia article “Indian cobra” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indian_cobra&oldid=1381313642), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the Indian cobra endangered?
The Indian cobra is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the Indian cobra classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyElapidae
- genusNaja
- SpeciesNaja naja (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Coluber caecus, Coluber naja, Coluber rufus, Naia naia var. polyocellata, Naja brasiliensis, Naja fasciata, Naja lutescens, Naja lutrescens, Naja maculata, Naja naja bombaya, Naja naja ceylonicus, Naja naja gangetica, Naja naja indusi, Naja naja karachiensis, Naja naja lutescens, Naja naja madrasiensis, Naja naja polyocellata, Naja nigra, Naja non-naja, Naja tripudians, Naja tripudians f. typica, Naja tripudians var. caeca
Other names and names in other languages (63)
- Central Asian cobraEnglish
- Common cobraEnglish
- Indian spectacled cobraEnglish
- Oxus cobraEnglish
- Spectacled cobraEnglish
- BrilkobraAfrikaans
- كوبرا هنديةArabic
- الناشر الهنديArabic
- Змяя-акулярніцаBelarusian
- Индийска кобраBulgarian
- খৈয়া গোখরাBangla
- Cobra d'ulleresCatalan
- agwasonCebuano
- kobra indickáCzech
- KobraGerman
- BrillenschlangeGerman
- Indische KobraGerman
- Südasiatische KobraGerman
- Cobra IndiaSpanish
- Cobra de AnteojosSpanish
- SilmälasikäärmeFinnish
- Cobra indienFrench
- Cobra à lunettesFrench
- નાગGujarati
- קוברה הודיתHebrew
- नागHindi
- KobreCroatian
- pápaszemes kobraHungarian
- Kobra IndiaIndonesian
- Cobra indianoItalian
- Cobra dagli occhialiItalian
- インドコブラJapanese
- ინდური კობრაGeorgian
- ಚೀನೀ ನಾಗರKannada
- Indiškoji kobraLithuanian
- ഇന്ത്യൻ മൂർഖൻMalayalam
- Энэтхэг наж могойMongolian
- BrilleslangeNorwegian Bokmål
- Indisk KobraNorwegian Bokmål
- गोमनNepali
- KopreNepali
- Indiase brilcobraDutch
- ନାଗOdia
- ਨਾਗPunjabi
- kobra indyjskaPolish
- ڈبویاWestern Panjabi
- NajaPortuguese
- Cobra-indianaPortuguese
- Cobra-najaPortuguese
- Очковая змеяRussian
- Индийская кобраRussian
- නාගයාSinhala
- නයාSinhala
- Kobra okuliarnatáSlovak
- naočarkaSlovenian
- GlasögonormSwedish
- நாகம்Tamil
- இந்திய நாகம்Tamil
- నాగుపాముTelugu
- Adi kobraTurkish
- Індійська кобраUkrainian
- Кобра індійськаUkrainian
- 印度眼鏡蛇Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the Indian cobra
Other species in the same genus Naja.
Egyptian cobra
Naja haje
Forest cobra
Naja melanoleuca
Black-necked spitting cobra
Naja nigricollis
Cape cobra
Naja nivea
Oxus cobra
Naja oxiana
African cobra
Naja pallida
CompareIndian cobra vs Egyptian cobraIndian cobra vs Forest cobraIndian cobra vs Black-necked spitting cobraIndian cobra vs Cape cobra
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the Indian cobra?
The Indian cobra is a snake, a reptile in the family Elapidae and the genus Naja.
Is the Indian cobra endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern in its global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the Indian cobra live?
Its lifespan is given as 13.15 years, and our sources report values up to 32.3 years.
How long do Indian cobra eggs take to hatch?
Indian cobra eggs have an incubation period of 62 days.
How many young or eggs does the Indian cobra have?
The figure given for young per litter or eggs per clutch is 17.
What other names does the Indian cobra have?
It is also called the Oxus cobra, Common cobra, Spectacled cobra, Central Asian cobra and Indian spectacled cobra.
What is the scientific name of the Indian cobra?
Its scientific name is Naja naja, with the authority written as (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles · CC BY 4.0 · v1-2
Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4 - SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0-dryad-v5
Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Indian cobra (Naja naja). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-cobra
“Indian cobra (Naja naja).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-cobra.
@misc{indian_cobra_2026,
title = {Indian cobra (Naja naja)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-cobra},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}